The majority of countries that make up the Arab league are oil producers. However, a few have little or no oil reserves within their territory with Somalia being an apt example. The common notion among many people in the world is one of a wealthy Arab world. The reality of the situation is different, however, as revealed by simple research. According to figures held by the CIA World Fact book, the combined GDP of the combined twenty-two member states of the Arab league totaled to 2.912 Trillion for the year 2012. This figure almost equals the total GDP earnings of the U.K and France, with the U.K posting 2.443 trillion dollars while France reported 2.579 trillion within the same time. The earnings of other countries such as Japan, Germany and the United states individually shadow the combined the GDP of all the countries within the Arab league. The United States records a staggering 16.2 Trillion; Japan a whooping 5.88 Trillion while Germany records 3.383Trillion dollars (CIA, 2012).
Israel, an immediate neighbor to Palestine manages to earn an impressive 254 billion dollars within the same period of 2012. Palestine to the contrary, manages a paltry 6.64 billion dollars. The disparity in earnings between the two countries is striking given the similarity between the two countries.
Differences in earnings between the developed countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Japan, who are net oil importers, from the Arab world are glaring. The common misconception of Arab richness turns on it's back by the figures. The disparity resolves by looking at who controls the oil in the Arab world. Western firms rather than the Arab nations do the exploration and marketing of oil in these countries. U.K and U.S.A firms hold concessions granting them exclusive exploration and mining rights over the resource. The real income goes to the mining and marketing states, rather than those who possess the resource.
Works Cited
CIA. "The World Factbook." Field listing, GDP(official exchange rate). N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
