Retail sales MENA 2022, by country

In 2022, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey had the highest retail sales values in the Middle East and North Africa region. Retail sales in Turkey were valued at roughly three times that of Iran. While Tunisia and Jordan had the lowest retail sales values among MENA countries, they also have considerably smaller populations.

 State of retail sales

Retail sales in the region are consistently growing. In the Gulf Cooperation Council, both retail food sales, and non-food retail sales are forecast to grow in the coming years. A breakdown of the retail market in the MENA region illustrates the fairly diverse distribution of the retail market. Certain industries like entertainment held only a small share of the retail market. However, programs such as Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia have poured billions of dollars into the sports, entertainment, and film industries to diversify the economy and welcome more foreign visitors.

Economies of the region

The various countries in the region have significantly different economies and key exports. Saudi Arabia, for example, has the smallest population but is only behind Egypt in its value of retail sales among the five leading countries in the region. Additionally, most of the leading retail brands in the Middle East in 2022 were located in Saudi Arabia. Turkey, on the other hand, is heavily reliant on foreign tourists to sustain its economy, especially as it has been reeling from high levels of inflation in recent years.