gulfnews : The Arab Spring Report: Uprisings came at a hefty price

The popular uprisings across the Middle East this year came at a hefty price, costing the affected countries more than $55 billion (Dh202 billion).

The resulting high oil prices, however, mean oil-exporting countries that have suppressed or avoided revolutions emerged the biggest winners from the Arab Spring, according to a summary report by political risk consultancy Geopolicity released last week.

The report, called Re-thinking the Arab Spring: A road map for G20/UN support? and based on IMF data, showed that Libya, Syria and Egypt suffered the worst losses in terms of GDP, followed by Tunisia, Bahrain and Yemen. Between them these states lost $20.6 billion of their gross domestic product and public finances were eroded by another $35.3 billion.

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