Middle Eastern countries are "rich and oily", why is GDP not ranked among the top ten in the world?Even Saudi Arabia, the "first brother" in the Middle East, can only rank 19th in the world, left behind by South Korea, and even far from catching up with India, which is ranked 5th
In fact, although the Middle East is rich in oil, it is not entirely accurate to say that all Middle Eastern countries are "local tyrants". Because the real oil producing countries are only Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and other countries, and the remaining more than a dozen countries have not earned too many dividends from oil exports.
Oil extraction in the Middle East.
and restricting the economic development of the Middle EastThere are two main factors. The first of these is resourcesI believe that many people will wonder why there is a resource problem when the Middle East is so rich in oil resourcesIn fact, despite the abundance of oil resources, the Middle East is extremely scarce due to climate reasons, which is one of the reasons for the tension in the Middle East.
Most of the Middle East has a tropical desert climate, coupled with the scarcity of rivers and the scarcity of carbon and water resources, which also limits the development of the regional economy to a large extent.
For example, many social production activities require a large amount of water resources, if the first is not available, then industrial production will be affected, therefore, in many parts of the Middle East, "water is more expensive than oil" is not a joke.
With the increasing population and the development of modern industrial production, there are more places to use water, and water resources are becoming more and more scarce, and many regional conflicts are caused by competition for water resources.
Water is scarce in the Middle East.
In addition to the scarcity of water resources, there are also certain problems with oil resources, even if the overall reserves are abundant, but they are unevenly distributed. For example, the proven oil reserves in the Middle East are about 742 billion barrels, of which Saudi Arabia occupies 2,626 barrels and the United Arab Emirates has about 97.8 billion barrels, but some North African countries that also belong to the East African region, such as Egypt, have only 3.1 billion barrels of oil reserves.
For example, Saudi Arabia's GDP is as high as 1,108.1 billion US dollars, while Yemen's GDP is only 21 billion US dollars, which can be called "the poorest country in the Middle East".
In addition, since oil is a non-renewable resource, using a little less is a little less, so these oil-producing countries also have to consider a problem: if the energy is exhausted, the country's economic way out is in the first place
But at the moment, this is not the most troublesome problem for the development of Middle Eastern countries, the imminent thing is how to extinguish the war between Palestine and Israel, about some confrontations between Israel and Palestine these days, there has been a lot of analysis on the Internet, what we want today is not what happened, but why these things happened
Smoke of gunfire in the Gaza Strip.
This brings us to the second factor that restricts economic development in the Middle East – regional instability. To put it bluntly, the Middle East issue is the Palestinian-Israeli issue, and the core of the Palestinian-Israeli issue is the territorial dispute between the two countries, and the two countries have put forward "exclusive" sovereignty claims over the same territory.
After World War II, with the active support of Britain, Israel declared the establishment of a state in Palestine, and was recognized by the United States and the Soviet Union, but the Arab countries did not recognize it, especially the Palestinian peopleAs a result, 5 wars were fought in the Middle East.
The fundamental reason is that the geographical location of the Middle East is too important, connecting the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, connecting the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and connecting the East and the West from ancient times to the present, which makes it a battleground for soldiers.
The reason why the Middle East issue has persisted and cannot be resolved to this day is precisely because it is a product of the game between great powers, and the smoke of gunpowder will not end for a day if the manipulators behind the scenes do not end the curtain.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US ** Biden.
However, years of war have led to the country's economic stagnation and the creation of a large number of refugees, which has had a long-term impact on regional stability.
In addition, the "Arab Spring" set off in 2010 swept almost the entire Arab country, resulting in an increasingly turbulent regional situation, international oil prices, and a more severe regional economic situation. According to the World Bank's statistics at the time, the total GDP growth rate of the Arab world in the six years since then has been negative, adding up to 2$5 trillion.
What is this concept?The total GDP of the 22 Arab countries combined is not as large as that of IndiaIt may sound magical, but this is exactly what happened, and it shows how much of an impact regional instability can have on economic development.
