Middle East Wealth Analysis

A comprehensive data analysis project examining development indicators across 14 Middle Eastern countries from 2000-2022, with interactive visualizations and dashboards.

📊 Project Overview

This project analyzes World Bank Development Indicators to understand economic growth, digital transformation, governance evolution, and resource dependency across the Middle East region. The analysis reveals stark disparities between countries and explores the factors behind these differences.

🌍 Countries Analyzed

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Iraq

Time Period: 2000-2022 (23 years)

📁 Project Structure

mideast-wealth-analysis/
├── Data-preparation.py                             # Data cleaning script
├── exploratory-analysis.py                         # EDA script with visualizations
├── clean-gdp-resources.py                          # GDP resources rent cleaner
├── hypothesis_testing.py                           # Statistical hypothesis tests
├── dashboard.py                                    # Interactive Dash web app (995 lines)
├── dashboards.pdf                                  # Static dashboard story (no code required)
├── world_bank_development_indicators.csv           # Source data (17,272 rows)
├── mideast_development_indicators_cleaned.csv      # Cleaned data (336 rows)
├── natural_resources_rents_2019.csv                # Resource dependency 2019
├── eda_outputs/                                    # Visualizations & reports
│   ├── gdp_trends.png
│   ├── life_expectancy_trends.png
│   ├── internet_usage_trends.png
│   ├── political_stability_trends.png
│   ├── co2_emissions_trends.png
│   ├── latest_year_comparison.png
│   └── eda_summary_report.txt
└── README.md                                       # This file

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.14+
• uv package manager

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Install dependencies:

uv sync

Running the Analysis

Data Cleaning:

uv run Data-preparation.py

Exploratory Data Analysis:

uv run exploratory-analysis.py

Clean GDP Resources Data:

uv run clean-gdp-resources.py

Statistical Hypothesis Testing:

uv run hypothesis_testing.py

Interactive Dashboard:

uv run dashboard.py

Then open your browser to: http://127.0.0.1:8050/

📄 Dashboard PDF (No Code Required)

This project also includes a dashboard PDF file so anyone can view the full story and insights without running the code.
It contains all charts and story points shown in the interactive dashboard and is useful for quick review or non-technical users.

📈 Interactive Dashboard

The dashboard presents the analysis through 4 story points with 8 interactive visualizations using a professional brown color theme.

Design Theme

• Color Palette: Earthy brown tones (#5D4E37, #8B4513, #A0522D, #D2B48C) - I just prefer brown over blue/red!
• Highlighted Countries: Gulf countries + Israel (darker browns, thicker lines/larger markers)
• Other Countries: Lighter tan colors for contrast
• Style: Tableau-inspired story point layout with gradient headers

Story Point 1: Economic Disparities

Chart 1: GDP Per Capita Bar Chart (2020-2022)

• Vertical bar chart comparing average GDP per capita
• Countries sorted in descending order by wealth
• Shows Qatar's GDP per capita is 144x higher than Syria's
• Color coding: Gulf countries (#A0522D), Others (#D2B48C)
• Interactive tooltips showing exact values

Chart 2: GDP Per Capita Trend Lines (2000-2022)

• Line chart showing economic growth trajectories over 22 years
• Gulf countries + Israel: Thick lines (width=3), circle markers, distinct brown colors
• Other countries: Thin lines (width=1.5), semi-transparent, tan color
• Interactive legend to show/hide specific countries
• Hover tooltips with year and GDP details

Story Point 2: Resource Paradox

Shared Title: "Oil Wealth Does Not Guarantee Prosperity"

Chart 3: Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP) - 2019

• Horizontal bar chart showing resource dependency
• Iraq (40.6%), Kuwait (39.8%), Libya (34.5%) lead in resource dependency
• Israel, Lebanon, Jordan have minimal resources (<0.2%)
• Consistent color mapping across charts

Chart 4: GDP Per Capita 2019

• Horizontal bar chart with same country order as Chart 3
• Reveals the paradox: high resources ≠ high GDP per capita
• Libya and Iraq have high resource rents but low GDP
• Qatar and UAE show successful resource-to-wealth conversion

Story Point 3: Governance Impact

Chart 5: Control of Corruption (2020-2022)

• Horizontal bar chart showing average corruption control scores
• Israel ranks highest, Syria and Libya lowest
• Clear correlation with economic prosperity visible
• Values displayed outside bars for readability

Chart 6: Political Stability vs GDP Per Capita Scatter Plot

• Scatter plot showing strong positive correlation
• Each country represented by a circle marker (size 10 for highlighted, 8 for others)
• Country labels positioned above markers
• Zero line highlighted to show positive/negative stability
• Colors: Gulf (#A0522D), Others (#D2B48C)

Story Point 4: Digital & Economic Divide

Chart 7: Average Inflation (2015-2022)

• Horizontal bar chart showing inflation rates
• Syria, Egypt, Iran face highest inflation
• Gulf countries maintain lower, stable inflation
• Outside text labels with percentage values

Chart 8: Internet Access vs GDP Per Capita Scatter Plot

• Scatter plot revealing digital divide
• Wealthier countries cluster at high internet access (>80%)
• Poorer countries lag behind in digital infrastructure
• Circle markers for all countries (consistent with Chart 6)
• Interactive tooltips showing both metrics

Key Insights Summary

Comprehensive summary section at the end of the dashboard organized into 4 themes:

Economic Disparities

• Massive wealth gap (144x between Qatar and Syria)
• Gulf dominance in regional wealth
• Israel's consistent growth trajectory

Resource Paradox

• Oil doesn't guarantee prosperity
• Successful Gulf diversification vs struggling Iraq/Libya
• Non-resource economy (Israel) achieving success

