Arab World: Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Arab World's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) rose 0.32 on 2022 (from 175.53 to 175.85).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2022), the average change was +4.3 and a typical year strayed about 13.66 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 28 in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 25.46 in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 4.88 a year. A straight line explains 52% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Borrowers from commercial banks are the reported number of resident customers that are nonfinancial corporations (public and private) and households who obtained loans from commercial banks and other banks functioning as commercial banks.

Limitations: For many countries data cover the total number of loan accounts due to lack of information on loan account holders. For several countries, data cover all borrowers including commercial banks, credit unions and financial cooperatives, deposit taking microfinance institutions, and other deposit takers. These include all resident financial corporations and quasi-corporations (except the central bank) that are mainly engaged in financial intermediation and that issue liabilities included in the national definition of broad money.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 16 values

Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 3.29 (2019)
• Algeria — 43.39 (2024)
• Bahrain — 191.97 (2024)
• Djibouti — 42.46 (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 132.95 (2024)
• Kuwait — 198.93 (2024)
• Lebanon — 70.82 (2024)
• Pakistan — 23.34 (2024)
• Qatar — 280.89 (2021)
• Saudi Arabia

More financial sector data for Arab World

• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 2.7% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 53.98% (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 15.68% (2018)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 51.74% (2017)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 80.73% (2017)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 53.31% (2017)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 1.77% (2025)
• Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%) — 22.53% (2024)
• Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) — 10.98% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Arab World's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)?

175.85 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is up 52.53% from 115.29 in 2008 (2.85% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 180.52 in 2018 and the lowest 96.07 in 2012.

Is the latest change in borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) unusual for Arab World?

In 2023, Arab World's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) rose 0.32 on 2022 (from 175.53 to 175.85). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2022), the average change was +4.3 and a typical year strayed about 13.66 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Financial Access Survey, International Monetary Fund (IMF), uri: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FB.CBK.BRWR.P3, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Financial Access Survey, International Monetary Fund (IMF), uri: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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