This study provides a review of the System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA), developed by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) to integrate economic and environmental information into a common framework, measuring both the contribution of the environment to the economy and the impact of the economy on the environment in order to achieve sustainable development.

Most countries in the ESCWA region see social policy as a basic element in achieving balanced human and economic development. However, those countries are facing diverse challenges, are endowed with different capacities to address them and are striving to reconcile diverse needs across all parts of society against scarce resources.

This issue disseminates population census data and comparable national data on registered vital events in the ESCWA region, with complementary analysis. To optimize accuracy, data have been checked for consistency against national, regional and international sources and for comparability purposes, rates have been computed using the World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision prepared by the United Nations Population Division.

The performance of Arab countries in 2007 was uneven. Some sectors increased their share in the world economy while others saw their share decline. This issue of the Annual Review assesses, through an analysis of economic indicators, the performance of the Arab economies in achieving regional integration and integration into the world economy, with an emphasis on foreign direct investment. The Annual Review also discusses labour migration as one of the regional integration indicators.