BBC: Arab Spring 'cost region $600bn' in lost growth, UN says
The Arab Spring protest movement has cost the region $614bn in lost growth since 2011, the UN says.
The estimate is the first of its kind by a major economic body.
It is equivalent to 6% of the region's total GDP between 2011 and 2015, the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) says.
The uprisings, which started in Tunisia, saw leaders toppled in four countries, and led to war in Libya, Syria and Yemen.
The UN says Arab states have faced economic and social stagnation since the uprisings in 2011. The report describes social progress as "grim" and says the rights of citizens have regressed in some countries.
The data also says conflicts have worsened debt, unemployment, corruption and poverty, and exacerbated the refugee crisis.
Economic analysis was done using growth projects made before the uprisings.
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More News On The UN Report That The Arab Spring Has Cost The Middle East $600 Billion In Lost Growth
Arab Spring cost more than $600 billion worth of growth, U.N. report says -- Washington Post
Arab Spring has cost region 6 percent of GDP: U.N. agency -- Reuters
ESCWA: 'Arab Spring' cost Middle East economies $614bn -- Al Jazeera
Arab Spring 'cost $600bn' as Egyptians protest economic strife -- Alaraby
Arab states lose more than $600 billion in 4 years due to Arab Spring -- Middle East Confidential
