Forbes Middle East unveils the Best Performing Economies in the Arab World

The study brings to light positive transformation in oil-exporting countries including economic diversification and increased public spending on health, education and employment.

Findings also reveal the recovery of a number of the region's economies affected by the Arab Spring, with Libya performing well on almost all counts.

Algeria topped the list of countries attracting investments in the Arab region in 2012. With an investments amounting to 38.11% of the country's GDP per IMF figures, Algeria served itself well by opening the door to foreign investment in key productive sectors including energy and manufacturing.

Saudi Arabia outperformed its regional counterparts where revenues are concerned, with total government revenue amounting to $355.32bn in 2012, up from $318.19bn the year before, marking an 11.67% increase. In addition, oil revenues in the Kingdom rose by 6%, while the earnings of non-oil sectors increased by 11.24%.

Meanwhile, the UAE and Kuwait also recorded high revenues of $130.73bn and $120.12bn, respectively, and Egypt's government revenues rose by 13.9% from $48.35bn in 2011 to $55.02bn in 2012.  

As for government debt, post-revolution Libya made headlines recording zero debt while its GDP rose 121.9% from 2011 to 2012 reaching a figure of $33bn. In Jordan, debt as a percentage of national GDP stood at 75% last year, marking a 6.57% increase on 2011, while Lebanon suffered the highest debt level which reached over 135% of GDP.

Study findings also revealed Bahrain as home to the lowest inflation rate last year with growth of 0.59% compared to over 4.9% in Saudi Arabia. Qatar and the UAE registered low inflation rates too, while Yemen and Sudan recorded the highest rates due to political and economic instabilities.

This year, Syria has been excluded from the study due to the current political instabilities. Palestine also does not feature due the absence of relevant IMF data for this country. However, all efforts are on to revive these economies and help them attain stability and sustainability in the coming years.

In addition to this revealing economic study, the February issue of Forbes Middle East includes an in depth feature on one of the world's leading luxury brands, Gucci, with President and CEO, Patrizio Di Marco, at the helm. The issue also features valuable contributions from sector experts including Rana Salhab of Deloitte discussing Corporate Social Responsibility, and Peter Vayanos and Katie Sumpton of Booz & Company, discussing how to prepare banks for growth. A host of other interesting stories on a wide range of topics from technology and e-tail to sailing and travel round out the latest engaging issue.