Kuwait Recorded The Second Lowest Level Of Government Spending Among Arab Countries

In a report it recently issued dealing with economic developments in the Arab countries during 2021, the Arab Monetary Fund stated that despite the positive repercussions of developments in the oil markets on the Gulf economies, it indicates at the same time the need for Kuwait to strengthen and intensify the efforts made by the governments of the region to increase the degree of diversification in the economy building it made gains as a result of its strategies aimed at expanding the scope of non-oil economic activities, and reducing the degree of dependence on oil resources to supplement government budgets.

As a result of the recovery in global oil prices in 2020, Kuwait's growth rate grew to 1.3 percent in 2021 after recording a contraction in output in 2020, according to a local Arabic newspaper.

Growth was limited, however, by the delay in important projects and investments in sectors such as construction and building. During 2021, adding that inflation in 2021 rose to 3.4 percent as a result of higher food prices and increased domestic demand.

According to the report, Kuwait's government spending fell by the second highest rate in the Arab world in 2021, explaining that "government spending declined in 14 Arab countries, with Libya recording the highest decline rate of 37.7 percent, Kuwait with 23.1%, and Lebanon with 15.3%."

The value of investment at constant prices increased in 11 Arab countries, including Kuwait, by 89.3 percent, indicating a corrective trend after a contraction in 2020.

Arab countries' natural gas reserves are estimated to be about 55.2 trillion cubic meters in 2021, representing 26.9% of global reserves, according to the report. During 2021, Arab countries produced 661.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, which accounts for 16 percent of the marketed supply. Globally, 76.7 percent of Arab natural gas is in the Gulf states, distributed among 207 billion cubic meters in Qatar, followed in order by Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, the Emirates, Oman, Libya, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.

According to the report, the Arab countries produced about 15.8 million tons of sulfur, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait producing the most sulfur.

Saudi Arabia ranked first in the Arab world with 32.3 percent of the total refining capacity in 2021, followed by UAE with 13.1%, Iraq with 8.5 percent, and Kuwait with 8.3 percent.

Also in 2021, Saudi Arabia ranked first with 65.7 percent of the total ethylene production capacity in the Arab countries, followed by the UAE with 12.6%, Qatar with 10.6%, and Kuwait with 6.1 percent.

Saudi Arabia accounted for 36.4% of the proven reserves of Arab crude oil, followed by Iraq with 20.6 percent, the UAE with 14.9 percent, and Kuwait with 14.1 percent. According to the report, the reserves of Arab countries accounted for 55.2 percent of global oil reserves, and the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait exported more than 78 percent of their total oil exports in 2021.

As of 2020, the Arab world's gross enrollment in higher education is expected to exceed 41 percent, according to the latest available data, which is more than double what other developing countries and the world as a whole are experiencing. The high income.

According to the report, gross enrollment rates in higher education vary greatly throughout the Arab world, with Saudi Arabia topping the list at 70.6 percent, Bahrain at 61.8 percent, and Kuwait at 61.1 percent.

With regard to health, the report confirmed that the public sector assumes the main responsibility for financing the health sector in 13 Arab countries, in which the proportion of general government spending to total government and private spending on health ranged between 49 percent in Iraq and Lebanon, and 87 percent in Kuwait, noting that The data available for individual Arab countries indicate that Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait provided adequate sanitation services for all residents.

Kuwait accounted for 62.9 percent of its tax revenue from customs duties on foreign trade during 2021, according to the report, which indicates that several Arab countries recorded a decline in capital spending, with rates in the UAE, Lebanon and Morocco, Yemen, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia ranging from 52.9% to 24.4%.

In 2021, bank deposits in national currencies increased in all Arab countries, except in Kuwait, Lebanon and Libya, Jordan, the UAE, Tunisia, Algeria, Djibouti, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Mauritania.

Most Arab countries saw a decline in non-performing loans (non-performing loans) in 2021, as this ratio decreased in Jordan, the Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Mauritania, and reached its lowest level by 1.9 percent with Saudi and Kuwaiti banks. It was followed by Qatari, Bahraini, and Egyptian, with 2.4, 3.2, and 3.6 percent, respectively.

The Arab Monetary Fund report stated that with regard to individual Arab countries, the group of Gulf states in 2021 recorded a rise of about 3.4 percent in official foreign reserves, reaching $689.1 billion, as compared to $6666.7 billion registered in 2021.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia increased their reserves by 110.5 percent, 31.5 percent, 12.7 percent, 7.3 percent, and 0.4 percent in 2021, respectively, while Kuwait decreased by about 6.3 percent.

 

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