The economy of the Arab League is the economy of the member states of the
Arab League. The economy is primarily dependent on exports of oil and natural gas; in recent years however, tourism has grown rapidly, becoming the fastest growing sector in the region.
The
Greater Arab Free Trade Area, founded in 1997, is a pan-Arab free trade area that effectively rendered 95% of all
Arab World
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
products free of
customs tax.
The economic development in the
Arab League exhibits a great diversity. There is a significant difference imbalance in the wealth between the rich oil states of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
and
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and the developing nations within the League, such as
Comoros,
Mauritania and
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
.
Free trade agreements
GDP and GDP per capita of member states
Based on latest figures and estimates, the Arab League has a total GDP of approximately
$7.1 trillion at
purchasing power parity, or
US$2.4 trillion at nominal values. The member state with the highest total GDP is Saudi Arabia at $2.002 trillion (PPP), or 1,040 billion in current US dollars (nominal), followed by Egypt at $1.562 trillion (PPP). Comoros has the lowest GDP at $3.2 billion (PPP), or US$1.3 billion at nominal, followed by Djibouti at $6.7 billion (PPP).
The country with the highest GDP per capita is
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, at $114,789 (PPP), IMF PPP per capita or US$84,514 (nominal).
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
has the lowest, with a nominal GDP per capita of US$5499.96 or $1,299.96 (PPP). Therefore,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
's nominal GDP per capita is around 156 times as high as that of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
.
List
.
Notes
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20080506173842/
*http://www.amf.org.ae/venglis
Full text of the Agadir Agreement (English version)''The Agadir Agreement and Open regionalism'' by Steffen Wippel{{Arab League
Arab League
International economic organizations
Trade blocs