WID.world released its 2022 annual inequality data update for the Middle East.
The last decade was one of the most turbulent decades for the Middle East. The rising inequality led to a series of popular movements, which called for more social justice, shedding light on the high level of inequality in the region compared to the rest of the world. This was accompanied by a pandemic which exacerbated the situation especially of the most vulnerable and those depending on daily income. Our findings show that the regional top 10% share has been persistently high for the last four decades, capturing 56% of the national income and that of the bottom 50% has been persistently low capturing only as little as 10% in 2021. The Middle East is thus a highly unequal region, with Gulf countries mainly driving the regional inequality. Moreover, this high level of inequality is not driven by between-country inequality but rather by within-country inequality.
Link to Issue Brief by Rowaida Moshrif.
Link to Technical Note providing details on data series and methods.
Contact WID.world’s Middle East Coordinator for any question about the data and the region: rowaida.moshrif@psemail.eu
For further media enquiries: press@wid.world
