Even the richest nations have pockets of poverty and destitution, as a quick look at the Western world’s capitals and tech engines like London and San Francisco will show. Many have big problems with homelessness, for example, some of which are visible, some of which are not.
Poverty is measured by the average annual per capita income in a country, but definitions and understanding of poverty can differ. Poverty in a rich-world country, for instance, can be similar yet distinct to poverty in one of the world’s poorest countries.
The World Bank defines ‘extreme poverty’ as a daily income of no more than $2.15. In lower-middle-income countries, the poverty line is $3.65 a day. In high-income countries, it is $6.85 a day. The UN says 1.1 billion people currently live in poverty. Of these, 455 million live in conflict zones.
Longstanding problem
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) continuously monitors government policies aimed at reducing poverty and improving living standards. Indeed, some states have made remarkable progress in raising incomes and living standards.
Yet there are areas of the world where poverty appears particularly stubborn, and Arab countries are no strangers to this persistent suffering. Among the Arab states, where there is no shortage of conflict zones, Somalia is considered the poorest, with an average annual per capita income of $462.
In Yemen, it is $677. In Syria, the average annual per capita income has dropped to $537. In Sudan, it is around $1,100, but recent estimates are hard to come by owing to the civil war. It is $2,100 in Mauritania, $3,136 in Djibouti, $3,500 in Morocco, $3,777 in Tunisia, $3,789 in the occupied Palestinian territories, and $4,088 in Egypt as of 2022.
Some question why. UN Assistant Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Dardari, for instance, thinks per capita annual income in Syria should not be less than $7,500, given its oil wealth. In the Gulf, average incomes are far higher ($82,000 in Qatar and $50,600 in the UAE, for example). Yet across the Arab world, income levels appear to be declining, and unemployment is rising.
Furthermore, oil has not always proved to be a panacea because countries need to let this wealth trickle down to those who need it. The annual per capita income in Iraq, for example, is around $5,512, even though the country produces about 3.5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd).
In 2022, with oil prices high, this equated to a colossal $135bn. Yet despite its carbon wealth, Iraq has faced security challenges, hardship, and war for most of the last half a century and has lost much of its outstanding economic capacity in agriculture, manufacturing, foreign trade, and services. Oil and gas now account for more than 90% of its revenue.
Diverse measurements
Analysts caution that poverty should not be measured solely in terms of per capita income or the minimum daily income threshold. Other forms of poverty are increasingly recognised. They include a lack of access to healthcare, education, housing, drinking water, sewerage, electricity, and other infrastructure needed to improve the quality of life.
Comparing per capita healthcare spending across several Arab countries shows significant disparities. According to the World Health Organisation, annual healthcare spending ranged from $516 per capita in Morocco to $4,065 in the UAE. This is reflected in life expectancy rates, from 78-82 years in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to 72-77 years in states like Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
For generations, a good education has been a core priority for many Arab families, especially in urban centres. During the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, Gulf families often sent their children to study in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, particularly for their secondary and tertiary/university education.
Girls' education was also seen as essential, despite reluctance in some conservative Arab societies. Yet despite this solid foundation, there are still pockets of illiteracy. According to the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO), illiteracy in the Arab world could exceed 100 million by 2030, of whom 62% will be girls or women.
In some Arab countries, such as Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, and Syria, illiteracy is more common in rural areas and in the impoverished slums of big cities, where many suffer from state neglect that includes a lack of educational opportunities, leading to less chance for the young to acquire vocational skills and gain employment.
Another problem is that, in many Arab cities and villages, residents still have to live alongside open sewers. As Victor Hugo said in his novel Les Misérables: "The history of mankind is reflected in the history of its sewers." Open sewers not only emit foul odours but also increase the risk of disease.
A lack of sewerage often goes hand-in-hand with problems such as unreliable water or electricity supply, typically in poorer areas. In such ways, poverty in the Arab world is multi-faceted and not limited to wages, despite their importance.
