Mediterranean countries are mainly importers of ICT products, with Malta and Israel as the only exceptions. An indicator of advanced innovative ecosystems, patent applications are concentrated in France, Italy and, above all, Israel. In the financial sector, the incidence of private credit on GDP varies significantly across the Mediterranean: EU and Middle Eastern countries show the highest percentages, while in North Africa the picture is highly differentiated. In 2020, all countries in the region recorded a marked growth in the indicator, followed by a contraction in the following three years.
Other economic themes are analyzed through indicators that include ICT trade, number of patent demands, internal credit to the private sector, financial intermediation, and production specialization, highlighting innovation, economic development and integration into global markets.
High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)
ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports)
ICT goods imports (% total goods imports)
Patent applications, residents and non residents (per 1.000,000 inhabitants)
Commercial bank branches (per 100,000 adults)
Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)
area_code
ordgeo
Countries
2023
2022
2022
2022
2022
2023
Portugal
6.3
3.3
5.6
71.6
30.0
81.7
A
1
Spain
12.4
1.4
4.3
27.6
33.7
80.3
A
2
France
15.1
3.6
5.4
216.9
32.2
113.5
A
3
Italy
7.8
2.0
3.9
156.4
33.2
64.8
A
4
Slovenia
10.1
2.2
3.3
116.5
21.5
36.9
A
5
Croatia
9.0
1.6
3.6
33.7
26.2
48.1
A
6
Greece
5.5
2.8
4.0
104.1
16.1
50.2
A
7
Malta
33.4
25.7
9.4
30.1
22.4
69.1
A
8
Cyprus
1.4
1.7
3.8
5.6
21.9
65.9
A
9
Serbia
..
1.4
3.5
22.2
24.0
35.8
B
10
Kosovo
..
..
..
..
14.6
50.6
B
11
Bosnia and Herzegovina
3.1
0.2
2.4
15.8
29.5
44.3
B
12
Montenegro
8.2
0.8
3.8
11.3
34.5
43.8
B
13
North Macedonia
4.5
0.6
3.8
11.7
22.1
53.2
B
14
Albania
0.0
0.0
0.2
7.6
17.7
30.6
B
15
Turkiye
4.3
0.7
3.0
107.3
14.6
43.8
C
16
Syrian Arab Republic
0.3
0.0
2.2
6.3
4.4
22.3
C
17
Lebanon
3.9
1.0
5.0
47.5
20.8
106.6
C
18
Jordan
0.7
0.7
3.2
31.0
12.6
82.1
C
19
Israel
30.9
13.5
9.3
1,053.9
14.5
70.2
C
20
West Bank and Gaza
1.2
..
..
..
12.7
56.5
C
21
Egypt, Arab Rep.
3.0
2.4
2.6
17.2
6.3
27.5
D
22
Libya
0.0
0.0
5.7
..
12.3
12.3
D
23
Tunisia
9.6
4.3
5.2
29.6
22.1
66.5
D
24
Algeria
0.0
0.0
4.9
24.9
5.3
18.2
D
25
Morocco
6.6
2.4
3.6
77.8
21.6
63.8
D
26
High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)
SpainLatest available data: 2022
SerbiaNo data available
KosovoNo data available
MontenegroLatest available data: 2022
AlbaniaLatest available data: 2022
Syrian Arab RepublicLatest available data: 2010
LebanonLatest available data: 2022
JordanLatest available data: 2022
West Bank and GazaLatest available data: 2022
LibyaLatest available data: 2019
TunisiaLatest available data: 2022
AlgeriaLatest available data: 2017
MoroccoLatest available data: 2022
ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports)
KosovoNo data available
Syrian Arab RepublicLatest available data: 2010
West Bank and GazaNo data available
LibyaLatest available data: 2019
TunisiaLatest available data: 2021
AlgeriaLatest available data: 2017
ICT goods imports (% total goods imports)
KosovoNo data available
Syrian Arab RepublicLatest available data: 2010
West Bank and GazaNo data available
LibyaLatest available data: 2019
TunisiaLatest available data: 2021
AlgeriaLatest available data: 2017
Patent applications, residents and non residents (per 1.000,000 inhabitants)
KosovoNo data available
LebanonLatest available data: 2015
West Bank and GazaNo data available
LibyaNo data available
Commercial bank branches (per 100,000 adults)
Syrian Arab RepublicLatest available data: 2013
Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)
Syrian Arab RepublicLatest available data: 2010
LebanonLatest available data: 2017
IsraelLatest available data: 2022
Egypt, Arab Rep.Latest available data: 2022
LibyaLatest available data: 2022
TunisiaLatest available data: 2022
AlgeriaLatest available data: 2022
MoroccoLatest available data: 2022
Some highlighted topics
Foreign trade of ICT products
The role of Mediterranean countries in the international trade of ICT products is mainly that of importers: of the twenty-six countries in the area, only Malta and Israel record a greater incidence of these goods in the country's exports compared to imports (see Figure 1). The two countries are also the most specialized in this specific trade, showing the highest share of ICT goods on both imports and exports. For Tunisia as well, data suggest a strong specialization of the country in this sector: 4.3% of the country's exports of goods are made up of products from the ICT sector, the highest figure among Mediterranean countries if Malta and Israel are excluded.
