Social and economic inequalities in MENA countries: A bibliometric analysis of research from 2011–2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15584/nsawg.2026.1.2Keywords:
inequalities, MENA countries, North Africa and the Middle East, bibliometric analysisAbstract
Social and economic inequalities represent one of the key developmental challenges faced by contemporary economies, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where historical legacies, economic structures, and political tensions have contributed to persistent social disparities. Existing research on inequality in the region remains fragmented and thematically diverse, making it difficult to identify dominant research directions and long-term shifts in the structure of scientific knowledge. The motivation for undertaking this study is therefore to systematically organise and evaluate the scientific output addressing inequality in MENA countries.
The aim of this article is to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research on social and economic inequalities in the MENA region between 2011 and 2025, with particular emphasis on publication dynamics, leading authors, institutions, countries of affiliation, and principal thematic clusters. The analysis is based on data from the Web of Science database and employs Bibliometrix
and VOSviewer, which enabled the identification of keyword co-occurrence networks, and thematic concentration patterns.
The findings demonstrate a significant increase in publication activity after 2020, growing internationalisation of the research field, and a rising contribution of academic institutions from MENA countries. The keyword analysis reveals dominant thematic clusters: economic–social, health–policy, as well as analytical and comparative cluster. Results show that research on inequality in MENA countries is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, and further development of the field indicates the need for further research on scientific collaboration in this area.
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