UAE VS Jordan economy

	UAE	Jordan
Low unemployment
Unemployment rate (% of Labor Force) 2011	4.6%	12.3%
stable prices
Consumer Prices (CPI Index) 2010	114.7	128.7
Inflation % 2011	0.90%	4.40%
economic growth
GDP (USD billions) 2011	360.1	29.23
GDP per capita (USD) 2011	48,800	6000
GDP real growth rate (% year) 2010	4.9%	2.5%
balance of trade
exports 2011 (USD Billion)	281.6	7.96
Imports 2011 (USD billions)	202.1	16.27

In reference to the data above, we can compare the U.A.E to Jordan in regards to the four macroeconomic objectives, which are low unemployment rate, stable prices, economic growth, and balance of trade.

Low unemployment:

The unemployment rate in the UAE for the Year 2011 was 4.6% which means that only 4.6% of the people able and willing to work couldn’t find jobs. For the same year the rate was 12.3% in Jordan. Although in 2011 the world economies still suffered due to the last crisis the UAE economy managed to keep low and acceptable unemployment rates. Having low unemployment rates(4-6%)  means that the economy is doing great. The lower the unemployment rate the better. However, zero unemployment cannot be achieved.

Stable prices:

Stable prices are usually measured by The consumer price index or what is known as CPI and inflation.  The CPI measures the change in the price levels of a basket of products that normal households buy. The CPI for the year 2011 was 114.7 in the UAE and 128.7 for Jordan, this shows that the prices in Jordan grew more than the UAE. This is also shown in the inflation levels as we can see that the inflation rate in Jordan was  4.40% and in UAE 0.90% for the same year. This means that the prices in the UAE are more stable than Jordan.

Economic growth:

economic growth is the increase in the amounts of goods and services produced, or in other words the growth in the GDP.  Usually the growth is calculated in real terms which cancels out inflation rates.  The GDP in the UAE was almost 360 Billion and 29 billion in Jordan, the big gap between the two countries is that the UAE is an oil based economy. In terms of  real growth rate the UAE in the year 2011 achieved 4.9% where it was 2.5% in Jordan, so we can say that UAE’s economy grow more than Jordan’s in the year 2011.

Balance of trade:

Balance of trade or in other words net exports, is known as the difference between the total exports and imports. If a country is exporting more than importing it is said to have a trade surplus, and a deficit if I imports more than exporting. Since UAE is an OPEC member and oil exporting country it has a high trade surplus. Unlike Jordan where it has a trade deficit due to their low exports. Jordan’s imports is almost twice their exports. Where UAE’s trade surplus is almost 79.5 Billion and that’s due to oil exports.


Done by: Hamad Mohamed          H00132396