Fortunately, in recent years, Arab countries have begun to develop together, relying on a solid family foundation, by mastering the power of oil pricing, to occupy a place in the global energy field, by 2021, Arab countries' GDP growth has reached 44%, with a total value of more than 2$8 trillion.
GCC. However, due to the fact that these oil-producing countries have long relied on energy, and the national industrial structure is relatively simple, in recent years, some Middle Eastern countries have begun to try to change the track and optimize the economic structure.
For example, Saudi Arabia has been trying to reform its economy in recent years, and Saudi Crown Prince Salman has been committed to promoting Saudi Arabia's economic transformation since he entered the cabinet, attracting foreign investment, and increasing foreign investment, striving to get rid of dependence on oil and diversify the economic structure.
According to United Nations statistics, foreign direct investment to Saudi Arabia reached US$19.3 billion in 2021, an increase of 257% year-on-year. In 2022, the stock of foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia has exceeded $266 billion, and in the first quarter of this year alone, Saudi Arabia completed more than 100 investment transactions with foreign partners.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia has also increased its foreign investment and entered some emerging industries, such as the game industry. It is reported that in the past year or so, Saudi Arabia has spent $8 billion to acquire a number of game companies around the world. In the traditional mining and metals industries, Saudi Arabia is also looking for suitable partners around the world to provide the necessary raw materials for the energy transition.
Saudi Crown Prince Salman.
For example, Saudi Arabia, Brazil's largest mining company, spent $2.6 billion to acquire some shares to obtain copper, nickel and other mineral resources.
As Saudi Arabia strives to transform its economy, its Middle Eastern partners are not far behind, with the UAE and Qatar being two of the most exemplary.
Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE is also reducing its dependence on oil, and has even released a "digital economy strategy" to invest more in areas such as artificial intelligence and develop knowledge-based industries. At the same time, the UAE also takes advantage of its location to develop clean energy, and has reached a cooperation with British companies to jointly develop offshore wind energy in Europe, North America and other countries with a joint venture of 16.2 billion US dollars.
In addition, the UAE has also used the business card of "Dubai" to actively develop business and tourism, attracting more than 13 million international tourists in the first three quarters of 2023 alone, driving regional economic growth and allowing Dubai's tourism industry to recover quickly from the three-year decline of the epidemic.
Dubai, a well-known tourist city in the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar is more interesting, although there is a certain gap between the economic size and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but its popularity is not lower than these two countries at all. Especially the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which used the influence of football to bring the name of Qatar to the world, not only boosted economic growth, but also earned a wave of international favorability.
This is mainly due to Qatar's diplomatic ability, which can not only speak among Arab countries, but also actively establish contacts with the United States and Europe, so it has always become an important role in mediating the situation in the region.
Having said so much, in fact, it is just a sentence, even if it is "God appreciates food, you must be able to catch it", rich energy for Middle Eastern countries, is both an opportunity and a "trap", if you are only satisfied with the status quo and over-exploit oil, then one day you will sit on the mountain.
If we can stand on the cusp of the times, take a long-term view, and choose a new track, then we will usher in new development opportunities, so we can see that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries are trying their best to get rid of their dependence on oil and seek economic diversification.
Qatar World Cup venues.
This also shows that even if Saudi Arabia's GDP cannot enter the top ten in the world now, it does not mean that it will always be left behind by India and South Korea. Opportunities are all on their own, and Saudi Arabia has now taken a crucial step.
But at the same time, it should also be noted that the competition for status in the Middle East is also developing towards a white heat, Saudi Arabia wants to keep the position of "first brother", and the United Arab Emirates and cartels are catching up, and it seems that a "troika" has been formed.
However, in the case of the European Union, Germany and France are also the "two leaders" of the European Union, and while driving the economic growth of the European Union, they are also divided and calculating with each other, and sometimes even hinder the development of the European Union. Whether or not we can stick to our original aspirations and stay on track in the process of development depends on the wisdom of the Middle Eastern countries.