Banking and Finance
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The banking and financial markets in the Arab Region are one of the fastest growing worldwide. More than 330 Arab banking and financial institutions operate in the Arab region today, with total banking assets amounting to 140% of GDP, or USD 3.4 trillion, total deposits accounting for more than USD 2.2 trillion and total loans reaching USD 1.9 trillion by the end of 2016.
Capital to assets for Islamic banks
Saudi Arabia - 2017
Saudi Arabia - 2017
Bank noninterest income to total income
Lebanon - 2014
Lebanon - 2014
Mobile account, age group 15+
Egypt - 2017
Egypt - 2017
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Demography
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By 2018, the Arab region was home to 422.7 million inhabitants representing 5.5% of the world’s population and growing by 1.9% in 2018. The three most populous countries in the region are Egypt (99.3 million), Algeria (42 million) and Sudan (41.5 million), while the population in Comoros and Djibouti is less than one million in 2018.
Population by age group, 65+
Palestine - 2018
Palestine - 2018
Urbanization rate
Djibouti - 2015
Djibouti - 2015
Urbanization rate
Bahrain - 2015
Bahrain - 2015
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Education
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The Arab region has registered a remarkable trend of growing gains in educational attainment and more equitable access to formal education since the beginning of the millennium, with impressive progress towards gender parity across all stages of education. Gross primary enrolment reached 98.9% in 2016, up from 90.5% in 2000 and gross tertiary enrollment increased to 73.5% in 2016 up from 61% in 2000. Adult literacy rate also increased from 65% to 75.3% between 2000 and 2016.
Children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health
Jordan - 2012
Jordan - 2012
Proportion of students at the end of lower secondary education achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in mathematics, very affluent socioeconomic background
Syria - 2011
Syria - 2011
Proportion of youth and adults who have created electronic presentations with presentation software
Bahrain - 2016
Bahrain - 2016
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Energy
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The Arab region is one of the world’s richest regions in terms of oil and natural gas resources. According to recent estimates, 42% of the world proven oil reserves and 29% of the world’s proven natural gas reserves are located in the Arab region. Electricity production in the region relies heavily on conventional fuel sources, with a production amounting to 1,050 TWh in 2014, of which only 40 TWh were produced using renewable sources. The electrification rate in 15 Arab countries was above the World average of 85 percent in 2012, with 6 countries reaching 100 percent electrification rate.
Total subsidy, percentage of GDP
Iraq - 2017
Iraq - 2017
Total subsidy, percentage of GDP
Oman - 2014
Oman - 2014
Subsidization rate
Saudi Arabia - 2017
Saudi Arabia - 2017
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Environment
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The Arab region comprises one of the largest deserts in the world making up around 18% of the total surface area of the Arab region. The region is characterized by an arid and semi-arid climate. The rapidly growing population and high urbanization rates exert increasing pressures on the available natural resources.
Percentage of population with access to safe drinking water
Kuwait - 2016
Kuwait - 2016
Proportion of water abstracted, households
Saudi Arabia - 2006
Saudi Arabia - 2006
Proportion of water abstracted, households
Mauritania - 2005
Mauritania - 2005
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Gender
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By 2017, women made up almost half of the total Arab population and 22.6% of the total labor force in the region. With significant improvements made in health and education over the last 15 years, gender-based disparities continue in the labor markets and the political space remains the most challenging for women.
Women in ministerial level positions
Sudan - 2016
Sudan - 2016
Women in ministerial level positions
Syria - 2016
Syria - 2016
Women in ministerial level positions
Yemen - 2016
Yemen - 2016
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Governance
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Some Arab countries have made intense efforts to make their economies more open and to improve their level of competitiveness, such as the United Arab Emirates which ranked 17th, the highest in the region, among 137 countries on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) in 2017-18, followed by Qatar, ranking 25th.
Positive public opinion on current economic situation
Algeria - 2016
Algeria - 2016
Global Open Data Index (GODI)
Algeria - 2015
Algeria - 2015
Percentage of people who think that there is corruption in state agencies
Egypt - 2016
Egypt - 2016
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Health
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The Arab region has made a clear progress in a number of health and health-related outcomes. The average life expectancy increased from 58.5 years in 1980 to 71 years in 2015. Under-five mortality has significantly decreased from an average of 81.2 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 38 per 1000 in 2016.
