FACTBOX: Main facts about Morocco

(Reuters) - Here are some facts about Morocco, where voters began casting ballots in a parliamentary election on Friday.

* THE COUNTRY:

AREA: 446,550 sq km (172,414 sq miles), bordering the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Algeria lies to the east and to the southwest lies Western Sahara, a disputed territory which the Rabat government says is part of Morocco.

LANGUAGE: Most people speak Darija, a mixture of Arabic, European and Berber languages. Arabic is the country's official language. Berber languages are spoken in mountainous areas and the south and many Moroccans also speak French or Spanish.

POPULATION: 33 million.

ETHNIC GROUPS: Arab 70 percent, Berber 30 percent.

RELIGION: Mainly Sunni Muslim (99 percent). There are Christian and Jewish minorities.

ECONOMY: Moroccan growth is forecast by the IMF to slow to 2.5 percent in 2007 from 8.1 percent last year due to a slide in farm output following a poor harvest.

-- The slump in agriculture meant the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 1.9 percent in the first quarter from 6.7 percent a year earlier.

-- Construction and public works grew 9.3 percent, underpinned by a state-backed infrastructure and housing drive. The hotel and restaurant sector expanded by 8.1 percent as more tourists visited the kingdom.

-- Farming accounts for up to 17 percent of Morocco's economy but the figure varies widely because of cyclical droughts. Last year saw the best grain harvest in 10 years.

* WHAT HAS HAPPENED:

-- Morocco became an independent sovereign state in 1956, following joint declarations made with France and Spain.

-- The Sultan of Morocco, Mohammed Ben Youssef, adopted the title of King Mohammed V. On his death in 1961, his son succeeded him as King Hassan II and became prime minister. A new constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy was approved by referendum in 1962. King Mohammed VI became sovereign in 1999 after the death of his father.

-- November 2001 - King Mohammed started a controversial tour of Western Sahara, the first by a Moroccan monarch for a decade. Morocco has controlled the former Spanish colony since 1976 despite opposition from the Algerian-backed pro-independence Polisario Front which fought a sporadic guerrilla war for 15 years until 1991.

-- 2003 - U.N. proposed that Western Sahara become a semi-autonomous region of Morocco for a transition period of up to five years, to be followed by a referendum for either independence, semi-autonomy or to be integrated with Morocco. Morocco rejected the plan in 2004.