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.
Weighted average interest rate on deposits in local currency at commercial banks
Lebanon - 2016
Lebanon - 2016
Bank concentration
Yemen - 2015
Yemen - 2015
Banks Deposit interest rate
Iraq - 2016
Iraq - 2016
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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.
International migrant stock, percentage of population
Saudi Arabia - 2017
Saudi Arabia - 2017
Urban population, annual growth, five years
United Arab Emirates - 2015
United Arab Emirates - 2015
Population growth rate
Oman - 2019
Oman - 2019
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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.
Schools with access to electricity, public, lower secondary
Egypt - 2016
Egypt - 2016
Children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being
Iraq - 2011
Iraq - 2011
Public spending on education, percentage of government expenditure
Yemen - 2008
Yemen - 2008
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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
Qatar - 2017
Qatar - 2017
Subsidization rate
Oman - 2014
Oman - 2014
Total subsidy, percentage of GDP
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.
Mountain Green Cover Index
Morocco - 2017
Morocco - 2017
Average proportion of Terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) covered by protected areas, lower bound
Comoros - 2018
Comoros - 2018
Marine protected areas, percent of territorial waters
Iraq - 2017
Iraq - 2017
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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.
Female share of employment in managerial positions, total management
Algeria - 2017
Algeria - 2017
Firms with female participation in ownership, percent of firms
Egypt - 2016
Egypt - 2016
Women in ministerial level positions
Mauritania - 2016
Mauritania - 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.
Percentage of people who think that the government is working to crackdown on corruption and root out bribes
Algeria - 2016
Algeria - 2016
Percentage of people who think that judges and magistrates are involved in corruption
Libya - 2013
Libya - 2013
Percentage of people who think that government officials are involved in corruption
Lebanon - 2016
Lebanon - 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.
Hib3 vaccination coverage, percent of one-year-old children
Sudan - 2017
Sudan - 2017
Obesity prevalence, percentage of total population, age group 18+, male
Libya - 2016
Libya - 2016
Prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adults aged 18+
Egypt - 2016
Egypt - 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. 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 using the Internet for interacting with general government organizations, Financial and insurance activities
Qatar - 2015
Qatar - 2015
Proportion of businesses using the Internet, Manufacturing
Qatar - 2015
Qatar - 2015
Proportion of businesses using the Internet by fixed broadband access, micro-enterprises, 0-9 employees
Egypt - 2008
Egypt - 2008
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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.
Unemployment rate, other urban
Iraq - 2008
Iraq - 2008
Employment distribution by education, preparatory
Morocco - 2016
Morocco - 2016
Vulnerable employment, percentage of male employment, male
Morocco - 2018
Morocco - 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.
Interest payments received, percentage of total revenues
Tunisia - 2012
Tunisia - 2012
Agriculture share of Government Expenditure
Egypt - 2017
Egypt - 2017
General government net lending/borrowing, percentage of GDP
Morocco - 2019
Morocco - 2019
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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 national poverty line, as a percentage of the population, rural
Comoros - 2014
Comoros - 2014
Extreme poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line, as a percentage of the population, urban
Djibouti - 2002
Djibouti - 2002
Poverty gap, according to household monthly consumption
Palestine - 2017
Palestine - 2017
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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.
Tariff rate, applied, simple mean, all products
Djibouti - 2014
Djibouti - 2014
Agricultural raw materials imports, percentage of merchandise imports
Bahrain - 2016
Bahrain - 2016
Tariff rate, applied, simple mean, primary products
Tunisia - 2016
Tunisia - 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.
Degree of integrated water resources management implementation, medium high
Jordan - 2017
Jordan - 2017
Open defecation, percentage of population
Saudi Arabia - 2015
Saudi Arabia - 2015
Food imports, percentage of total merchandise exports, 3-year average
Qatar - 2012
Qatar - 2012
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Youth
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Adolescents and youth (10-24 years old) in the Arab region currently account for nearly third of the total population. They are the agents of change, who have the potential to build a more prosperous and stable future for themselves and their communities. The region has experienced remarkable advances in education since year 2000. Secondary gross enrolment increased from 61.0 percent in 2000 to 74.2 percent in 2017. However, many economies in the region fail to absorb new entrants to the labor market. Youth unemployment rate in the region is the highest in the world, at 25.7 percent.
Percentage of volunteers, age group 25-30
United Arab Emirates - 2017
United Arab Emirates - 2017
Percentage of volunteers, age group 15-19
United Arab Emirates - 2017
United Arab Emirates - 2017
Percentage of volunteers, age group 20-25
United Arab Emirates - 2017
United Arab Emirates - 2017
