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.
Domestic credit to private sector by banks, percentage of GDP
Bahrain - 2015
Bahrain - 2015
Broad money to GDP
United Arab Emirates - 2015
United Arab Emirates - 2015
Liquidity rate, net cash to deposits
Comoros - 2015
Comoros - 2015
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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.
Rural population, percentage of total population
undefined - 2017
undefined - 2017
Urban population, annual growth, five years
Qatar - 2015
Qatar - 2015
Old-age dependency ratio
Libya - 2015
Libya - 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.
Drop-out rate
Jordan - 2015
Jordan - 2015
Expenditure per student, secondary, percentage of GDP per capita
Algeria - 2003
Algeria - 2003
Expenditure per student, primary, percentage of GDP per capita
Algeria - 2003
Algeria - 2003
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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.
Subsidization rate
United Arab Emirates - 2017
United Arab Emirates - 2017
Subsidization rate
Bahrain - 2017
Bahrain - 2017
Total subsidy, percentage of GDP
Algeria - 2017
Algeria - 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.
Proportion of water abstracted, agriculture
Kuwait - 2002
Kuwait - 2002
Protected forest area as a proportion of total forest area
Algeria - 2000
Algeria - 2000
Proportion of water abstracted, agriculture
Syria - 2005
Syria - 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
Yemen - 2016
Yemen - 2016
Women in ministerial level positions
Tunisia - 2016
Tunisia - 2016
Women in ministerial level positions
Lebanon - 2010
Lebanon - 2010
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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.
Physicians, Specialists, public sector
Morocco - 2013
Morocco - 2013
Ministry of health budget out of total government budget
Jordan - 2016
Jordan - 2016
Anemia prevalence, percentage of pregnant women
Somalia - 2016
Somalia - 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 placing orders over the Internet, medium enterprises, 50-249 employees
Jordan - 2008
Jordan - 2008
Proportion of businesses using the Internet for instant messaging, bulletin boards, all enterprises
Palestine - 2011
Palestine - 2011
Proportion of businesses using computers, small enterprises, 10-49 employees
Lebanon - 2011
Lebanon - 2011
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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 education, tertiary
Tunisia - 2014
Tunisia - 2014
Unemployment rate by education, intermediate
Egypt - 2013
Egypt - 2013
Employment distribution by economic activity, industry
Comoros - 2013
Comoros - 2013
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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.
Inflation, year-on-year percentage change of the consumer price index, annual average
Djibouti - 2018
Djibouti - 2018
General government primary net lending/borrowing, percentage of GDP
Yemen - 2018
Yemen - 2018
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains, percentage of tax revenues
Palestine - 2010
Palestine - 2010
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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.
Population near multidimensional poverty
Mauritania - 2011
Mauritania - 2011
Poverty severity at national poverty line
Mauritania - 2014
Mauritania - 2014
Income share held by lowest 20%
Morocco - 2006
Morocco - 2006
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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
Egypt - 2016
Egypt - 2016
Expenditures, international tourism, percentage of total imports
Libya - 2013
Libya - 2013
Agricultural raw materials imports, percentage of merchandise imports
Jordan - 2016
Jordan - 2016
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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.
Cereal import dependency ratio, 3-year average
Egypt - 2009
Egypt - 2009
Municipal water withdrawal, percentage of total withdrawal
Sudan - 2011
Sudan - 2011
Water dependency ratio
Somalia - 2014
Somalia - 2014
