City Africa
Casablanca
Casablanca is the biggest city in Morocco. It is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and has a big port.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, on the Atlantic coast of North Africa. Long ago it was called Anfa. Rebuilt around 1780, it grew from about 20,500 people in 1900 into a great port and Morocco's business center, with 3,218,036 people at the 2024 census.
Casablanca, ancient Anfa (capital of the Berber Barghawata kingdom, 8th–11th centuries), was rebuilt around 1780 and took its present name then. From 20,500 inhabitants in 1900 it became Morocco's economic hub: its port handled 40% of the country's foreign trade in 2007, and the 2024 census counted 3,218,036 people in the city.
Photo: Иерей Максим Массалитин from Rabat, Maroc, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Casablanca
Casablanca is a big city in Morocco. Morocco is a country in the north of Africa.
More people live in Casablanca than in any other city in Morocco.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, on the country's Atlantic coast. It is also called Dar El Beida.
At the census of 1 September 2024, 3,218,036 people lived in the city, far more than in Tanger (Tangier), the next largest, with 1,275,428. The whole Grand Casablanca-Settat region had 7,688,967 people.
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (via City Population): Casablanca (Dar El Beida) city 2,139,204 (1982), 2,717,125 (1994), 3,032,116 (2004), 3,359,818 (2014) and 3,218,036 at the census of 1 September 2024, rank 1 among Morocco's cities, ahead of Tanger (1,275,428), Fès (1,182,963) and Marrakech (1,014,813); Grand Casablanca-Settat region 7,688,967.
Universalis: Greater Casablanca reached 625,000 inhabitants in 1950 and a million in 1963, doubled again by 1982 and passed 3 million before 2000.
- Country
- Morocco (its largest city)
- People in Casablanca (census, 1 September 2024)
- 3,218,036
- Grand Casablanca-Settat region (same census)
- 7,688,967
- Also called
- Dar El Beida
Rooftops, palms and a clock tower
Look at the white buildings and the tall palm trees! A tall white clock tower stands up above the roofs.
This photo shows the center of Casablanca on 3 September 2012, looking out over the rooftops. In front are white apartment buildings with balconies and flat roofs.
Beyond them, palm trees fill a wide green space, and large buildings with green tiled roofs stand around it. A tall white clock tower rises at the left, and white towers and tall blocks line the skyline.
Commons: 'Au centre de Casablanca' ('In the center of Casablanca', Russian description), 3 September 2012, Flickr photo by Maxim Massalitin, CC BY-SA 2.0, reviewed by Commons' Flickr upload bot. The camera's recorded position is about 0.86 km SSE of the city's Wikidata point.
In the picture: white apartment buildings with iron balconies and satellite dishes in front; a large square planted with palms and lined with buildings under green tiled roofs; a tall white clock tower at left; a tower block in the middle distance and a white building with two tall towers at right; a street with parked cars at the right edge.
- Photo
- the center of Casablanca, 3 September 2012
- Medina of Casablanca
- the historic quarter, about 0.5 km west-northwest of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
- Casablanca Twin Center
- a skyscraper about 1.8 km southwest of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
From Anfa to Casablanca
Long ago, the town here was called Anfa. Later it was built again and got the name Casablanca.
People have lived in the area for more than 400,000 years, Universalis says. Under the name Anfa, the town was the capital of a Berber kingdom, the Barghawata, from the 700s to the 1000s. At the end of the 1400s it was destroyed and stayed empty for about three hundred years.
A Moroccan sultan had the town rebuilt around 1780, and it took the name Casablanca at that time. In the 1800s it grew a little by sending grain and wool to Europe.
Universalis: wrongly thought of as a city without history, it was probably founded before the arrival of the Arabs and, under the name Anfa, was the capital of the Berber Barghawata kingdom (8th–11th centuries); human presence goes back more than 400,000 years. Destroyed at the end of the 15th century and deserted for three centuries, it was rebuilt by the sultan around 1780, when it took its present name. In the 19th century, grain and wool exports to Europe and steam navigation brought modest growth.
In 1907 French troops occupied the city, which became the colonial outpost of French Morocco before the protectorate was set up in 1912. With only 20,500 inhabitants in 1900, it then grew at lightning speed.
- Anfa
- capital of the Berber Barghawata kingdom, 8th–11th centuries
- Rebuilt
- around 1780, when it took its present name
- People in 1900
- about 20,500
A port, a tram and a long coast
Big ships come to Casablanca's port. Trams carry people through the city.
