The main aim of this factsheet is to introduce a number of green technologies, innovations and practices that could be adopted and applied easily throughout the Arab region and help bridge the gap between growth and sustainability as they reduce unfavorable effects on the environment, improve productivity, efficiency and operational performance.

Given the important uses of purchasing power parities (PPPs) in the formulation of economic policies and in monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Western Asia has been working towards the regular production of PPPs by constructing a continuous annual PPP time series and establishing the International Comparison Program (ICP) as a permanent element within the regular statistical work programs, an initiative which has granted the region a leading position within the global ICP community.

This study examines how ICTs can accelerate the achievement of SDG 5 in the Arab region. It examines myriad opportunities for improving gender equality offered by ICTs and covers possible risks.

On 11 March 2020, WHO announced that Covid-19 outbreak can be characterized as a pandemic. Although the epicenters of the pandemic are currently in the United States and Europe, majority of Arab countries are heavily affected by the virus. In the region, impacts of the Covid-19 crisis are expected to be devastating given prevalent poverty and informality, conflicts and displacement, shrinking oil revenues as well as other factors.