There will be twice as many elderly people in Morocco by 2050.

This is the finding of the High Commission for Planning (HCP) in an analysis on the elderly published in December 2025, based on the results of the general population census conducted in 2024.

The population aged 60 and over, which currently stands at just over 5 million people, is expected to rise to 6 million by 2030, then to 7.5 million in 2040, and to nearly 10 million in 2050. Their share of the total population would thus rise from 13.8% today to 22.9% by 2050, or nearly one in four Moroccans.

This unprecedented aging of the population is due to the continuous decline in the birth rate—the fertility rate of 1.97 children per woman is below the replacement level, set at 2.1 children per woman—combined with improved life expectancy.

Thus, in 2024, there were nearly 52 older adults for every 100 young people under the age of 15, compared to just over 37 in 2014 and just under 26 in 2004. Over the course of twenty years, this indicator has therefore doubled, clearly illustrating the acceleration of demographic aging in the kingdom.

“This trend is profoundly altering the country’s demographic balance and poses significant challenges for public policy,” warns the HCP.

This rapid aging also puts strain on a model of intergenerational solidarity historically rooted in the family, the primary setting for caring for the elderly.

A Multi-Speed Aging Population

According to the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE), 52.4% of seniors have no regular income, according to a report published in October 2025

For Bouchaib Majdoul, professor of sociology and anthropology at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, the accelerated aging of the Moroccan population is leading to“profound social transformations,” notably“changes in family structure, to the point where extended families are shrinking further and older adults risk becoming more dependent on institutional support than on family support.”

This trend is all the more concerning given that, according to the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE), 52.4% of seniors have no regular income, according to a report published in October 2025. Among those who do receive income, only 49.2% receive a retirement pension, which increases their dependence on family support.

Leila Bouasria, a sociology professor and researcher at Hassan II University in Casablanca, observes that“the situation of older adults has changed due to shorter working lives: later entry into the workforce and earlier exit.”

In this context,“work is no longer, as it was in pre-industrial and industrial societies, the primary organizer of daily life.” Furthermore,“while retirement often coincided with the onset of disability and signaled a withdrawal from the world of work, it increasingly appears as the promise of a different life,” she continues. And a different life implies the need to have the physical and financial capacity to live it to the fullest.

The sociologist also emphasizes the heterogeneity of situations: “Old age is not a uniform state but a process that goes through distinct phases.”

The HCP distinguishes between an elderly population that is still largely independent—particularly in the 60–75 age group—and a growing proportion of seniors in situations of dependency, particularly after age 75. These trajectories are also marked by regional inequalities.

For older adults living in rural areas, access to care remains limited. Family and community solidarity remains strong there, but it is often undermined by poverty and the distance from public or health services. In cities, conversely, dependence on social services is increasing, though this does not compensate for isolation, especially if children live away from home.

Family First

“In reality, the family remains the foundation of elder care”

In reality, the family remains the foundation of elder care. “Despite changing family structures and the trend toward independent living, the values of intergenerational solidarity persist but are expressed in new forms,” emphasizes Leila Bouasria.

She notes that “the need for children to continue supporting their elderly parents is paramount in cases where the parents’ employment or retirement does not guarantee financial security in old age.” Support can take various forms: financial assistance, help with household chores, or assistance with tasks outside the home.

Living together remains an important resource, but is not always desired by older adults, especially when they are still“young”and in good health. This cohabitation can, however, be a necessity “when it is the elderly parents who are housing minor and/or adult children, in a context of unemployment and precariousness among young adults, ”the sociologist notes.

Figures from the HCP confirm this reality: generally speaking,“it appears that nearly all older adults are well supported by family members,” the report states.

Thus, in 2024, nearly 84% of people aged 60 and older lived in households headed by people in the same age group, either as heads of household or spouses, or as the father or mother of the head of household. And nearly one in ten older adults was a member of households headed by their children. The HCP notes, however, that the care of parents by their adult children who are heads of household is more prevalent in rural areas (14.1%) than in urban areas (9.5%).

But this model of solidarity is under pressure.“In the past, the bond between elderly parents and adult children was based on a silent promise: the life given would one day be returned in the form of protection,” recalls Driss Jaydane, philosopher and essayist.“This promise was not a calculation; it was gratitude. Today, the scarcity of work, mobility, and the lengthening of the period of dependency are disrupting this cycle,”he adds.