Casablanca's port is right next to the city center, about 0.6 kilometers east-northeast of the city's center point on Wikidata. In 2007, 40% of Morocco's trade with other countries passed through it, Universalis says. A tram system opened on 12 December 2012.
The city has spread far beyond its own borders: built-up land runs for more than 30 kilometers along the coast, from Mohammedia in the east to Dar Bouazza in the west, and south toward the international airport at Nouaceur.
Universalis: thanks to its port, which handled 40% of Morocco's foreign trade in 2007 (plus that of the port of Mohammedia), and its very diverse activities, the wilaya dominates the national economy. Overflowing the municipal boundary, the urban area stretches in a ribbon toward the international airport at Nouaceur and Settat (south) and along the coast for more than 30 km, joining Mohammedia (east) to Dar Bouazza (west).
Wikidata (from the city's point, Q7903): Port of Casablanca (Q2020229) 0.57 km ENE; Medina of Casablanca (Q12192689), a historic quarter, 0.47 km WNW; Casablanca Twin Center (Q2743636), a skyscraper, 1.83 km SW; Casablanca tramway (Q1522904), official opening 12 December 2012.
- Port of Casablanca
- 40% of Morocco's foreign trade passed through it in 2007
- Casablanca tramway
- opened 12 December 2012 (Wikidata)
- Built-up coast
- more than 30 km, from Mohammedia (east) to Dar Bouazza (west)
Mild winters, dry summers
Casablanca is never very cold. Summers are warm and almost dry.
Most rain falls in late autumn and winter.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1991 to 2020 show mild weather. Average daily highs go from 17.6 °C in January to 26.7 °C in August, and average daily lows from 8.9 °C in January to 21.0 °C in August.
About 410 millimeters of rain fall in a year, mostly from October to March. November is the wettest month, with 82.5 millimeters, and July and August get less than 1 millimeter each.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Casablanca (33.57° N, 7.67° W), 1991–2020: mean daily maximum 17.6 °C (January) to 26.7 °C (August); mean daily minimum 8.9 °C (January) to 21.0 °C (August). Rainfall sums to 410.2 mm, with November (82.5 mm), December (64.1 mm) and January (63.9 mm) the wettest months and July (0.5 mm) and August (0.4 mm) the driest; the table lists 73 rain days a year without giving the threshold.
The WMO table for Rabat-Salé has the same pattern with cooler nights and more rain. Its station point is about 100 km east-northeast of Casablanca's.
- Average daily highs (WMO, 1991–2020)
- 17.6 °C (January) to 26.7 °C (August)
- Average daily lows (same normals)
- 8.9 °C (January) to 21.0 °C (August)
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly normals)
- about 410 mm
Morocco's business city
Many factories, banks and offices are in Casablanca. People came from all over Morocco to work here.
Casablanca is the center of Morocco's business and money, Universalis says: its wilaya (governorate) produced half of the country's GDP. Its factories make textiles, food, chemicals, machines and electronics.
As the city grew, planners drew it again and again: Henri Prost planned a new town in 1917, Michel Écochard made a plan in 1950, and a master plan followed in 1984.
Universalis: with its port and very diversified activities, the wilaya (governorate) monopolizes the national economic, productive and financial apparatus, producing 50% of GDP; industry includes textiles, food processing, chemicals, mechanical engineering and electronics. Its growth drew people, goods and activities from all of Morocco, notably at the expense of the old 'imperial cities' (Fès, Marrakech, Meknès). The new town of Henri Prost's 1917 plan, the planning of Michel Écochard (1950) and the 1984 master plan tried to guide its growth; in the 20th century its built-up area grew 150 times, to 20,000 ha in 2000.
- Share of the economy
- the wilaya produced 50% of Morocco's GDP
- Industries
- textiles, food, chemicals, machinery, electronics
- City plans
- Henri Prost (1917), Michel Écochard (1950), a master plan (1984)
Casablanca on the map
Find Morocco on the globe, in the north of Africa. Casablanca is on its Atlantic coast.
Casablanca lies at about 33.6° north, on Morocco's Atlantic coast, in the Grand Casablanca-Settat region.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the old Medina is about 0.5 kilometers west-northwest, the port about 0.6 kilometers east-northeast and the Casablanca Twin Center about 1.8 kilometers southwest. Built-up land stretches along the coast to Mohammedia in the east.
