Transport for Sustainable Development – The case of Inland Transport
On the other hand, a number of countries have struggled with high unemployment during the same period, seven of which had an average rate of over 10 per cent, with Iraq and Yemen being the hardest hit with average rates of 18.62 per cent and 15.66 per cent during the period. There does not seem to be any correlation in regional unemployment with the global economic crisis of 2008–2009, as the majority of countries demonstrate stable unemployment rates, regardless if they are low, moderate or high. Road transport in Arab countries accounts for more than 80 per cent of the total transportation of passengers and freight. There are very limited statistics describing the volume of road freight transport in the region, and are to an extent available only for Morocco and Tunisia. Railway transport systems are available in a limited number of Arab countries, especially in Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic (UNESCWA, 2009). According to available statistics, the rail freight transport volume has since 2006 decreased in Egypt and Iraq by close to 60 per cent, and by 33 per cent in Jordan. Elsewhere it has remained stagnant during the period, with a notable increase in freight volume reported only in Saudi Arabia (36 per cent). 18
2.2
Social and Demographic Trends
Figure 2.7
Global and regional population size projections for the twenty-first century
Solid lines: Global projections Coloured bands: Regional projections
Source: O’Neill et al., 2010
Significant changes in global population size, age structure, household size and urbanization are expected for the twenty-first century (Cohen, 2003); such changes could have substantial implications for inland transport, in terms of transport patterns, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (see also Chapters 2.3 and 7). An assessment of the implications of demographic changes on the basis of an energy-economic growth model that accounts for demographic dynamics (O’Neill et al., 2010) has shown for the twenty-first century (a) an increase of the population trend that will probably peter out after 2050 and (b) significant regional differences (Figure 2.7).
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http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.RRS.GOOD.MT.K6
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