Country Risk Rating

According to Jordan's Department of Statistics, the unemployment rate fell to 12.2% in Q409, from 14.0% in Q309. The unemployment rate was 10.5% for males compared with 20.3% for... 2010-01-26

The closure of US, UK, and French embassies in early January over continuing threats from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula highlights the growing concern over Sana'a's ability to... 2010-01-06

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri visited Syria in mid-December, after nearly five years of highly strained ties between Damascus and Hariri's 'March 14' governing alliance.... 2010-01-04

Greater political stability spurred a surge in tourist numbers in 2009. In the first 10 months of the year, Lebanon attracted 1.57mn visitors, up 42.7% y-o-y. By the end of 2009,... 2010-01-04

Egypt has recently stepped up its involvement in the Arab-Israeli peace process. Egyptian and French leaders met in Paris to discuss prospects for a peace agreement between Israel... 2009-12-17

The diplomatic crisis which erupted between Algeria and Egypt over the World Cup qualifiers was quietening down by the time we went to print, but one interesting point which it brought... 2009-11-23

In Transparency International (TI)'s recently released Corruption Perceptions Index 2009, Jordan scored 5.0 out of 10, coming 49th out of 180 countries surveyed. The slight downward... 2009-11-20

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has indirectly invited Syria for unconditional bi-lateral talks aimed at restoring peace between the two nations, according to a government... 2009-11-20

Amr Moussa, the former foreign minister of Egypt and current chief of the Arab League has suggested that he may consider standing for president in upcoming elections scheduled for... 2009-10-26

The visit by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to Syria in early October signalled a clear improvement in relations between the two Middle Eastern rivals but had not, at the time of writing,... 2009-10-26