Arab development challenges report 2011

This second Development Challenges Report, coming at a time when the region is passing through a critical historical juncture, attempts to go beyond the numbers to uncover processes that have underpinned mutually reinforcing drivers of social, economic and political exclusion. This report argues that the development model followed in the Arab region can be placed on a more socially just foundation. While 50 percent of the Arab population is rural, agriculture, their primary economic activity, accounts for no more than 15 percent of Arab GDP. The region managed to reduce the overall unemployment rate from a level of 12 percent in 1990 to 9.3 percent by 2010, but the Arab region still holds the highest unemployment rate among developing regions. The share of women working in non-agricultural jobs is extremely low. At less than 20 percent, it is the lowest amongst developing regions.