Beirut, March 3 The Arab economy accounts for nearly five per cent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with Qatar being the richest country in the region, according to a new report released on Monday by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Dubbed "Real sizes of Arab economies between 2017 and 2023," the report analyses the results of the International Comparison Programme (ICP) and the Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) of Arab currencies over seven years, from 2017 to 2023.
It reveals that the average per capita income in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries surpasses the world average. Qatar, ranked as the wealthiest Arab country, holds the fourth spot globally, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 12th place and Bahrain in 26th. In contrast, Somalia and Syria have among the lowest per capita incomes worldwide.
Majed Skaini, the regional programme manager of the ICP for the Arab region at ESCWA and the report's author, noted that while Qatar ranks as the richest in the Arab region by GDP per capita, it places third in terms of material well-being, measured by Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) per capita, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the report, the UAE ranks highest in the Arab region for material well-being, coming in 24th globally, followed by Kuwait in 37th and Qatar in 38th.
Regarding the size of their economies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the two largest in the region, contributing 27 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, to the regional economy and ranking among the world's top 20 economies.
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