RABAT, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's economic growth rate declined to 3 percent in 2018 compared to 4.2 percent in 2017 because of the slow recovery of non-agricultural sectors, the central bank said Monday.
The unemployment rate in the North African country fell to 9.8 percent but remains high among the youth, said Abdellatif Jouahri, governor of Morocco's central bank, in a press statement released after he presented to the Moroccan king the central bank's annual report on the economic situation for the 2018 fiscal year.
Morocco's economy is not performing well enough to meet the growing social expectations, he noted
The state budget deficit increased to 3.7 percent of the GDP, while the current account deficit rose to 5.5 percent of the GDP despite a remarkable activity in exports, Jouahri said.
Inflows of foreign direct investments reached 47.4 billion dirhams (4.7 billion U.S. dollars) and net foreign currency reserves stood at the equivalent of slightly over five months of imports, he added.