The HCP points to “a gradual weakening of traditional family solidarity and foreshadows a growing demand for social services and support systems adapted to aging”

An analysis shared by sociologist and anthropologist Bouchaib Majdoul:“the remarkable shift toward nuclear families,”combined with“the geographic and professional mobility of children”and “the increase in women’s workforce participation, ” is undermining this traditional model of intergenerational solidarity.

Thus, the HCP notes“a notable increase in the number of older adults living alone, which now stands at 9%.” This phenomenon particularly affects urban areas and women (12.5% compared to 5.2% of men), and this trend has intensified since 2014.

“This trend reflects a gradual weakening of traditional family ties and points to a growing demand for social services and support systems tailored to aging,” concludes the HCP.

The Burden of “Care”

Aging acts as a barometer of gender inequalities. According to the HCP, older women are more vulnerable to precarious living conditions

Aging also serves as a barometer of gender inequalities. According to the HCP, older women are more vulnerable to precariousness, facing a combination of limited social security coverage, widowhood, and economic dependence.

Another inequality exacerbated by the aging population, according to Bouchaib Majdoul, is that “care work still falls predominantly on women.” This involves“caregiving, support, and household management”provided by “unpaid, untrained‘natural’ caregivers, ”the sociologist notes.

An inequality also highlighted by Driss Jaydane:“Aging reveals an injustice that custom had rendered invisible: care almost always falls on women. We called this devotion; it was often a silent constraint.” Yet, according to him,“a just society cannot base its morality on the tacit sacrifice of a part of itself. Care is a human obligation before it is a feminine role.”

Leila Bouasria qualifies this statement. While caring for parents does indeed“traditionally” fall to women, women are also increasingly present in the labor market. And this goes hand in hand with a certain economic independence.

Moreover,“women are not disappearing from ‘care’ but can negotiate different forms of it depending on their resources: financial assistance rather than constant physical presence, organizing services rather than direct care, choosing the time allocated rather than total availability,”the sociologist lists.

In other words, these adjustments reflect a transformation of solidarity rather than a collapse.“New forms of negotiation are emerging around the cohabitation of elderly parents and adult children, the use of outside help, or the preservation of seniors’ autonomy,” notes Bouchaïb Majdoul. That said, adult children, whose numbers are dwindling within families,“bear an increased burden, which can become a source of tension among siblings regarding the sharing of responsibilities,” the sociologist emphasizes.

These tensions can also arise“between generations, when the expectations of elderly parents clash with their children’s limited capacities, particularly financial ones.”Ultimately, intergenerational solidarity is not disappearing but“is transforming, becoming more contested and dependent on families’ social and economic resources,” he adds.

A model in need of reinvention?

The aging population thus reveals the limits of a societal model that places the bulk of the responsibility for caring for the elderly on their families

The aging population thus reveals the limits of a societal model that places the bulk of the responsibility for caring for the elderly on their families. Driss Jaydane even speaks ofa “departure from traditional society” in certain respects. “While family solidarity is not a law of nature, it is based on specific material conditions. When these conditions disappear, solidarity does not vanish, but it ceases to be automatic. It becomes a task. And every task requires sustained attention,” he warns.

Furthermore, as the population ages, the lack of structured public responses risks exacerbating social and gender inequalities.“A society is judged by how it treats those who no longer produce yet who have shaped the shared world. If old age remains a private matter, dignity will depend on families’ unequal resources,” the essayist further points out.

Finally, there is“an increased risk of isolation, neglect, and dependence on public services that are still insufficient or nonexistent, highlighting the need to rethink social policies and care structures for the elderly in Morocco,”emphasizes Bouchaib Majdoul.

In a country where the number of older adults will double in a single generation, and in a state that claims to be social, this demographic shift thus raises a central question: to what extent will the family be able to continue shouldering the burden of aging alone?

Morocco is aging. And with it, a reality too often ignored.

Insufficient pensions, difficult access to care, family solidarity under pressure…
For millions of older people, aging still means living in precarious conditions.

🔎 Retirement, health, inequalities, models in… pic.twitter.com/Yg88elnzud—

TelQuel (@TelQuelOfficiel) March 24, 2026

 

Written in French by Anaïs Lefébure; edited in English by AngloMedia Group.