The Arab Planning Institute said there is a disparity in middle-class spending among Arab states. Egypt recorded the lowest level, U.S. $111 per person in 2000, while Tunisia reached to the highest level, U.S. $156 per person in 1995. The average spending of the middle class surpassed the average spending of the whole society in three Arab countries, while it was less in Egypt and Jordan. Using the population weight of 1995, the Affluent Middle-Class index of the whole of Arab nations reached 1.4 percent, which reflects that the spending average of the middle class isn't different from the general spending average. The average spending of the middle class varied among states in the first decade of the current century from its lowest level in Yemen in 2005, U.S. $94 per person, to its highest level in Jordan in 2006, U.S. $178 per person. The average spending of the middle class surpassed the general average of the whole society in Yemen only in 2005. The average spending per capita recorded an annual rate of growth which is relatively high in Jordan (2.2%), Tunisia (2%), and Morocco (1.6), while the growth rate declined in Egypt (0.2%).
