Morocco vs Algeria

Why people mix them up

Morocco and Algeria are neighbours in the Maghreb, the northwest corner of Africa. Both are Arabic-speaking with large Amazigh (Berber) populations, and both recognise Tamazight as an official language. They share the Atlas Mountains, similar food, music and architecture, and a long border. People also often compare them by size and ask which one faces the Atlantic.

How to tell them apart

• Morocco has coasts on both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; Algeria faces only the Mediterranean.
• Algeria is the largest country in Africa, about 2.38 million km², much larger than Morocco.
• Morocco's flag is red with a green five-pointed star outline; Algeria's is split vertically into green and white halves with a red crescent and star.
• The capitals are Rabat (Morocco) and Algiers (Algeria). Morocco's largest city, Casablanca, is not its capital.
• The currencies are the dirham (Morocco) and the dinar (Algeria).
• Morocco sits just across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain; Algeria lies further east, opposite Spain's Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands.

Memory hook

Morocco is the Mouth of the Mediterranean, guarding the Strait of Gibraltar. Algeria is the giant behind it, Africa's biggest country.

On the map

Find the Strait of Gibraltar. The country on the African side, stretching down the Atlantic coast, is Morocco. South of it lies Western Sahara, whose status is disputed and which some maps show as part of Morocco. Algeria is the vast country to the east of Morocco, reaching deep into the Sahara to Mali and Niger. If the country you are tapping touches Tunisia or Libya, it is Algeria.