Arab women's participation in economic activities in their own countries is far behind their counterparts in the rest of the world, local media reported on Saturday.

According to a latest study released by the Beirut-based Collective for Research and Training on Development Action (CRTD.A) , an estimated 55.2 percent of women take part in global economy but in the Arab region only 29 percent of women participate in the national economies.

Women in the Arab region have limited involvement and interest in macro-economic issues, noted the study.

Though major economic changes are taking place in the region, women have the lowest participation in economy and there is a distinct feminization of unemployment and poverty, the study added.

It also showed that of the 979 million illiterate people globally, two-thirds are women and that just 1 percent of all assets belong to women and some 7 million U.S. dollars worth of women's work goes unpaid.

"Over the past 30 years, 30 million women have been trafficked for sexual exploitation," the study added.

It also said that the issues listed in the study are just some of the statistics that prove that women are far from achieving equality with men.

Source: Xinhua