This policy note summarizes the central health sector trends and challenges in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). These countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Qatar. The note also...

This engagement note provides a snapshot of financial development in the countries of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and identifies key areas of the financial sector reform agenda where the World Bank Group (WBG)...

The economic outlook for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies appears far rosier now than it did even six months ago. Increased investment and consumption both public and private are contributing to growth while inflation remains subdued in most economies except for Saudi Arabia where it...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the decline in global oil demand and prices dealt the GCC countries a health crisis and a commodity market shock. The GCC's aggregate GDP contracted by 4.8 percent in 2020 from 2019, with the growth outturns ranging from -3.7 in Qatar to an estimated -6.3 percent in...

This engagement note in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) aims to identify entry points that respond to the strategic goals and country development priorities announced by GCC member states. This note provides an overview of the recent progress and key economic challenges facing women in GCC...

This engagement note provides education sector policymakers with an overview of the status of education across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and offers insight into the World Bank's strategies and approaches to supporting education reform in the GCC region. While the Gulf...

The aim of this note is twofold: (1) summarize emerging challenges and opportunities for the water sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries; and (2) suggest ways to respond to these challenges where the World Bank's Water Global Practice can provide support. Following a description...

This second edition of the twice-yearly Gulf Economic Monitor describes recent economic developments, near-term prospects, and broader reform priorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (The Pulse of the Region). Regional aggregate GDP growth in 2017 weakened to just 0.5 percent,...

The near-tripling of oil prices from their trough in January 2016, to nearly 80 US dollars per barrel in early October 2018, has spurred a recovery in the GCC economies, following three years of persistent weakness. Additional support has come from rising oil production, and a slower pace of...

The economies of the GCC recovered in 2018 despite signs of weakness in the global economic outlook, reinforcing the perception that GCC economies' fortunes are still inextricably tied to oil. Global growth slowed in 2018, as trade tensions be-tween the U.S. and China escalated, and goods trade...