"The Arab Humań Development Reports 2002 and 2003, prepared by a group of leading
Arab intellectuals under the auspices of the UNDP and the Arab Fund for Social and
Economic Development brought a very pessimistic view of the Arab world.1 The combined
gross domestic product of the 22 Arab countries was lesser than Spain’s. Labor
productivity in these countries dropped between 1960 and 1990, while it soared elsewhere
in the world. Even Africa outperformed the Arab world in rates of economic
growth. An exploding population cannot be supported by scarce resources and every
other citizen is ready to emigrate. At the same time, the wealthiest 85,000 Saudis have
overseas assets of $700 billions."(...
