2013年，西亚非洲地区两个次区域的经济增长速度和通货膨胀率出现显著分化，同时两个次区域的失业宿疾进一步加重，财政可持续性堪忧，经常账户平衡状况有所恶化。在该地区主要大国中，沙特阿拉伯总体形势较好，未来的挑战主要在于如何促进国内经济协调平衡发展；埃及政治局势动荡不已，经济发展持续低迷；南非由于没有及时通过强有力的改革营造出有利于经济增长的商业环境，已经成为非洲经济增长最缓慢的国家之一。展望未来，西亚非洲地区未来经济发展主要取决于地区安全局势、世界经济未来走势以及大宗商品价格走势。
In 2013, West Asia and Africa exhibit significant differentiation in economic growth rate and inflation rate, while they share several common challenges
such as the rising unemployment rate, the fragile fiscal balance, and the worsening
current account balance． Among regional major powers, Saudi Arabia grows relatively
well, though it is somewhat bothered by the imbalanced development between the oil
sector and non-oil sectors; Egypt is trapped in political turmoil and experiences a low
growth; South Africa is one of the most slowly growing economies in Africa, as it fails
to create a business-friendly environment through effective reforms． In the future, the
economic development of West Asia and Africa depends heavily on the regional
security situation, the world economy trends, and the prices of commodity goods．
