Morocco received US$1.77 billion in financing from the World Bank during the 2025 fiscal year, becoming the eighth-largest borrower from the institution’s middle-income lending arm and reinforcing its position as one of the multilateral lender’s key partners in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to newly released data.
The figures, covering commitments approved between July 2024 and June 2025, show that Morocco ranked 11th globally when both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) are combined. The World Bank’s total commitments rose to US$80.8 billion, split between US$40.9 billion from the IBRD and US$39.9 billion from the IDA, its concessional financing window for low-income countries.
Morocco’s entire allocation came from the IBRD, which lends to middle-income and creditworthy low-income states. With US$1.77 billion in commitments, the kingdom surpassed South Africa (US$1.50 billion) and Peru (US$1.21 billion), consolidating its status as one of the region’s top World Bank recipients.
Brazil topped the list of IBRD borrowers with US$3.85 billion, followed by Türkiye (US$3.79 billion), Argentina (US$3.73 billion), Ukraine (US$3.14 billion), the Philippines (US$2.85 billion), Indonesia (US$2.75 billion) and India (US$2.35 billion).
Regional trends and Morocco’s position
Latin America and the Caribbean received the largest share of IBRD commitments, amounting to US$12.4 billion. Europe and Central Asia followed with US$10.5 billion, ahead of East Asia and the Pacific with US$6.4 billion.
The Middle East and North Africa region, which includes Morocco, ranked fourth with US$5.2 billion in approvals. Morocco alone accounted for 34 percent of that regional total, reflecting the scale of its reform agenda and its longstanding reliance on World Bank financing for infrastructure, climate resilience and social-sector programmes.
The country has deepened its partnership with the lender in recent years as it seeks to accelerate structural reforms, expand renewable energy capacity and strengthen disaster-management systems following a series of severe climate-related shocks. The Bank has also supported Morocco’s flagship social-protection overhaul, including the rollout of universal health insurance and plans to expand targeted cash-transfer schemes.
IDA lending led by Africa and South Asia
While the IBRD focuses on middle-income economies, the IDA provides grants and highly concessional loans to the world’s poorest countries. In 2025, the IDA committed US$39.9 billion across 303 projects, with 78 countries deemed eligible.
Nigeria was the top recipient with US$3.15 billion, followed closely by Bangladesh (US$3.05 billion). Ethiopia received US$2.44 billion, while Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo each secured US$1.49 billion.
Some countries, including Nigeria, receive both IDA and IBRD financing, a classification known as “blend” status, reflecting their mixed development and credit profiles.
Broader multilateral lending backdrop
The latest figures come as multilateral development banks face mounting pressure to expand their balance sheets and mobilise more private capital to help developing countries respond to climate change, debt vulnerabilities and slowing global growth. The World Bank has been reforming its lending framework to boost its capacity, including by adjusting capital adequacy rules and expanding the use of guarantees.
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For Morocco, the 2025 allocation strengthens its role as one of the MENA region’s most active borrowers. The kingdom has relied heavily on multilateral financing since the mid-2010s to fund its renewable-energy transition particularly solar and wind projects and to modernise transport infrastructure, including highways and port expansions.
In recent years, the Bank has also backed Morocco’s efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness, especially after the 2023 earthquake, and to mitigate the economic impact of recurrent droughts that have strained water supplies and agricultural output.
Morocco has maintained a long-standing partnership with the World Bank since 1962, making it one of the institution’s most consistent and active borrowers in the Middle East and North Africa region. Over the past decade, Rabat has increasingly relied on World Bank financing to support structural reforms, infrastructure expansion, social protection programmes, and climate-resilience efforts.
The country has shifted its development strategy in recent years to align with the New Development Model (NDM) unveiled in 2021, which calls for reducing regional inequality, boosting competitiveness, modernising the state administration, and supporting private-sector-led growth. The World Bank has been a key partner in financing this transition, particularly through policy-based loans that back fiscal reforms, decentralisation and public-sector governance.
