Gulf States Lead Middle East in Disaster Resilience as Levant Nations Lag

OPA WIRE, Oct 19 (OPA) — Kuwait leads the region with a resilience score of 74, followed by Bahrain at 72, and Oman and the United Arab Emirates at 70. These figures significantly exceed the global average of 57. In the UAE, 87% of residents expressed confidence in government disaster preparedness, the second-highest rate among the 133 countries surveyed. Bahrain reported similar optimism, with 82% of respondents citing government readiness.

Conversely, Lebanon and Iraq face severe challenges, scoring 48 and 49 respectively. Only 14% of Lebanese respondents believe their government is prepared for disasters, and just 39% of those affected by a crisis reported receiving advance warnings. Furthermore, 59% of Iraqis and 56% of Lebanese stated they feel their governments are indifferent to their welfare, a figure significantly higher than the 29% global average.

North Africa showed the most significant regional improvement, rising five points on the resilience index since 2023. The report attributes these gains in Algeria and Egypt to expanded internet access and increased household financial capacity. Globally, the data highlights a persistent gap in safety, with individuals in low-income countries nearly twice as likely to be affected by disasters as those in high-income nations.

The study, based on 143,000 interviews conducted in 2025, emphasizes the importance of multi-channel warning systems. While 37% of people alerted through a single channel took preventive action, that figure climbed to 64% for those reached via three channels. Despite widespread mobile phone ownership, 170 million people worldwide experienced a disaster without receiving any prior warning.