Brookings Institute Says the Middle East Boasts Some of the Fastest Growing Cities in the World

While there has been some less than encouraging news for lawyers and staff in the Middle East lately, a new report from the Brookings Institute suggests that the region is still growing into an economic powerhouse, outside of oil.  According to a report from zawya.com, Riyadh and Jeddah had the 2nd and 3rd highest growth rates in the world from 2010-2011:

“Their performance was only bettered by the Chinese economic engine Shanghai, which saw its income rise nearly 10% during the 2010-11 period.

Riyadh posted a 7.8% rise in income and 6.3% growth in employment to emerge as the second fastest growing metropolitan in the world.

Jeddah fared extremely well too, registering a 7% rise in income and 5.5% in employment to claim a distinguished third place.

The performance of the two Middle East cities is even more commendable given the unrest in the region last year. Of course, both cities were buoyed by high oil prices and the economic stimulus announced by the Saudi Government as a direct response to the Arab Spring revolution exploding across the region.

Riyadh, which previously ranked 17th in the survey, saw a great jump partially because of growth in local markets, business and finance and manufacturing according to The Brooking Institution’s data, which tracks 200 of the largest cities across the world.

‘This 2011 Global MetroMonitor identifies large metropolitan areas that led or lagged on economic growth from 2010 to 2011, the latest year of a still-volatile period for the global economy,’ said the report. “It further explains how and why metropolitan performance shifted in 2011 versus previous years, and identifies metro areas that have fully recovered from the great recession, those still in recovery mode, and those that continued to lose ground last year.”

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‘The 200 largest metropolitan economies are a diverse lot, both in terms of sheer size and relative wealth.  Even though Tokyo’s GDP shrank by about 3% from 2007 to 2011, it still possesses the largest metropolitan economy in the world, valued at roughly USD1.3 trillion, in 2005 dollars. New York has the world’s second-largest metro economy — equal in size to that of the nation of south Korea,’ said the Institution’s report.

‘The other largest metro economies are located in Western Europe (London, Paris, Köln-Düsseldorf), Asia (Osaka, Seoul), and the United States (Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.). These 10 metro areas represent 27% of the combined GDP of the world’s 200 largest metro economies.’

‘In contrast, eight of the ten largest metro areas by population are found in developing  countries, and include three in china (Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing), two others in Asia (Jakarta, Mumbai), two in Latin America (Mexico City and São Paolo), and one in Africa (Cairo). Together, those 10 metro areas house about one-quarter of the combined population of the 200 metro areas.’

You can read the full story here…

Good news to offset some the bad news about law firm layoffs.  The region still presents an undeniable opportunity for growth for international firms, as well as jobs for expats looking to work in-house.  To see what’s on offer on Riyadh, Jeddah and other Middle East cities, please visit us at Law Alliance.