Comparing Countries in the Middle East

Experts always say that you can't really compare countries in the Middle East because they all have unique political, social, religious, and economic realities. Some folks in the Belfer Center, where I work, made this chart comparing attributes of countries in the Middle East (and some of Asia) so we can quickly see the differences and similarities. It lists the leaders and how long they've been in power, as well as population data, unemployment rates, and other interesting numbers measuring freedom, corruption, and government effectiveness. Take a gander when you can. Some quick fun facts from the Legitimacy and Accountability section:

- Iraq gets the best grade for level of democracy, but the lowest for government effectiveness
- Qatar ranks lowest in perception of corruption
- Kuwait is ranked highest in freedom of the press, followed by Egypt and then Jordan

Sources are listed at the bottom of the chart. To view a larger version of the chart, click on the image below or check out the original blog post here.