Béni Mellal-Khénifra () is one of the twelve regions of
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, covering an area of 28,374 km2, and recorded a population of 2,520,776 in the
2014 Moroccan census
The 2014 Moroccan census was held in Morocco between 1 September and 20 September 2014. The census was conducted by the High Planning Commission.Beni Mellal.
Geography
Béni Mellal-Khénifra is located in the interior of the country. It borders
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra () is one of twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco and has a population of 5,132,639 (2024 census). The capital is Rabat.
History
Rabat-Salé-Kenitra was formed in September 201 ...
to the north, Fès-Meknès to the northeast, Drâa-Tafilalet to the southeast, Marrakesh-Safi to the southwest, and Casablanca-Settat to the northwest. In the western and central part of the region is the productive Tadla plains irrigated by the Oum Er-Rbia River. This plain is bracketed by the High Atlas mountains which run through the southern and eastern parts of the region, and the foothills of the Middle Atlas to the north.
Ibrahim Moujahid, a member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. Mohamed Derdouri was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015.
Agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
comprises the majority of the region's economy. Major crops include cereals, beetroot, olives, citrus fruits, and pomegranates; the production of milk and meat is also substantial. The Ouled Abdoun Basin near Khouribga holds 44% of Morocco's
phosphate
Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus.
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...
reserves.
Infrastructure
The A4 expressway connects the region with the rest of the national expressway network, passing through the cities of Beni Mellal, Oued Zem an, d Khouribga as it heads northwest to Berrechid just south of
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa.
RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...
, and there is a rail line with passenger service that runs between Oued Zem, Khouribga, and Casablanca.