UN says Gaza faces the most severe economic collapse ever recorded
The UN Conference on Trade and Development warns that Gaza’s economy has collapsed to the worst level in history, with most businesses destroyed and unemployment soaring.
In a briefing in Geneva, UNCTAD officials declared Gaza’s economy the most severe crisis ever documented, with nine-in-ten businesses destroyed and the majority of the population unemployed. Pedro Manuel Moreno said the enclave’s daily per-capita GDP is just $0.58, while consumer prices have risen 274% compared with 2022. Mutasim Elagraa explained that before the October 2023 conflict two-thirds of Gazans were already poor, but now every resident is classified as multidimensionally poor.
Industrial activity and farming have collapsed by 94%, leaving only 1.5% of arable land usable and forcing total reliance on humanitarian food aid. The report also warns of an economic and financial crisis in the occupied West Bank, citing reduced access to resources, heavy borrowing by the Palestinian government, and the risk of a banking collapse that could have broad social and political repercussions.
Why it matters
The crisis threatens mass poverty and instability for millions in Gaza and the West Bank, with regional and global humanitarian implications.
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