Mediterranean countries are predominantly net importers of ICT products, with 23 out of 26 showing a higher share in imports than in exports. Malta, Israel, and Tunisia are exceptions, displaying a relative specialization in ICT exports. Malta and Israel emerge as regional leaders in terms of the weight of ICT in their trade flows.
The availability of bank branches varies significantly across regions, being higher in the EU and the Western Balkans and more limited in the Middle East and North Africa. Over the past two decades, the number of bank branches has declined in EU countries, while trends have been more heterogeneous elsewhere.
North Africa shows a general increase in bank branches, whereas the Balkans and the Middle East exhibit more uneven patterns.
Financial activity, measured by credit to the private sector, is relatively high in several countries, especially in the EU and some emerging economies. By contrast, lower levels of financial intermediation characterize some North African countries, highlighting disparities in financial development across the region.
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.
Mediterranean countries are predominantly net importers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products: in twenty-three out of the twenty-six countries in the region, the share of ICT goods is higher in imports than in exports (see Figure 1). Three countries constitute notable exceptions. In Malta, within the European Union, ICT products account for a very significant share of total goods exports (29.5%) and also of imports (11.6%), the latter representing the highest import share in the entire Mediterranean area. Israel, in the Middle East, also records a strong presence of ICT products in its trade flows, accounting for 15.3% of exports and 9.5% of imports. While smaller in absolute terms, Tunisia also plays a noteworthy role: for this North African country, the share of ICT products is higher in exports than in imports, and ICT exports account for 4.2% of total goods exports, placing Tunisia third in the Mediterranean region after Malta and Israel.
Figure 1 – ICT goods exports and imports (percentage of total goods trade). Year 2023.
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Bank branches
The availability of bank branches varies significantly across Mediterranean countries. The most recent data – referring to 2024 and, in some cases, to 2023 – highlight substantial differences both across regions and among countries within the same region. In the European Union and the Western Balkans, the number of bank branches per 100,000 adults ranges between 20 and 45, depending on the country. By contrast, in the Middle East and North Africa, the presence of bank branches is more limited, typically ranging between 5 and 25 per 100,000 adults.
Looking at developments over the past two decades, the number of bank branches has progressively declined across all European Union countries, most notably in Spain, where the number of branches per 100,000 adults fell from over 120 to around 40. In the other regions, trends have been more uneven. In the Western Balkans, the number of bank branches increased sharply up to 2008 – the year in which the international financial crisis erupted – after which growth stalled or a contraction in branch numbers was observed. In the Middle East, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan experienced a decline in the number of bank branches over the period under review, while Turkey and Palestine recorded a modest increase. By contrast, all North African countries exhibit an upward trend, particularly pronounced in Tunisia and Morocco, and more moderate in Libya, Egypt, and Algeria.
Figure 2 – Commercial bank branches (per 100,000 adults). Period 2005-2024
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The activity of financial intermediaries
The ratio of domestic credit to the private sector relative to GDP provides an indication of the intensity of financial intermediaries’ involvement in financing economic growth and, conversely, of the level of indebtedness of firms and households, as well as the overall dependence of the economic system on credit. The most recent available data indicate that ten Mediterranean countries record ratios above 60%. Of these, five are European Union members – Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Malta – with France posting the highest value (107.5%). Other countries with ratios exceeding 60% include Kosovo (61.3%) in the Western Balkans; Jordan (80.2%), Israel (69.5%1), and Palestine (68.5%) in the Middle East; and Morocco (81.4%2) in North Africa (see Figure 3).
Croatia (47.1%), Greece (49.1%), and Cyprus (58.7%) within the European Union; Bosnia and Herzegovina (50.4%), Montenegro (46.4%), and North Macedonia (54.8%) in the Western Balkans; Turkey (44.2%) in the Middle East; and Tunisia (58.2%) in North Africa record intermediate levels of domestic credit to the private sector relative to GDP (between 40% and 60%). By contrast, Egypt (27.6%), Algeria (19.4%), and Libya (13.6%) in North Africa display the lowest ratios among the twenty-six Mediterranean countries.