Casablanca lies at about 33.60° N and 7.62° W (Natural Earth point, 0.34 km NNE of the Wikidata point). From the Wikidata point (Q7903): Medina of Casablanca 0.47 km WNW; Port of Casablanca 0.57 km ENE; Casablanca Twin Center 1.83 km SW. The WMO station point (33.57° N, 7.67° W) is 5.65 km SW.
Universalis: the urban area joins Mohammedia (east) to Dar Bouazza (west) along more than 30 km of coast.
- Latitude
- about 33.6° north
- Longitude
- about 7.6° west
- Region
- Grand Casablanca-Settat
Amazing facts
-
People have lived around Casablanca for a very, very long time.
People have lived in the Casablanca area for more than 400,000 years, Universalis says.
Universalis: human presence goes back more than 400,000 years.
-
In 1900, Casablanca was a small town. Now more than three million people live there!
Only about 20,500 people lived in Casablanca in 1900, Universalis says. The 2024 census counted 3,218,036.
Universalis: 20,500 inhabitants in 1900; HCP census of 1 September 2024 (via City Population): 3,218,036.
-
In July and August, almost no rain falls in Casablanca.
In the WMO averages for 1991 to 2020, July gets 0.5 millimeters of rain and August 0.4 millimeters.
WMO 1991–2020, Casablanca: July 0.5 mm, August 0.4 mm; year 410.2 mm.
-
Casablanca's built-up land goes on for a long way along the coast.
Built-up land runs for more than 30 kilometers along the coast, from Mohammedia to Dar Bouazza, Universalis says.
Universalis: the urban area extends along the coast for more than 30 km, joining Mohammedia (east) to Dar Bouazza (west).
Words to know
- port
- a place where ships load and unload goods and people
- Berber
- the Indigenous peoples of North Africa, and their languages
- sultan
- a title for a ruler in some Muslim countries
- medina
- the old walled part of a North African city
- GDP
- the value of everything a country produces in a year
- census
- an official count of all the people in a place
Discovery challenge
-
Casablanca is in which country?
Casablanca is the largest city of which country?
Casablanca, with 3,218,036 people in 2024, is the largest city of which country?
- Morocco
- Egypt
- Kenya
Show the answer
Morocco
Morocco!
Morocco.
Morocco.
-
What was the old name of the town?
What was Casablanca called when it was a Berber capital?
Under which name was the town the capital of the Barghawata kingdom?
- Anfa
- Fès
- Tangier
Show the answer
Anfa
Anfa!
Anfa.
Anfa (8th–11th centuries).
-
When was the town built again?
Around which year was the town rebuilt and named Casablanca?
Deserted for three centuries, the town was rebuilt around which year?
- 1780
- 1980
- 1580
Show the answer
1780
Around 1780!
Around 1780.
Around 1780.
-
Which month is the wettest in Casablanca?
In the WMO averages, which month gets the most rain?
WMO 1991–2020: which month has the highest rainfall, 82.5 mm?
- November
- July
- May
Show the answer
November
November!
November.
November (82.5 mm).
-
How much of Morocco's trade went through the port in 2007?
In 2007, what share of Morocco's foreign trade passed through Casablanca's port?
Universalis: what share of Morocco's foreign trade did the port handle in 2007?
- 40%
- 4%
- 90%
Show the answer
40%
Lots of Morocco's trade: 40%!
40%.
40% (plus the port of Mohammedia's).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Casablanca on Morocco's Atlantic coast.
- Describe how a small town of 1900 became a country's main business city.
- Explain why a port matters for trade.
- Read a climate table and find the dry and wet seasons.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a port city grow faster than cities inland?
- Why do you think city planners kept making new plans as Casablanca grew?
- Casablanca's summers are almost dry. How might that change daily life?
Try at home or in class
- Trade map: draw Casablanca's port and arrows to places its ships might sail to.
- Rain chart: plot the twelve monthly rain totals and color the dry months.
- Plan a new town: draw streets, a square with trees and a port, as city planners do.
Key vocabulary: port, Berber, sultan, medina, GDP, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Casablanca , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Morocco: regions and major cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Haut-Commissariat au Plan
- Casablanca: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Au centre de Casablanca (8177200639).jpg (Maxim Massalitin, 3 September 2012) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.