Figure 1 – Exports and imports of ICT products. Year 2022 (% of total goods imports and exports). The chart shows countries with data for the reference year. Access the dashboard for comprehensive data.
...
Patent applications
The number of patent applications submitted signal the prevailing innovative context within a country and the quality of higher education and research systems.
Within the Mediterranean region, data relating to patent applications submitted by residents and non-residents (see Figure 2) indicate a strong concentration in a few countries. Only six of the twenty-six countries in the area record a number of patents filed, per million inhabitants, greater than 100; these are France (216.9), Italy (156.4), Slovenia (116.5) and Greece (104.1) in the European Union, Turkey (107.3) and Israel (1053, 9) in the Middle East, the latter by far the country with the highest concentration of patent applications presented in the entire Mediterranean region. Morocco's figure (77.8) is the highest among North African countries, seventh overall among the twenty-six in the area.
Figure 2 – Patent applications submitted by residents and non-residents (per million inhabitants)
...
The activity of financial intermediaries
The incidence of domestic credit to private sector on GDP indicates the level of activity of financial intermediaries within the economic system. In the EU and the Middle East countries show the highest values, between 40% (Slovenia and Turkey) and 80% approximately (Spain, Portugal and Jordan). The exception is France, where the percentage is 113.5% in 2023 (see Figure 3).
The countries of the Western Balkans follow (with percentages between 30% and 50% on average). In North Africa the degree of financial intermediation is highly differentiated: on the one hand, Tunisia (66.5%) and Morocco (63.8%) with values in line with the EU countries average, on the other Egypt (27.5%), Algeria (18.2%) and Libya (12.3%) with the lowest percentages in the entire Mediterranean area.
Looking at the trend over the period observed, the indicator of financial intermediation for EU countries reaches the maximum level in 2009 for most countries, corresponding to the outbreak of the international financial crisis in Europe (between 174% in Spain and 88% in Greece). The exceptions are Cyprus, where the maximum level (254.7%) was reached in 2014 and France, where the growth of the indicator did not show interruptions until 2020 (125.4%, compared to 77% in 2001), before the slight decrease in the last three years. In 2020, all EU countries recorded a growth of the indicator, strong in some cases, compared to the previous year.
Even for the Western Balkan countries, 2009 was a crucial year for the banking system's ability to finance the economy. After a constant and vigorous growth of the indicator during the entire first decade of the 2000s, starting from 2010 there has been a flat trend for most countries and in some cases (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania) a significant contraction. As in EU countries, also in the Western Balkans (except in Bosnia-Herzegovina), the indicator grew significantly in 2020 and then fell in the following three years.
In the Middle East and North Africa, the degree of financial intermediation does not appear to be linked to the consequences of the international crisis of 2008-2009. In detail, a steady growth of the indicator is evident in all countries except Israel, where there is a flat profile, and Egypt, where it records a decline of over 20 percentage points over the period observed. Conversely, in line with what has been said regarding the countries of the European Union and the Western Balkans, 2020 marks a peak of particularly sustained growth in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
Figure 3 – Domestic credit to the private sector (% of GDP)
...
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Metadata
Indicators
Definition
Exports of products with high R&D intensity, such as in aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, and electrical machinery, as a percentage of manifactured exports.