Anemia prevalence, percentage of pregnant women
Iraq - 2016
Iraq - 2016
Prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adults aged 18+
Egypt - 2010
Egypt - 2010
Domestic general government health expenditure as a percentage of current health expenditure
Oman - 2016
Oman - 2016
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I C T
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Mobile-cellular subscriptions have been substituting fixed-telephone subscriptions in the Arab region. In the former has increased by around 40% between 2010 and 2018 reaching a penetration rate of 103.1% in 2018, whereas fixed-telephone subscriptions have dropped by 7% during the same period reaching a penetration rate of 7.7% in 2018. The percentage of individuals (% of total population) using the internet in the Arab Region has more than doubled in 2018 at 54.7% up from 24% in 2010, with wide variations between the different Arab countries.
Proportion of businesses with an extranet, micro-enterprises, 0-9 employees
Qatar - 2015
Qatar - 2015
Proportion of businesses with an Intranet, Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
Egypt - 2016
Egypt - 2016
Proportion of businesses with a local area network (LAN), medium enterprises, 50-249 employees
Qatar - 2015
Qatar - 2015
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Labor and Employment
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The Arab countries share common labor market features and challenges. The labor force participation rate in the region is the lowest worldwide at 48.6 % in 2017, with highest rates observed in the GCC countries. The unemployment rate in the Arab region remains one of the highest in the world registering 10.2% in 2017 compared to 5.7% worldwide. This rate is especially high among youth at 26.7% in 2017.
Employment distribution by economic activity, public administration and defence, compulsory social security
United Arab Emirates - 2016
United Arab Emirates - 2016
Employment distribution by economic activity, services
Comoros - 2013
Comoros - 2013
Employment rate by education, secondary
Algeria - 2018
Algeria - 2018
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Macroeconomy
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Macroeconomic performance tends to diverge across the Arab countries between major oil and natural gas exporting countries and other countries in the region, such as those plagued by protracted crises. For the Arab region, as a whole, the GDP (Purchasing Power Parity, constant 2011 prices) leveled at Int$ 6,302.6 billion in 2016, constituting 5.6% of the world’s GDP.
General government net lending/borrowing, percentage of GDP
Tunisia - 2019
Tunisia - 2019
Inflation, year-on-year percentage change of the consumer price index, annual average
Comoros - 2017
Comoros - 2017
Inflation, year-on-year percentage change of the consumer price index, end of period prices
Somalia - 2018
Somalia - 2018
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Poverty
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The Arab region witnessed an improvement in its Human Development Index (HDI), from 0.613 in 2000 to 0.699 in 2017, but it remained below the world average of 0.728. Despite this positive overall trend in human development, poverty remains one of the paramount challenges and major impediments to inclusive development in the region, and that’s why “Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” was considered a top priority in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Poverty headcount ratio at lower national poverty line, as a percentage of the population, rural
Syria - 2007
Syria - 2007
Extreme poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line, as a percentage of the population, urban
Mauritania - 2014
Mauritania - 2014
Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day, 2011 PPP, as a percentage of the population
Comoros - 2013
Comoros - 2013
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Trade
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Arab countries’ total share of world exports has doubled since 2000, reaching 7% in 2014. Fuel exports, representing the vast majority of exports in the oil-producing countries, amounted to 73% of the region’s merchandise in 2015. When excluding fuel, the Arab region’s non-oil exports made up 2% of the world exports in 2013 up from 1% in 2000.
Fuel exports, percentage of merchandise exports
Libya - 2010
Libya - 2010
Transport services, percentage of commercial service exports
Egypt - 2017
Egypt - 2017
Fuel imports, percentage of merchandise imports
Comoros - 2013
Comoros - 2013
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Water and Food Security
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In most Arab countries, water has become a critical natural resource. Most countries in the region are classified as arid or semiarid or, receiving less than 250 mm of rainfall annually. Renewable water resources per inhabitant reached 736 m3 in 2014, compared to a world average of about 6,000 m3 per inhabitant, placing 13 out of 22 Arab countries in the category of severe water scarcity at less than 500 m3 per capita.
Prevalence of food inadequacy, 3-year average
United Arab Emirates - 2014
United Arab Emirates - 2014
Sewerage connections, percentage of population
Qatar - 2010
Qatar - 2010
Industrial water withdrawal, percentage of total withdrawal
Saudi Arabia - 2006
Saudi Arabia - 2006
