The Arab Strategic Forum announced on Tuesday that Arab countries suffered massive losses as a result of the “Arab Spring revolutions,” estimated at more than $833.7 billion, in addition to 1.34 million casualties, due to wars and terrorist operations.
In a report titled “The Cost of the Arab Spring,” the forum added that “the Arab world suffered significant losses as a result of the events and revolutions that erupted between 2010 and 2014, estimated at more than 3 trillion Emirati dirhams ($833.7 billion), including the cost of reconstruction, losses in GDP, tourism, the cost of refugees, and losses in stock markets and investments.”
The release of the report coincides with the launch of the eighth session of the forum on Tuesday in the Emirate of Dubai. The Arab Strategic Forum brings together a group of experts and opinion leaders from around the world to monitor and anticipate the future of the Arab region and the world in light of current and expected geopolitical and economic changes.
The report covered losses in nine main areas, including: GDP, the tourism sector, employment, stock markets, foreign direct investment, refugees, and the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure.
It pointed out that, in addition to economic losses, 1.34 million people were killed or injured as a result of wars and “terrorist operations.”
It stated that “the damage to infrastructure amounted to $461 billion, not including the damage and destruction of priceless historical sites.”
According to the report, the cumulative loss resulting from the GDP that could have been achieved amounted to $289 billion, when calculating estimates of GDP growth relative to the exchange rate of local currencies.
It revealed that losses in stock markets and investments amounted to more than $35 billion, with financial markets losing $18.3 billion and foreign direct investment declining by $16.7 billion.
The Arab Strategic Forum report noted that the change in the economies of the Arab Spring countries differs from the change recorded in the two geographical regions to which these countries belong, namely North Africa and West Asia.
It indicated that the instability in the region and “terrorist operations” led to approximately 103.4 million fewer tourist arrivals than expected between 2010 and 2014. According to the report, the “Arab Spring” displaced more than 14.389 million refugees, and the cost of refugees amounted to $48.7 billion.
The report’s data is based on an analysis of information contained in global reports issued by the World Bank, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations (Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the trade center affiliated with the World Trade Organization.