Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima ( ar, طنجة - تطوان - الحسيمة, ṭanja - tiṭwān - al-ḥusayma; ber, ⵟⴰⵏⵊⴰ ⵜⵉⵟⵡⴰⵏ ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ, ṭanja tiṭwan lḥusima) is the northernmost of the twelve regions 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 Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. It covers an area of 15,090 km² and recorded a population of 3,556,729 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The capital of the region is

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

Geography

Tanger Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...

- Tétouan-

Al Hoceima Al Hoceima ( ber, translit=Lḥusima, label= Riffian-Berber, ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ; ar, الحسيمة; '' es, Alhucemas'') is a Riffian city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It ...

is the northernmost of Morocco's twelve regions. In the north it faces the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

and 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 ...

and borders the Spanish

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territori ...

. It also borders the Moroccan regions of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra to the southwest, Fès-Meknès to the southeast and

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

to the east. The Rif rises in the eastern part of the region and is the location of Al Hoceima National Park and

Talassemtane National Park Talassemtane National Park is a national park in the Rif region of Northern Morocco. The park was created in October 2004 to conserve the last of Morocco's threatened fir forests. Talassemtane is part of the Transcontinental Biosphere Reserve ...

. The land near the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast in the west is less rugged, and the fertile southwestern corner of the region is drained by the Loukkos River.

History

Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima was formed in September 2015 by adding

Al Hoceima Province AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

, formerly part of Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region, to the former

Tangier-Tetouan Tangier-Tétouan ( Berber: ''Tanja-Tiṭṭawin'', ⵜⴰⵏⵊⴰ-ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⵉⵏ; ) was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It covered an area of 11,570 km² and had a population of 3,157,075.2014 cens ...

region.

Government

Ilyas El Omari Ilyas El Omari ( ar, إلياس العماري; born 1967 in Bni Bouayach) is a Moroccan politician. He head Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, and headed the Akhir Saâ press group and was too General Secretary of Authenticity and Modernity ...

, a member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. Mohamed El Yaacoubi was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015. On 18 February 2019, Mohamed Mhidia, former wali of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and governor of Rabat Prefecture, was appointed wali of the region. Fatima El Hassani was elected as president of the Regional Council of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima on 28 October 2019, which makes her the second Moroccan woman to assume such a position.

Subdivisions

Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima comprises two prefectures and six provinces: *

Chefchaouen Province Chefchaouen is a province in the Moroccan economic region of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. According to the 2014 national census in Morocco, the province has more than 457,432 inhabitants. The population is 87.45% rural. The major cities and town ...

* Fahs-Anjra Province * Larache Province * M'diq-Fnideq Prefecture *

Ouezzane Province Ouezzane is a province in the Moroccan region of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. It was created in 2009 from parts of Chefchaouen Province and Sidi Kacem Province, and recorded a population of 300,637 in the 2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan c ...

* Tangier-Assilah Prefecture * Tetouan Province

Economy

Agriculture is a major economic activity in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Major crops include cereals, pulses, olives and sugarcane. Animal husbandry and fishing are also important contributors to the economy. Various free economic zones have been set up in the area surrounding the Tanger-Med container port, one of Africa's busiest, to promote industrial growth and foreign investment. The region is also heavily reliant on tourism.

Infrastructure

The

A1 expressway A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highw ...

connects Tangier with the national capital

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

. There are also two shorter expressways in the region: the A4 bypasses Tangier and links the A1 expressway to the Tanger-Med port, and the A6 connects Tetouan with M'Diq and Fnideq. National Route 2 connects Tangier and Tetouan with Al Hoceima via an inland route, while National Route 16 provides a coastal route between the same cities. National Route 13 branches off the N2 near

Chefchaouen Chefchaouen ( ar, شفشاون, Shafshāwan, ), also known as Chaouen (), is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the "Blu ...

and runs south via Ouezzane to

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

and beyond. Tangier's Ibn Battouta Airport is the busiest airport in the region. Al Hoceima's Cherif Al Idrissi Airport and Tetouan's Sania Ramel Airport also receive commercial flights. The first phase of the Casablanca–Tangier high-speed rail line was opened between Tangier and Kenitra in November 2018.

References

External links

{{Regions of Morocco