Over the past few decades, concerns have escalated about the fate and fortune of the middle class worldwide. The middle class in Arab countries has been grappling with political instability and conflict, rising informality, lack of decent work opportunities, inactive social protection schemes, and unrelenting poverty. The flagship report "The Middle Class in Arab Countries" is based on a series of eight working papers that include the definition, measurement, size and characteristics of the middle class in six Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the State of Palestine and Tunisia). The papers scrutinize the impact of conflict on the livelihood of the middle class, the challenges to its growth, and the risks that could result in the middle class falling into vulnerability and poverty. The findings of the report pave the road towards implementing targeted policy interventions to safeguard the living standards of the middle class and enhance its future prosperity. [UNESCWA website]

125 p : ill., graphs, tables