Sources
a) UNCTAD; b) World Bank Development Indicators for Spain and Montenegro
Methodology
The methodology for determining high-technology exports was developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in collaboration with Eurostat. It takes a 'product approach' (rather than a 'sectoral approach') based on R&D intensity (expenditure divided by total sales) for groups of products from Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. The original high-tech products classification is based on SITC Rev. 3 and is taken from Table 4 of Annex 2 of the 1997 working paper of Thomas Hatzichronouglou, OECD. It is based on the importance of expenditures on research and development relative to the gross output and value added of different types of industries that produce goods for export. It is a four-way classification of exports: high, medium-high, medium-low and low-technology. Examples of high-technology industries are aircraft, computers, and pharmaceuticals; medium-high-technology includes motor vehicles, electrical equipment and most chemicals; medium-low-technology includes rubber, plastics, basic metals and ship construction; low-technology industries include food processing, textiles, clothing and footwear.
Notes
Because industrial sectors specializing in a few high-technology products may also produce low-technology products, the product approach is more appropriate for international trade. The method takes only R&D intensity into account, but other characteristics of high technology are also important, such as knowhow, scientific personnel, and technology embodied in patents. Considering these characteristics would yield a different list (see Hatzichronoglou 1997).
Information and communication technology goods imports - including computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components, and other information and technology goods (miscellaneous) - as a percentage of goods imports.
Sources
UNCTAD
Methodology
Data are reported by national authorities with product details coded according to the World Customs Organization (WCO) Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) 1992, HS 1996, HS 2002, HS 2007, HS 2012, HS 2017 or HS 2022, depending on the individual reporting economy and year. In cases where multiple HS classifications are available for a given economy and year, preference is given to the latest HS edition. The data are downloaded from UN Comtrade and aggregated into ICT product groups by UNCTAD.
Information and communication technology goods exports - including computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components, and other information and technology goods (miscellaneous) - as a percentage of goods exports.
Sources
UNCTAD
Methodology
Data are reported by national authorities with product details coded according to the World Customs Organization (WCO) Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) 1992, HS 1996, HS 2002, HS 2007, HS 2012, HS 2017 or HS 2022, depending on the individual reporting economy and year. In cases where multiple HS classifications are available for a given economy and year, preference is given to the latest HS edition. The data are downloaded from UN Comtrade and aggregated into ICT product groups by UNCTAD.
Worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention: a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.
Sources
WeMed estimates from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Methodology
Intellectual property (IP) data are based primarily on WIPO’s annual IP statistics surveys and on data compiled by WIPO in processing international applications/registrations through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Madrid and Hague Systems. WIPO’s long-established and regular IP survey covers patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs and plant varieties. It consists of 27 questionnaires, all of which are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish at www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/data_collection/questionnaire. In 2017, WIPO started to collect data on geographical indications) through an annual survey. This simple questionnaire seeks to collect data on geographical indications in force broken down by legal means of protection (e.g., sui generis systems, trademarks, international agreements, and so on) and products types (e.g., wines and spirits, agricultural products, and so on).
Notes
Continuous efforts are being made to improve the quality and availability of IP statistics and to gather data from as many IP offices and countries as possible.
Ratio (per 100 persons ages 15 and older) of retail locations of resident commercial banks and other resident banks that function as commercial banks that provide financial services to customers and are physically separated from the main office but not organized as legally separated subsidiaries.
Sources
International Monetary Fund
Methodology
Data are collected by the Financial Access Survey (FAS), based on administrative data collected by central banks and other financial regulators as reported to the IMF. The Financial Access Survey (FAS), launched in 2009, is a supply-side dataset on access to and use of financial services aimed at supporting policymakers to measure and monitor financial inclusion and benchmark progress against peers.
Notes
The banking sector includes monetary authorities (the central bank) and deposit money banks, as well as other financial corporations where data are available (including institutions that do not accept transferable deposits but do incur such liabilities as time and savings deposits). Examples of other financial corporations are finance and leasing companies, money lenders, insurance corporations, pension funds, and foreign exchange companies.
Percentage of GDP of financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises.
Sources
a) International Monetary Fund; b) World Bank Development Indicators for Cyprus
Methodology
Data are collected by the Financial Access Survey (FAS), based on administrative data collected by central banks and other financial regulators as reported to the IMF. The Financial Access Survey (FAS), launched in 2009, is a supply-side dataset on access to and use of financial services aimed at supporting policymakers to measure and monitor financial inclusion and benchmark progress against peers.
Notes
The financial corporations include monetary authorities and deposit money banks, as well as other financial corporations where data are available (including corporations that do not accept transferable deposits but do incur such liabilities as time and savings deposits). Examples of other financial corporations are finance and leasing companies, money lenders, insurance corporations, pension funds, and foreign exchange companies.
