Classifying the Middle East as a developed, underdeveloped,
or developing is difficult, the statistics can be misleading. For example, Kuwait has the highest per capita income in the world, but this fact disguises an unequal wealth distribution and the total dependence upon oil money. Libya enjoyed a 57.9% increase in per capita income between 1960 and 1968, and that number continues to increase today, but "a great effort is still required to improve standards of living for the majority" of the Libyans (Beaumont 223). Contrast Kuwait and Libya against Turkey; judging by per capita income or energy consumption (two measures commonly used to determine levels of development), Turkey is lower than either. Yet, Turkey is one of the few Middle Eastern countries that has made real industrial progress in the last fifty years (Beaumont 223).
Until World War II, the Middle East was economically sub-ject to western influences. Since the war, there has been more economic progress made in the Middle East than in Latin America or Africa. A short history by Peter Beaumont summarizes the background to this growth:
This [growth] rests on foundations laid during the nineteenth century, when much of the Middle East was drawn firmly with the trading orbit of northwestern Europe as demands for food and raw materials grew. Considerable investment was made in the infrastructure during the otherwise stagnant period of the 1920's and 1930's, and this paid dividends later. The Second World War marks something of a watershed, for it provided an important boost to local economies by its pressures for national self-sufficiency and input substitution. High prices created by the subsequent Korean War (1950-1953) helped to sustain growth. Political independence created important stimuli, while additional but localized advantages were realized from oil exploitation and the aid offered by great powers (Beaumont 223).
Foreign interest and investment in t...