section_path: Impact by region or country/Middle East
section_name: Middle East
paragraph_text: Middle East
  
  In the Middle East, the economic situation in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia deteriorated more than any other country in the region. Relying highly on tourism, Dubai was one of the first to reopen tourism. However, by January 2021, a significant surge in Covid cases in the UAE was observed, while several countries across the world also began to blame the Emirati city for spreading the virus abroad.
  
  On the other hand, the economy of the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, faced a deep recession, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter, Saudi's economy shrank by 7 per cent, hitting both the oil and non-oil sectors. Besides, unemployment during the quarter also hit a record high of 15.4 per cent. For the third quarter, the Kingdom didn't release its labor market report for the assessment of the unemployment rate. In January 2021, it was reported that Saudi was supposed to release the data on citizen unemployment in December 2020. However, it was delayed four times, before the officials permanently removed the release date from the Saudi statistics authority's website.