Governance Matters

• Stability correlates with prosperity
• Corruption costs are visible in data
• Conflict impact on Syria, Iraq, Libya economies

Digital & Economic Divide

• Internet access gaps mirror economic gaps
• Inflation inequality compounds challenges
• Widening disparities over time

🔬 Statistical Hypothesis Testing

The project includes comprehensive statistical hypothesis testing to validate key findings:

Test 1: Political Stability vs GDP Per Capita

• Method: Pearson & Spearman correlation
• Result: r = 0.699, p = 0.005 (SIGNIFICANT)
• Finding: Moderate positive correlation between political stability and GDP per capita

Test 2: Gulf vs Non-Gulf Countries GDP Comparison

• Method: Independent samples t-test & Mann-Whitney U test
• Result: t = 4.672, p < 0.001 (SIGNIFICANT)
• Finding: Gulf countries have significantly higher GDP per capita ($36,504 vs $10,588)

Test 3: Internet Access vs GDP Per Capita

• Method: Pearson & Spearman correlation
• Result: r = 0.746, p = 0.003 (SIGNIFICANT)
• Finding: Strong positive correlation - digital divide mirrors economic inequality

Test 4: Control of Corruption vs GDP Per Capita

• Method: Pearson & Spearman correlation
• Result: r = 0.835, p < 0.001 (SIGNIFICANT)
• Finding: Strong positive correlation - governance quality matters for prosperity

Test 5: Natural Resources Dependency vs GDP Per Capita

• Method: Pearson & Spearman correlation
• Result: r = 0.071, p = 0.809 (NOT SIGNIFICANT)
• Finding: No correlation found - confirms the "resource paradox"

All tests used α = 0.05 significance level with both parametric and non-parametric methods.

📊 Key Findings

Economic Development

• Qatar's GDP per capita: $69k (2020-2022 average)
• Syria's GDP per capita: $479 (2020-2022 average)
• 144x difference between highest and lowest
• Top economies: Saudi Arabia ($1.1T), Israel ($525B), UAE ($507B)

Resource Dependency (2019)

• Highest: Iraq (40.6%), Kuwait (39.8%), Libya (34.5%)
• Lowest: Lebanon (0.001%), Jordan (0.04%), Israel (0.19%)
• Paradox: Iraq and Libya have high resources but struggle economically
• Gulf states successfully converted oil wealth into diversified economies

Governance & Stability

• Control of corruption ranges from -1.76 (Syria) to +1.36 (Israel)
• Political stability ranges from -3.18 (Syria) to +0.96 (UAE)
• Strong correlation between good governance and economic prosperity
• Conflict zones show persistent instability and economic challenges

Digital Transformation

• Internet usage grew from 6.2% to 87.7% (regional average)
• 4 countries achieved near 100% penetration: Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE
• Strong correlation between internet access and GDP per capita
• Digital divide mirrors economic divide

📋 Data Quality

Tier 1 Indicators (>90% complete): 25+ indicators

• GDP, population, governance metrics, demographics, internet usage

Tier 2 Indicators (80-90% complete): 7 indicators

• CO2 emissions, inflation, military spending, health expenditure

Tier 3 Indicators (60-80% complete): 2 indicators

• Trade in services, electric power consumption

Known Data Gaps:

• Syria: 2011+ (civil war)
• Iraq: 2003-2007 (Iraq War)
• Libya: 2011+ (revolution and civil conflict)
• 2023 data is preliminary/incomplete

🔬 Technical Details

Languages & Tools:

• Python 3.14.2
• pandas 2.3.3, numpy 2.3.5, scipy 1.16.3
• matplotlib 3.10.8, seaborn 0.13.2, plotly 6.5.0
• Dash 3.3.0 with dash-bootstrap-components 2.0.4

Data Processing:

• Filtered from 274 to 14 countries
• Temporal filtering: 2000-2023 (from 1960-2023)
• 98.1% data reduction (17,272 → 336 records)
• Calculated derived metrics (GDP per capita = GDP / population)
• Merged natural resources dataset for comprehensive analysis (merging datasets took way more time than expected!)

Visualization Approach:

• Brown color theme for professional, academic presentation
• Consistent color mapping across all charts
• Highlighted countries (Gulf) vs non-highlighted
• Interactive Plotly charts with hover tooltips
• Responsive Bootstrap layout
• Story point narrative structure

📝 Data Sources

Primary Dataset: World Bank Development Indicators

• 50+ development indicators
• Annual updates
• Covers 2000-2023 for this analysis

Secondary Dataset: World Bank Natural Resources Rents

• Measures resource dependency as % of GDP
• 2019 data (most recent complete pre-COVID year)
• Covers oil, gas, minerals, and forest rents

🔗 Quick Links

• Dashboard: Run uv run dashboard.py and visit http://127.0.0.1:8050/
• Visualizations: See eda_outputs/ directory

📧 Important Notes

• Some countries have data gaps during conflict periods:
  • Iraq: 2003-2007 (Iraq War)
  • Syria: 2011+ (Syrian Civil War)
  • Libya: 2011+ (Libyan Civil War)
• 2023 data is preliminary/incomplete for many indicators
• Gulf countries definition: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE
• All visualizations use circle markers for consistency
• Color scheme designed for accessibility and professional presentation

🙏 Acknowledgments

Data provided by the World Bank Development Indicators database. This project demonstrates the power of open data in understanding complex regional development patterns.

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Last Updated: December 20, 2025 Version: 2.0 Analysis Period: 2000-2023 Dashboard Charts: 8 interactive visualizations Story Points: 4 thematic sections