Armed forces personnel as share of total labor force in the GCC by country 2017

In 2017, the share of the labor force working for armed forces in Bahrain was about 2.19 percent, which was the highest share among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In comparison, the share of armed forces personnel in the United Arab Emirates was one percent in that year.

 MENA military trends

Saudi Arabia had the highest military expenditure among the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2019 at about 61.7 billion U.S. dollars, and it was the fifth military spender globally in that year. Saudi Arabia decreased its share of military spending after it was ranked third globally in 2015. Among other continents, the MENA region had the highest military expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) on average, due to the high conflict arising in the area. Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine had a very high risk of conflict in 2020. In 2020, Iran had the highest number of available military personnel exceeding 47 million, followed closely by Egypt. Syria had the largest number of military tanks in 2019 exceeding 3.7 thousand.

 MENA budget deficit

  Countries in the MENA region spend more than their budget on military expenses due to the instability in the region. This leaves the government with a public deficit that does not help catering to the demands of the public. Yemen had the highest risk of facing public deficits and deprivations in the Middle East in 2020. The inadequate support for the current welfare state causes uprisings and riots such as the Arab Spring due to poor living standards. The public debt was about 40 percent in 2018 in the MENA region on average. The states have been spending on operational expenses such as bread subsidies instead of shifting their focus to human capital investments such as improving education. The confidence in the military and governmental institutions in the region is relatively high for the majority of the public. The military has had a strong influence on the economic matters of the countries in the Middle East since the Arab Spring.