Economy of the Arab League

Arab League

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The Arab League is rich in resources, with enormous oil and natural gas reserves. It also has great fertile lands in the south of Sudan, an area usually referred to as the food basket of the Arab World. The region's instability has not affected its tourism industry, which is considered the fastest growing sector in the region, with Egypt, the UAE, Lebanon, Tunisia and Jordan leading the way. Another industry that is growing steadily in the Arab League is telecommunications. Within less than a decade, local companies such as Orascom and Etisalat have managed to successfully compete internationally as global power players.

Economic achievements among member states have been low in the League's history. Other smaller Arab organizations, such as the GCC, have achieved more than the League has. However, lately there has emerged several major economic projects that slated to be completed soon that appear promising. Of these, the Arab Gas Pipeline, a project which hopes to funnel Egyptian and Iraqi gas to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and then to Turkey and Europe, is scheduled to reach completion by the year 2010. The GAFTA free trade agreement is to be completed by the January 1, 2008, effectively rendering 95% of all Arab products free of customs tax.

The economic development in the Arab League exhibits a great diversity. There is a significant difference between, on the one hand, the rich oil states of the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and on the other hand, the poor countries like the Comoros, Mauritania and Djibouti. For instance, the GDP per capita of the wealthiest Arab Country and the wealthiest in the world, Qatar, is 73 times higher than that of Mauritania.[1]

Contents

Free trade agreements

Main article: Council of Arab Economic Unity

List of member states by GDP (PPP)

Further information: List of countries by GDP (PPP) and List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita

This following table lists the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Arab League and its member states based on purchasing power parity (PPP) and measured in US dollars. If not indicated otherwise, the figures are based on the 2007 data published by the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, in April 2008.[2]

Country GDP (PPP) US$M GDP (PPP) US$ per capita
 Arab League[1] 2,765,867 7,682
 Saudi Arabia 618,744 23,701
 Egypt 496,604 6,347
 Algeria 252,189 7,104
 Morocco 193,150 5,866
 United Arab Emirates 182,876 40,175
 Kuwait 140,589 38,984
 Iraq[2] 111,500 3,570
 Syria 105,238 5,043
 Qatar 102,147 90,149
 Sudan 98,926 2,464
 Libya 96,138 14,884
 Tunisia 86,086 8,254
 Oman 74,431 25,109
 Lebanon 58,576 14,988
 Yemen 58,218 2,457
 Jordan 35,300 5,956
 Bahrain 28,275 27,214
 Palestine[3] 11,950 2,900
 Mauritania 6,326 2,037
 Somalia[4] 5,731 600
 Djibouti 2,101 2,549
 Comoros 772 1,159
Country/Organization GDP (PPP) US$M GDP (PPP) US$ per capita
 World 64,903,263 10,060
 European Union 14,712,369 30,521
 United States 13,843,825 45,845
 People's Republic of China 6,991,036 5,292
 Japan 4,289,809 33,577
 India 2,818,867 2,659
 Arab League[5] 2,765,867 7,682
 Russia 2,087,815 14,692

Notes:

^a The IMF source does not provide data for the compound Arab League. The total GDP figure has been calculated as the sum of the GDPs of the member states. The per capita value is derived on the basis of the population stated in the infobox.
^b The IMF source does not provide data for this country. The reported figures are taken from a 2007 estimate of the CIA published in the CIA factbook.[3] For Palestine, a 2006 estimate was retrieved from the same source which is published as "West Bank (includes Gaza Strip)".

References

  1. ^ The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007. World Economic Forum. 2007. http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Arab%20World%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm 
  2. ^ "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". World Economic Outlook Database. IMF. April 2008. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2013&ssm=1&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=subject&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=36&pr1.y=10&c=446%2C612%2C672%2C419%2C682%2C686%2C449%2C632%2C453%2C611%2C456%2C469%2C463%2C744%2C466%2C439%2C443%2C474&s=PPPGDP%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 2008-07-24. 
  3. ^ "Field Listing - GDP (purchasing power parity)". The world factbook. CIA. 2008-07-15. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2001.html. Retrieved 2008-07-24. 

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