Fez, Morocco was the capital of Morocco until 1925. Rabat then remained the capital even after Morocco achieved independence in 1955. Despite its traditional character, there is a modern section: the Ville Nouvelle or "New City". Today it is a bustling commercial center. The popularity of the Fez has increased since present ruler, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, married a woman from Fez, Salma Bennani. Place Lalla Yeddouna at the heart of the Medina is currently undergoing reconstruction and preservation measures following a design competition sponsored by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (Washington D.C.) and the Government of the Morocco. The construction projects
Economy of Morocco The high cost of imports, especially of petroleum imports, is a major problem. Morocco suffers both from structural unemployment and a large external debt. Morocco is a fairly stable economy with continuous growth over the past half-century. Current GDP per capita grew 47% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 274% in the 1970s. However, this proved unsustainable and growth scaled back sharply to just 8.2% in the 1980s and 8.9% in the 1990s. This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Morocco at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions