Middle East Economy, Central Asia Economy, Middle East Economic Profile
Middle East nations are mostly known for their oil reserves. Whereas some of them do have diversified economies. In comparison Central Asia is a naturally endowed region with a high literacy rate and high quality human resource. However this region is yet to fully achieve its economic potential.
Middle East
Middle East refers to a host of nations ranging from likes of United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon to Turkey. Middle East nations are actually part of Asia. Poor nations like Gaza and Yemen coexist here with rich countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia. Some middle east nations ( like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE ) have economies that are highly dependent on export of oil and oil-related commodities. Whereas nations like Egypt possess a diverse economic base. Main industries here include oil, tourism, banking, agriculture, defense equipments, surgical instruments, dairy, leather products to name a few. Total regional rate of unemployment was 13.2% in 2005 as per data released by International Labor Organization.
Overall this region experienced a positive growth rate in 2007. As per data released by IMF in April 2008, Saudi Arabia and Iran amassed $ 376,029,000,000 and $ 294,089,000,000 amount of nominal GDP in 2007.They were biggest grossers among middle east nations in terms of GDP. In terms of income (which was per capita based) top three nations were Qatar, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates with respective figures of $80,900, $39,300 and $37,300. In lower rung of PPP were Afghanistan, Gaza and West Bank.
At present, Central Asia comprises five independent countries of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Central Asian economy possesses around four percent of known global oil reserves. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have already economically benefited from this natural reserve. This region also has reserves of gold, molybdenum, zinc and uranium. Nations in this region also have huge hydroelectric potential due to its unique topography. Central Asia is world's second biggest cotton producer. It also produces high-quality vegetables and fruits. However despite its huge potential Central Asian economy has remained poorest among developing nations. In 2002, average per capita GNP of this region was $726. Unemployment is also fairly high in this region. Development in this region in concentrated in pockets and has not spread out evenly all through. Human resources of this region are highly advanced. Literacy rates are very high here.
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