UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

The Arab States
Figure 17.1: Military expenditure in selected Arab states as a % of GDP, 2006–2013
15
11.0
Oman 11.3
10
Saudi Arabia 9.3
7.7
5
0
4.7
4.5*
4.4
3.6
3.5
3.3
3.2*
2.9
2.7
2.7
2.6
1.8
1.4
1.0
4.5
Syria 4.1
Qatar 1.5
UAE 4.7*
Libya 3.3
2006 2007
2008 2009
2010 2011 2012
2013
Algeria 4.8
Lebanon 4.4*
Mauritania 4.0
Bahrain 3.9
Morocco 3.8
Iraq 3.6
Jordan 3.5
Kuwait 3.2
Yemen 2.9
Tunisia 2.0*
Egypt 1.7
*SIPRI estimate
Note: The low figure for Egypt (1.7%) in 2013 only tells half the story, as it excludes the economic activities of the Egyptian armed forces and American aid, which cover
80% of military procurement (Gaub, 2014).
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute database, accessed January 2015
in Jordan and Lebanon, in particular, has been affected by the
massive influx of Syrian refugees since 2011.
Together with Egypt and Sudan, the Mashreq countries
are considered reservoirs of human talent which supply
neighbouring states with teaching faculty, researchers
and both skilled and unskilled workers. Egypt, Iraq Jordan,
Lebanon, Palestine, 4 Sudan and Syria all boast relatively mature
higher education infrastructure that includes some of the
oldest universities in the Arab world, including the American
University of Beirut (1866) and Cairo University (1908).
The Arab Spring has left a big imprint on the Libyan
economy
Since 2008, the Maghreb countries have experienced mixed
fortunes. Whereas the economies of Algeria and Mauritania have
maintained healthy growth rates, countries directly affected by
the Arab Spring have witnessed a more negative trend. Growth
4. On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to grant
Palestine non-member observer status at the United Nations. Palestine has been a
member of UNESCO since 31 October 2011.
slowed to 2.2% in Tunisia and even contracted by 11.6% in Libya
(Table 17.1). However, unemployment rates have remained
unchanged, with variations from one country to another. Despite
average growth of 5.9% between 2011 and 2013, Mauritania’s
unemployment rate was as high as 31% in 2013, indicating that
growth had not been sufficient to provide much-needed jobs.
The Gulf States contribute nearly half of the Arab
world’s GDP
The six Gulf States, which contribute about 47% of total Arab
GDP, are all economically dependent on oil. Some 75 million
people (including a sizeable foreign labour force) belong
to this group, representing around 20.4% of the Arab world
population in 2014 (Table 17.1).
In 2014, the economy slowed in Oman and Qatar, primarily as
a consequence of weaker exports and the drop in both private
consumption and investment. At the same time, Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia emerged from a period of economic contraction,
with several sectors showing signs of recovery, including
housing in Kuwait and banking in Saudi Arabia.
Chapter 17
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