Oriental région or Oujda region ( ar, الشرق, aš-šarq; ber, ⵜⴰⴳⵎⵓⴹⴰⵏⵜ, tagmuḍant) is one of the twelve

regions of Morocco Regions are currently the highest administrative divisions in Morocco. Since 2015, Morocco officially administers 12 regions, including one ( Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab) that lies completely within the disputed territory of Western Sahara and two ( ...

, located in the north-eastern part of the country. It covers an area of 90,127 km² and has a population of 2,314,346 (2014 census) and is the easternmost region of Morocco. The capital and the largest city is

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

, and the second largest city is

Nador Nador ( Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⴷⵓⵔ) is a coastal city and provincial capital in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco with a population of about 161,726 (2014 census). Nador city is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a salt lagoon nam ...

. The region includes 7 provinces and one prefecture. Mohamed Mhidia became wali (governor) of the region in 2015. A majority of the population of Oriental speak Moroccan Arabic (86.2%) as a first or second language. A large minority speak the Rif-Berber language (38.4%) as a first language. Small numbers speak Eastern Middle Atlas Tamazight and Figuig Tamazight, principally in the south of Oriental.

Etymology

The English name ''Oriental'' is derived from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

term ''L'Oriental'' (for "the east") and comes directly from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''orientalis'', "of the east", being that the region is located in the east of Morocco. The Arabic name ''Ash-Sharq'' also means "the east", as does the Berber name ''Tagmuḍant'' (from agmuḍan).

Geography

Oriental is situated in the northeastern part of the country, with a northern coastline on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. The region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, lie to its northwest, Fès-Meknès to its west, Drâa-Tafilalet to the southwest, with the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n provinces of

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

and

Naâma Naâma (Arabic: النعامة or نعامة) is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria, of which it is the province seat. It is coextensive with the district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is ...

to its east and Béchar to the south.

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was pa ...

, a Spanish autonomous city, also borders the region. In 2015, Oriental was expanded to include Guercif Province. The region is made up into the following prefectures and provinces: Région de l'oriental

Berkane Province Berkane Province (Berber: Aberkan, ⴱⴻⵔⴽⴰⵏ, Arabic: بَركان) is located in northeastern Morocco in the area of Aït Iznasen. It is bounded by the Mediterranean to its north, the Kiss Oued (Moroccan-Algerian border) and Oujda Pref ...

* Driouch Province * Figuig Province * Guercif Province * Jerada Province * Nador Province * Oujda-Angad Prefecture *

Taourirt Province Taourirt is a province in the Oriental Region of Morocco. Its population in 2004 is 206,762 The major cities and towns are: * Debdou Debdou (Berber: ⴷⴻⴱⴷⵓ) is a town in Morocco. It is known for its multi-ethnic population, includi ...

Municipalities by population (2014)

References

External links

Oriental web portal in French

Figuig in English, French and Arab
{{Authority control