ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Lands of Wealth and Poverty

- Southwest Asia and North Africa is a region of both incredible wealth and depressing
poverty. While a few of its countries enjoy great prosperity, due mainly to natural
resources such as petroleum and natural gas; other nations in the region are among the
least developed in the world. As you can see in this table, let’s just pay attention to the
GDP AVERAGE ANNUAL PERCENTAGE GROWTH (2000-2008). Wealthy countries such as
Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates, they all have high rate of average GDP. Qatar
reached 9.0%, Kuwait reached 8.4% and United Arab Emirates reached 7.8%. They are
all desirable numbers, aren’t they? However, this number in Iraq was -11.4%, in Gaza
and West Bank was -0.9%,
- The global recession of 2008-2010 has had profound social consequences: Investments
in education, health care, and new employment opportunities have slowed considerably
in many countries.
- Petroleum will play an important role in region’s future economic relationships with the
rest of the world. Many countries in the area also have focused on developing
agriculture output, investing in new industries and promoting tourism to broaden the
regional economic base. In addition, access to information and the connection between
the region and the rest of the world will shape the development within the region too.
- Example:
 Low % of cellphone technology in some nations such as Egypt, Sudan, and Iran
suggests basic investments remain lacking, while areas like Israel and many
Persian Gulf states with very high cellphone usage are related with greater
affluence.
 Internet use varied highly, ranging from 1% (Yemen) to more than 50% of the
population in United Arab Emirates

The Geography of Fossil Fuels

- Saudi Arabia is one of the major producers of petroleum in the world. Iran, the United
Arab Emirates, Libya, and Algeria also contribute significantly.
- Overall, with only 7% of the world’s population, this region holds up to 60% of the
world’s proven oil reserves
- The world’s largest concentration of petroleum lies within the Arabian-Inranian
sedimentary basin, a geological formation that extends from northern Iraq and western
 Iran to Oman and the lower Persian Gulf. And it’s not surprising that the world’s densest
concentration of OPEC members is found in this area.
- Even with all these riches, the geography of fossil fuels is strikingly uneven across the
region. Some states – even those with tiny populations (Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait for
example) – contain incredible fossil fuels reserves, while many countries with millions of
regional inhabitants reap relatively few benefits from the oil and gas economy.

Regional Economic Patterns

- Some oil-rich countries have prospered greatly since the early 1970s, but in many cases
fluctuating oil prices, political disruptions, and rapidly growing populations have reduced
prospects for economic growth.
- Other nations, although poor in oil and gas reserves, have seen brighter prospects
through moves toward greater economic diversification.
- Some coutries in the region are subject to persistent poverty, where rapid population
growth and the basic challenges of economic development combine with political
instability to produce very low standards of living.

Higher-Income Oil Exporters

- Nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates
benefit from fossil fuel production, as well as from their relatively small populations.
Investments in transportation networks, urban centers, other petroleum-related
industries, new schools, medical facilities, lowcost housing, and modernized agriculture
have reshaped the cultural landscape and significantly raised the standard of living in
the past 40 years.
- But problems still remain: Such fluctuations in world oil market like the recent economic
downturn (2008-2010) will inevitably continue in the future.
- In addition, countries such as Bahrain and Oman are faced with the problem of
depleting their reserves over the next 20 to 30 years.

Lower-Income Oil Exporters

- In North Africa, Algerian oil and natural gas overwhelmingly dominate its exports, but
the past 15 years have also brought political instability and increasing shortages of
 consumer goods. The mismanagement of the economy was one of the reasons that
pushed ppl to protest. Youth unemployment in particular is a cause for concern.
- In Southwest Asia, Iraq faces huge economic and political challenges such as war.
Therefore, Iraq suffers from extremely high unemployment, more than 20% of the
population remains malnourished (suy dinh duong), only 25% of the country is served by
dependable electricity

Prospering Without Oil

- Some countries, while lacking petroleum resources, still have found paths to increasing
economic prosperity.
- Ex: Israel supports one of the highest standards of living in the region, even with its
political challenges thanks to large amount of investments to productive agriculture,
industrial base, high tech computer and telecommunications products.

Regional Patterns of Poverty (Sudan, Egypt, Yemen)

- Sudan: political problems. Civil war has resulted in major food shortages. No investment
into transportation and communications systems
- Egypt: many Egyptians live in poverty. Gap between rich and poor widened (Cairo
Slums). Widespread illiteracy. Brain drain phenomenon
- Yemen: poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula. High unemployment and marginal
subsistence farming remain widespread across the country.

Impact of Globalization: Resources

- While the initiative also includes wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric
components, the key source in the green energy network will be thousands of
concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) collectors that will be built across vast portions
of North Africa and the Middle East
- This plan calls for a major axis of collecting panels to extend through Morocco with
other portions of the network gathering energy from Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
- Eventually, the network might be extended further into the Sahara Desrt as well as
across the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Once in Europe, the electricity will be targeted to consumers in settings such as
Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and Great Britain.
Development of Dubai

- Early in 2010, the Burj Dubai was officially completed in the United Arab Emirates,
became the world’s tallest free-standing structure in the world at over 2,625 feet
(800m) with 160 stories. After booming for years, the city witnessed a spectacular crash
in real estate values that threatened the stability of regional banks and governments.
- Before the crash, Dubai was not only famous for eye-popping skyscrapers but also for its
fabricated (artificial) islands in the shapes of palm trees and the world map.
- Its leader, the ruling al-Maktoum family, still aspire to make it a global city that
competes with London, Tokyo, NY, and HK.
- Burj al Arab, a seven-star hotel in the shape of a sail, is one of the most dramatic visual
symbols of affluence in the region, and also the first seven-star hotel in the world.

A Woman’s Changing World

- The role of women in the largely Islamic region also remains a major social issue: Female
labor rates in the workforce are among the lowest in the world; large gaps exist
between male and female literacy; few women are allowed to work outside the home;
(Saudi Arabia) women are not allowed to drive; (Iran), full veiling remains mandatory
when women appear in the public.
- Yet in some places women’s roles are changing, many young Algerian women
demonstrate the pattern. Today, 70% of Algeria’s lawyers and 60% of its judges of
women. In Sudan and Saudi Arabia, a growing number of women pursue high-level
careers. In the Western Sahara, Sahawari women play a leading role in the country’s
political fight for independence from Morocco and social freedoms (including the right
to divorce their husbands)