Total population   

• 33.8 million inhabitants as at 1 January 2007   
  
• 34.4 million inhabitants as at 1 January 2008 (estimation)  

Working population   

• 10.51 million in mid 2007 (estimation)   
  
• Growing at a rate of 2.5% per year on average since 1999  

Employed population   

• Approximately 9.27 million in 2007, i.e. an increase of 2.9% compared to 2006  

Unemployment rate    

• Estimated at 11.8% in 2007 (compared to 12.5% in 2006)  

Some indications of behavioural change 

• Drop in marriage age (28 years for women and 32 for men)   
  
• Contraception used almost 60% of the time in all social classes   

Development of the spatial distribution of the population: 

• The demographic growth in the country’s north has recorded a certain decline, namely in the central and eastern metropolitan areas.
• Nevertheless, the population continues to grow significantly according to theregions, creating increasingly worrying signs of over-population.  
  
• The High Plateaus and the South have thus recorded relative population increases due to a natural growth which continues to be high.
• This growth is, however, mitigated by the continued rural exodus.