Figure 3 – Domestic credit to the private sector. Year 2024 (% of GDP)
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Notes
1Data refers to 2023.
2ibidem
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Metadata
Indicators
Definition
Ratio (per 100 persons aged 15 years and over) of retail locations of resident commercial banks and other resident banks that operate as commercial banks and provide financial services to customers. They are physically separate from the main office, but not organized as legally separate branches.
Sources
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Methodology
The data is collected through the Financial Access Survey (FAS) based on administrative data collected by central banks and other financial regulators and reported to the IMF. The FAS, launched in 2009, is a dataset on access to and use of financial services, which helps policymakers measure and monitor financial inclusion and assess progress against other countries.
Notes
The banking sector includes monetary authorities (the central bank) and deposit banks, as well as other financial companies for which data are available (including institutions that do not accept transferable deposits but have liabilities such as term deposits and savings deposits). Examples of other financial companies are finance and leasing companies, money lenders, insurance companies, pension funds, and foreign exchange companies.
Percentage of GDP of financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, for example through loans, purchases of non-equity securities, trade receivables and other receivables, which give rise to a request for repayment. For some countries, these receivables also include those from public companies.
Sources
World Bank Development Indicators (WB)
Methodology
The data is collected through the Financial Access Survey (FAS) based on administrative data collected by central banks and other financial regulators and reported to the IMF. The FAS, launched in 2009, is a dataset on access to and use of financial services, which helps policymakers measure and monitor financial inclusion and assess progress against other countries.
Notes
Financial companies include monetary authorities and depository banks, as well as other financial companies where data is available (including companies that do not accept transferable deposits, but which have liabilities such as time and savings deposits). Examples of other financial companies are finance and leasing companies, money lenders, insurance companies, pension funds, and foreign exchange companies.
Exports of information and communication technology (ICT) goods – including computers and peripheral equipment, communications equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components and other information technology goods – as a percentage of exports of goods.
Sources
United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Methodology
The data are reported by the national authorities with details of the products coded according to the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System 1992, HS 1996, HS 2002, HS 2007, HS 2012, HS 2017 or HS 2022, depending on the economy and the reference year. In case multiple classifications are available for a given economy and a given year, preference is given to the most recent HS edition. The data are downloaded from UN Comtrade and aggregated into ICT product groups by UNCTAD.
Imports of information and communication technology (ICT) goods – including computers and peripheral equipment, communication equipment, consumer electronic equipment, electronic components and other information technology goods – as a percentage of imports of goods.
Sources
United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Methodology
The data are reported by the national authorities with details of the products coded according to the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System 1992, HS 1996, HS 2002, HS 2007, HS 2012, HS 2017 or HS 2022, depending on the economy and the reference year. In case multiple classifications are available for a given economy and a given year, preference is given to the most recent 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 at a national patent office to obtain exclusive rights to an invention: a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. The patent guarantees the protection of the invention to its owner for a limited period, generally 20 years.
Sources
WeMed elaborations on World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) data
Methodology
Intellectual property (IP) data is mainly based on WIPO's annual intellectual property statistical surveys and data compiled by WIPO in the processing of international applications/registrations through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Madrid and Hague Systems. The intellectual property survey, which has been carried out regularly and for a long time, covers patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs and plant varieties. It consists of 27 questionnaires, all available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish on the www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/data_collection/questionnaire website. In 2017, WIPO began collecting data on geographical indications through an annual survey. This simple questionnaire aims to collect data on geographical information divided by legal means of protection (e.g., sui generis systems, trademarks, international agreements, etc.) and product types (e.g., wines and spirits, agricultural products, and so on).
Notes
Ongoing efforts are underway to improve the quality and availability of intellectual property statistics and to collect data from as many offices and countries as possible.
