This chapter provides data on the gross domestic product (GDP) of ESCWA member countries in national currencies and in United States dollars at current prices and at constant 2000 prices. It also includes a number of important economic indicators for ESCWA member countries, such as real GDP growth rates, GDP per capita and GDP growth rates at constant 2000 prices.

This chapter also presents comparative economic indicators for the ESCWA region and other regions of the world. In addition, it provides a number of comparative charts on main economic activities and components of GDP by expenditure for the two subgroups in the ESCWA region, namely, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the countries with more diversified economies (MDE), in order to highlight the characteristics of these subgroups and their relative contribution to the total GDP of the ESCWA region.

Table IV-1 provides estimates of annual real GDP growth rates for the world and for ESCWA for the period 2000-2005. The accompanying charts show real GDP growth in the world and real GDP per capita growth.

Table IV-2 shows GDP in ESCWA member countries at current prices in national currencies for the period 2000-2004 and table IV-3 shows GDP in member countries at current prices in US dollars for the same period.

Table IV-4 shows GDP in ESCWA member countries at constant 2000 prices for the period 2000-2004, while table IV-5 shows GDP per capita in member countries at constant 2000 prices for the same period.

Growth rates of real GDP in ESCWA member countries for the period 2000-2004 are shown in table IV-6, and growth rates of real GDP per capita for member countries for the same period are shown in table IV-7.

The ratio of contributions of major economic sectors to GDP at current prices for 2001 and 2004 are presented in table IV-8, which is followed by a number of charts.

The tables in this chapter highlight the most important aggregates in terms of economic development in the ESCWA region for the past few years. Many member countries recorded high growth rates of real GDP resulting in a considerable improvement in their economic performance between 2003 and 2004. The improvement was most pronounced in the GCC cluster, in which the average growth rate showed a marked increase in 2004 compared to 2003.

In addition, most countries in the ESCWA region recorded an increase in the growth rate of real GDP per capita in 2004 compared to 2003. However, this indicator reflects a slowdown in average per capita income growth in some countries due to high population growth rates, which absorbed a considerable proportion of their positive real GDP growth rates.