1997 Arab GNP totaled US $600 billion

The united Arab economic report for 1997 issued on Thursday in Cairo by the Arab League said that the Arab states' total GNP increased from US $575 billion in 1996 to US $ 600 in 1997, representing an increase of 3.4%. The report added that the Arab population reached 264 million with an annual population growth of 2.5 %. The report indicated that the Arab states had minimized their financial deficit in 1997 at 26% to reach only 2.2% of the GNP.