Morocco Employs Migrants to Collect Data on Foreign Residents During National Census

Morocco is set to conduct its seventh national census of population and housing from September 1 to September 30, a decennial event that this year sees the active participation of 53,800 individuals as researchers, monitors, and supervisors. 

According to the High Commission for Planning, 59.3% of the participants are degree holders and students, 31.9% are educators, 5.2% are public administration and institution employees, 1.5% are staff of the High Commission, 1.8% are private sector workers, and 0.3% are retired public servants.

Among the participants, migrants and foreign residents in Morocco from various countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, are enlisted to help gather data about their demographic. This includes counting immigrants and asylum seekers present in the country.

Shakib Sabayebi, Executive Director of the Pioneers of Change Association for Development and Culture based in Oujda, noted that most migrant participants are affiliated with civil society organizations, including three from his own association who have previously received training from the High Commission for Planning.

Sabayebi told Hespress, "I believe this is the first time that participants from the migrant and refugee categories are trained to collect data about themselves, which is crucial for including a significant segment about them in the general census report." He emphasized that like their Moroccan counterparts, these participants are subjected to the same rights and obligations.

He further highlighted the significance of this initiative given the substantial number of people from this demographic in Morocco, and the necessity of gathering precise data to update or develop new strategies for migration and asylum in the country. Sabayebi added, "We must not forget that migrants have built the economies of European countries."

Concluding, the director emphasized that this initiative is "very important and has the potential to integrate this group into Moroccan society, despite the country being a transit point. It could also provide us, the civil society, with a clear perspective on how migrants perceive Morocco and the social, economic, and cultural conditions they experience within it."