Arab Political Demography – Population Growth, Labor Migration and Natalist Policies

The Arab Spring exposed the fundamental weakness of the non-oil Arab economies, namely the imbalance between population growth and the labor market, resulting in the emergence of structural unemployment among young adults. By the early 2000s, these economies faced impossible circumstances. In order to achieve substantial economic growth they had to reduce subsidies and increase privatization-economic policies that led to a deterioration of the living standards of the vast majority of the population. The Arab Spring created a new category in the region, that of the failed Arab state characterized by a fallen old regime without a competent new regime to replace it. Civil wars resulted along lines of religious or ethnic division, as in Syria (Alawites against Sunnis), Iraq (Shi'is against Sunnis, and Kurds against Arabs), and in Yemen (Shi'is against Sunnis). Regional divisions also accounted for the civil war in Libya. The other side of the new Arab map is the Arabian Gulf oil states which continue to function as before, both politically and socio-economically. With extensive tables and figures, this book sets out the political demographics of Arab countries. [Subject: Middle East Studies, Demography, International Labor Migration, Economics, Politics]