How many poor Arabs are there? Time to find out

Arab nations need to create a common data network and a map for poverty in their region as part of a strategy intended to upgrade their socio-economic information and combat poverty, according to an official Arab group.

Despite widespread poverty in many regional countries, Arab governments still far lag behind in gathering accurate data on local poverty and need to change criteria used in measuring poverty and preparing indexes in this respect, the Khartoum-based Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) said.

In a study released this week, AOAD said a poverty index should be based on family consumption data instead of GDP per capita income.

“To support efforts to fight poverty develop related indicators in the Arab world, regional countries should work on two fronts,” AOAD said.

“The first one should focus on upgrading the mechanisms used in poverty indexes…the second should be aimed at developing and improving the skills of Arab human resources in the field of poverty measurement.”

AOAD, an affiliate of the Cairo-based Arab League, proposed the holding of a regional conference on poverty indicators to pool expertise and exchange views, the creation of a regional poverty data network to be published on AOAD’s website and the preparation of a poverty map in all Arab nations.

“These should include regular publication of poverty indicators in the Arab countries and the preparation of a study on the distribution of wealth,” it said.

“They should also include measurement of poverty in the Arab world using data based on household consumption spending instead of income since this consumption is more associated with the living standards of the family…it also better and more accurately illustrates poverty.”

The study urged all regional funds as well as financial and development establishments to fund training programmes for Arab officials in poverty measurement and in chalking out strategies to combat poverty.

According to another Arab League institution, many regional nations are suffering from poverty because of high population increases and slow economic growth due to poor investment, low exports, flawed economic policies and other factors.

In 2008, poverty rate was above 30 per cent of the total population in such countries as Sudan, Somalia, Mauritania, Djibouti, Yemen, Palestine and Comoros, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund (AMF).

The rate averaged around 19.6 per cent in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Algeria. The AMF said it had no accurate data on poverty in Gulf oil producers but said the rate was relatively low.

Besides those factors, many Arab economies have remained dormant because of conflicts and high defence spending, which was at the expense of development expenditure, according to the Arab League.

Its figures showed defence and security allocation in all nations have averaged as high as 28 per cent of the current expenditure over the past eight years while economic affairs allocations have not exceeded eight per cent.

The figures showed current expenditure totalled around $309 billion in 2007 as it accounted for nearly 72 per cent of the total spending of $430 billion.

At 28 per cent of the current spending, defence and security allocations totalled nearly $86 billion. Economic affairs allocations stood at only $24.7 billion.

“Latest indications point to a decline in poverty rates in some Arab countries but an increase in others…despite the decline in those members, the poverty rates are still considered very high,” said the League’s joint Arab economic report.

The figures showed poverty has declined in Tunisia and Morocco over the past few years but sharply increased in Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and Palestine.

“Poverty in the Arab countries is closely linked to economic growth rates and developments in wealth distribution…economic growth alone is not enough to reduce poverty as wealth re-distribution could not be to the advantage of the poor…Arab states should focus on even and fair distribution of wealth.”

While Arab economies have recorded high growth over the past eight years, it was nominal growth as real growth was relatively weak and much lower than the population growth in some Arab countries, the report said.

High nominal growth over the past few years was mainly a result of a surge in oil prices as the economies of many Arab nations, mainly the Gulf oil producers, recorded low performance and some of them declined during 1990s.

Besides worsening poverty, such developments have resulted in a deterioration of the long-standing joblessness problem in the Arab region, with the number of unemployed persons peaking at nearly 17 million at the end of 2008.

AMF wealth indicators showed Qatar and the UAE were the richest Arab nations in 2008 while Mauritania and Yemen maintained their position as the poorest.

Although it controls more than a fifth of the world’s recoverable oil deposits, Saudi Arabia was the sixth wealthiest Arab country and the least well off in terms of GDP per capita in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The figures showed Qatar’s nominal GDP per capita stood at $70,651 and that of the UAE at $52,574. The report gave no data for 2009 but the per capita income is expected to have receded because of lower oil prices.

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