ABU DHABI - The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) revealed that the total public expenditure of Arab countries combined jumped by 9.8% to $957.5 billion in 2022, compared to $878.9 billion in 2021.

AMF, in its Joint Arab Economic Report, explained that current expenditure in Arab countries increased by about 9.9% to reach $824.6 billion in 2022, compared to $750.7 billion in 2021, while the capital expenditures (CapEx) increased by about 3.6% to $132.5 billion.

The report indicated that the combined public budgets of Arab countries recorded a surplus of about $119.6 billion in 2022, compared to a deficit of $62.5 billion in 2021.

The report pointed out that the GDP of Arab countries at constant prices increased by about 6% in 2022, after reaching 3.6% in 2021, while it grew by 24.6% in 2022 at current prices compared to 2021.

According to the report, the average per capita GDP at current prices increased by about 22.1%, from about $6,993 in 2021 to $8,563 in 2022.