Oriental région or Oujda region ( ar, الشرق, aš-šarq; ber, ⵜⴰⴳⵎⵓⴹⴰⵏⵜ, tagmuḍant) is one of the twelve

regions of Morocco Regions are currently the highest administrative divisions in Morocco. Since 2015, Morocco officially administers 12 regions, including one (Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab) that lies completely within the disputed territory of Western Sahara and two (L ...

, located in the north-eastern part of the country. It covers an area of 90,127 km² and has a population of 2,314,346 (2014 census) and is the easternmost region of Morocco. The capital and the largest city is

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

, and the second largest city is

Nador Nador ( Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⴷⵓⵔ) is a coastal city and provincial capital in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco with a population of about 161,726 (2014 census). Nador city is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a salt lagoon nam ...

. The region includes 7 provinces and one prefecture. Mohamed Mhidia became wali (governor) of the region in 2015. A majority of the population of Oriental speak Moroccan Arabic (86.2%) as a first or second language. A large minority speak the

Rif-Berber Tmazight or Tarifit Berber, also known as Riffian ( rif, Tmaziɣt , ) is a Zenati Berber language spoken in the Rif region in northern Morocco. It is spoken natively by some 1,271,000 Rifians primarily in the Rif provinces of Al Hoceima, Nador ...

language (38.4%) as a first language. Small numbers speak Eastern Middle Atlas Tamazight and Figuig Tamazight, principally in the south of Oriental.

Etymology

The English name ''Oriental'' is derived from the French term ''L'Oriental'' (for "the east") and comes directly from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''orientalis'', "of the east", being that the region is located in the east of Morocco. The Arabic name ''Ash-Sharq'' also means "the east", as does the Berber name ''Tagmuḍant'' (from agmuḍan).

Geography

Oriental is situated in the northeastern part of the country, with a northern coastline on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. The region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, lie to its northwest,

Fès-Meknès Fès-Meknès or Fez-Meknes ( ar, فاس-مكناس, fās maknās; ber, ⴼⴰⵙ-ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, fas mknas) is among the twelve Regions of Morocco. It has a population of 4,236,892 (2014 census). Its capital is Fez. Its current president is M ...

to its west,

Drâa-Tafilalet Drâa-Tafilalet ( ar, درعة - تافيلالت, darʿa - tāfīlālt; ber, ⴷⵔⴰ ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ, drɛa tafilalt) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 88,836 km2 and had a population of 1,635,008 as ...

to the southwest, with the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n provinces of

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...

and

Naâma Naâma (Arabic: النعامة or نعامة) is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria, of which it is the province seat. It is coextensive with the district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is ...

to its east and

Béchar Béchar ( ar, بشار) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth ...

to the south.

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

, a Spanish autonomous city, also borders the region. In 2015, Oriental was expanded to include

Guercif Province Guercif () is a Provinces of Morocco, province in the west of Oriental (Morocco), Oriental, Morocco. Its formed in 2009. The provincial capital is at Guercif. Administrative divisions Guercif province is divided into 1 municipality (Urban commune) ...

. The region is made up into the following prefectures and provinces: Région de l'oriental

Berkane Province Berkane Province (Berber: Aberkan, ⴱⴻⵔⴽⴰⵏ, Arabic: بَركان) is located in northeastern Morocco in the area of Aït Iznasen. It is bounded by the Mediterranean to its north, the Kiss Oued (Moroccan-Algerian border) and Oujda Prefe ...

Driouch Province Driouch Province ( rif, Ddriwec, ⴷⴷⵔⵉⵡⴻⵛ; ar, الدريوش) is a province in Morocco that was formed in 2009 by dividing the Nador Province into two parts, all falling under the Oriental administrative region of northeastern Moro ...

Figuig Province The Figuig Province (Arabic: إقليم فكيك) is a province in the Oriental Region of Morocco. Its capital is Bouarfa. It recorded a population of 138,325 in the 2014 Moroccan census, up from 129,430 in 2004. The major cities and towns are: ...

Jerada Province Jerada (Arabic: جرادة, Berber: Ijṛaden) is a province in the Oriental Region of Morocco. Its population in 2004 was 105,840. The major cities and towns are: * Ain Bni Mathar * Jerada * Oued Heimer * Sidi Boubker * Touissit Subdivisions T ...

Nador Province Nador is a province in the Oriental Region of Morocco. Its population in 2014 was 564,943. It is situated east from Driouch Province and west from Berkane Province. Major cities and towns The major cities and towns are: * Al Aaroui * Beni E ...

Oujda-Angad Prefecture Oujda-Angad Prefecture (; ar, عمالة وجدة-أنكاد) is an urban prefecture located within the Oriental Region, of northeast Morocco. The north of the province is a part from the historical region of Béni Iznassen tribes ( Aït Izna ...

Taourirt Province Taourirt is a province in the Oriental Region of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atla ...

Municipalities by population (2014)

References

External links

Oriental web portal in French

Figuig in English, French and Arab
{{Authority control