Quality of life and wellbeing in North Africa – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia

Abstract

The whole Arab region is currently going through an unprecedented period of political and economic volatility. In such hard times, my aim is to contribute towards understanding the real needs and lives of the people of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, paving the way to development of outcome indicators for future use in planning and delivering interventions or services. The chapter addresses the main historical periods of the region, mainly the pre-Islamic and the Islamic period, and the European colonial and post-colonial eras. It also gives a detailed description of the characteristics of the current population, and the region's economic and political conditions. The analysis is complemented by reviewing a number of well-established international simple and composite indicators of quality of life and wellbeing. An agenda for action is proposed to help point out to major steps that should be followed by policy makers.