Economy of the Arab League

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 then 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 is very diverse. 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.

List of member states by GDP (PPP)

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 dollar. 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.cite web
title = Report for Selected Countries and Subjects
work = World Economic Outlook Database
publisher = IMF
date = April 2008
url = 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=
accessdate = 2008-07-24]

"Notes:" :fnb|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.:fnb|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.cite web
title = Field Listing - GDP (purchasing power parity)
work = The world factbook
publisher = CIA
date = 2008-07-15
url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2001.html
accessdate = 2008-07-24] For Palestine, a 2006 estimate was retrieved from the same source which is published as "West Bank (includes Gaza Strip)".

ee also

* Arab League
* List of Arab League countries by GDP
* GAFTA
* Federation of Arab Trade Unions and Labor Societies
* International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions