Morocco has become the most industrialised economy in Africa for the first time, displacing South Africa, according to a 2025 report by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The shift reflects a two-decade pro-industry strategy championed by King Mohammed VI, centred on large-scale public and foreign investment, expanding industrial zones, and world-class infrastructure — most notably Tanger Med (the continent's largest port). While Morocco's industrial base has broadened well beyond phosphates and automobiles into sectors such as aeronautics, the AfDB cautions that rapid industrialisation has deepened inequality between prosperous coastal and port-connected regions and more marginalised inland areas, and that the country still struggles to generate sufficient jobs for its population.