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MORE AND MORE CARS
/MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA
source: eb.eiu.com
earthtrends.wri.org/text/energy
-resources/variable-290.html
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In the Middle East car ownership is, first, a matter of status. National statistics do not reveal the huge disparity between those who have and those who have not… - the country with the most car ownership is Lebanon, at 732 per 1,000 inhabitants. In 2002, there were about 1.2 million cars on its streets. 62 % of the families have a car. A total number of 15,921 new vehicles were sold in 2003, which is an increase of 16% over the previous year;(1)
- in Bahrain, it has been estimated that there were 250 passenger cars per 1,000 people in 2001, but the number climbed to 307 in 2002;
- according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in May 2005 the rolling stocks of cars in Israel exceeded for the first time the 2 million mark (of which 1,567,000 were private cars), as against 803,000 units in 1990. The number of cars increased by 2.8% over that of 2004. There were 297 vehicles per 1,000 residents in Israel (but in Tel Aviv the average is 458);
- Saudi Arabia leads the region in terms of total sales, with 153,000 passenger car registrations in 2002;
- in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it is estimated that the vehicle market is about 1.4 million vehicles and it grows annually, on average, by 10%, according to Business Monitor International (BMI). The Saudi Arabian automobile market is growing rapidly. In 2002, the sales of new cars had gone up sharply: +55% to reach 326,000 units;(2)
- according to the official statistics, today in Azerbaijan for each 1000 people is 45 automobiles. The number of citizens, who received driving license, has exceeded the million. Only in 2003 in Azerbaijan was sold 28,000 new and second hand automobiles, and in 2004 this number grew by 15%;
- there were around 1.6 million cars in Kazakhstan in 2002. New car registrations have thus increased sharply over the past five years, reaching 211,528 units in 2002. The stock of passenger cars (per 1,000 population) passed from 67 in 2000 to 190 in 2003;
- car ownership in Turkey doubled during the 1990s, but 3/4 of households still do not own a car. (72 cars per 1,000 people in 2003). After having fallen to under 200,000 in 2001 and 2002, total new-vehicle sales rose to 400,000 in 2003 and 754,000 in 2004.
Number of cars per 1000 people: Middle & Far East (selected countries) | country | 1980 | 1994 | 1996 | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | source | | Kuwait | 280.3* | 358.0 | 317.0 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | | Lebanon | -- | 300.3 | 298.5 | -- | -- | 313 | 1, 5 (2004) | | Qatar | -- | 252.0 | 244.7 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | | Bahrain | -- | 238.9 | 240.2 | 250.0 | -- | -- | 1 | | Israel | 106.9 | 195.9 | 208.2 | 233.0 | -- | 297 | 1, 2 (04) | | Oman | -- | 92.2 | 97.1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | | Saudi Arabia | -- | 94.2 | 93.3 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | | UAE | -- | 84.4 | 81.8 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | | Azerbaijan | -- | 36.4 | 35.3 | 41 | 44 | 45 | 1, 4 (02-04) | | Kazakhstan | -- | 60.9 | 62.7 | 67.0 | 150 | 190*** | 1, 4 (02-03) | | Turkey | 15.1 | 50.0 | 5.0 | 64.0** | 69 | 72*** | 1, 3 (02), 4 (03) | | Georgia | -- | 87.2 | 60.7 | 55.0 | -- | -- | 1 | | Jordan | -- | 44.4 | 49.5 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
* Data: 1979; ** 1998; *** 2003.
Sources: (1) World Bank, World Development Indicators; (2) Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel; (3) www.fdimagazine.com' target='_blank'>; (4) The Economist Intelligence Unit; (5) Microsoft-Encarta; (6) national statistics;
(1) This incredible figure is reported by several sources. However, other sources – for example Encarta - report a more reliable amount of 313 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (see TAB above).
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