Arabized Berbers are Morocco's predominant ethnolinguistic group, and many of them speak both Arabic and Berber. Less-assimilated Berbers make up about one-third of the population and live in the mountains, where the Berber language has been preserved. They fall into three groups: the Rif people of the Rif Mountains, the Tamazight of the Middle Atlas, and the Shluh of the High Atlas and the Sous valley. The nation's French and Spanish minorities have diminished remarkablely since Morocco's freedom in 1956; other minorities include Bedouin Arabs and blacks. Most of the nation's substantial Jewish minority had immigrated to the state of Israel by the late 20th century. Arabic is the nation's official language. Most Moroccans are Sunnite Muslims of the Malikite order.

Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the nation from the Sahara Desert. Casablanca is the center of commerce and industry and the leading port; Rabat is the seat of government; Tangier is the gateway to Spain and also a major port; "Arab" Fez is the cultural and religious center; and "Berber" Marrakech is a major tourist center. Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children--particularly girls in rural areas--still do not attend school. The nation's illiteracy rate has been stuck at around 50% for some years but reaches as high as 83 % among girls in rural regions. Morocco had 288,319 students listed in 14 public universities in academic year 2001-2002. In some ways the most prestigious university is Mohammed V in Rabat, with faculties of law, sciences, liberal arts, and medicine. Karaouine University, in Fez, has been a center for Islamic studies for more than 1,000 years and is the oldest university in Morocco. Morocco has one private university, Al-Akhawayn, in Ifrane. Al-Akhawayn, founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, is an English-medium, American-style university comprising about 1,000 students.