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Post World War II and independence

When Morocco achieved independence in 1956, Mohammed V, the then King of Morocco, chose to have the capital remain at Rabat. Rabat's growth continued unabated. The most important demographic shift after independence was the exodus of foreign nationals and their replacement by Moroccans, who gradually took over the jobs and functions that the foreigners had occupied. In the census of 1971, the population of Rabat had grown to around 368,000, of which only 3.5% were foreigners.

Following World War II, the United States had established a military presence in Rabat at the former French air base. By the early 1950s, Rabat Salé Air Base was a U.S. Air Force installation hosting the 17th Air Force and the 5th Air Division, which oversaw forward basing for Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-47 Stratojet aircraft in the country. With the destabilization of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the U.S. Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. SAC felt the Moroccan bases were much less critical with the long range capability of the B-52 Stratofortresses that were replacing the B-47s and with the completion of the USAF installations in Spain in 1959. With the USAF withdrawal from Rabat-Salé in the 1960s, the facility became a primary facility for the Royal Moroccan Air Force known as Air Base Nº 1, a status it continues to hold.

The fifth Arab League summit took place in Rabat in 1969 to discuss the arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Australian citizen Denis Michael Rohan. In the same year, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, an organization that aims to protect the interests of the Muslim world, was founded at a summit in Rabat. The 1974 Arab League summit was also held in Rabat. The summit recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In 1985, the sixth edition of the Pan Arab Games was held in Rabat.

In 2015, the city became part of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra administrative region. On 28 February 2024, Asmaa Rhlalou declared her resignation, months after she sparked a controversy that called into doubt her authority and validity within the City Council.