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Morocco`s biggest "export" is people

Just eight watery miles from Tangier, Morocco, Spain is the primary entryway to Europe for the approximately 30,000 Moroccans who emigrate each year. Around 4 million Moroccans live abroad - roughly 12 percent of the country`s population. Spain is home to Europe`s second largest Moroccan community.

The reasons for this exodus, says Mehdi Lahlou, a professor of economics at the National Institute of Statistics and Economics at Rabat, Morocco, are readily apparent: poverty and unemployment. "Thirty years ago, when the economic levels of Spain and Morocco were the same, Moroccans didn`t emigrate there," says Mr. Lahlou. "But now the economic difference between Spain and Morocco is 20 to 1."

Morocco",s gross national product per inhabitant is just $3,600 - barely a sixth of Spain",s. Its unemployment rate, nearly 20 percent in urban areas, is more than twice that of its northern neighbor. For Spain, Morocco",s emigrant tide is both boon and threat. It bolsters the economy by bringing countless workers who will take jobs Spaniards no longer want, but it also raises concerns within local Spanish communities about security, unemployment, and social stability.