Assessing the Determinants of Gender Equality Attainment in Arab Countries: A Quantitative Analysis of SDG 5 and Its Interlinkages With Other SDGs

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates how progress toward gender equality (SDG 5) can foster the achievement of other SDGs in the Arab region. It considers SDGs interlinkages and views gender equality as a key to the SDGs, identifying priority actions for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Twenty‐one Arab countries (excluding Palestine due to a lack of data) were selected for the study using data from the Sustainable Development Report 2024 and The Arab Region SDGs Index and Dashboards 2025 . Spearman's correlation was used to determine the relationships between SDG 5 and the other SDGs. A new Gender Equality Index (GEI) was developed based on the 17 SDGs. SDG 5 is the poorest‐performing in the Arab region, scoring 40%, where UAE ranks the highest (70%) and Yemen is the lowest (15%). Gender equality was found to be strongly correlated with SDGs 2, 1, 4, 9, 16, and 17. The GEI model demonstrated a high predictive value ( R = 0.929; adjusted R 2 = 0.839) and explained 86.3% of the variance in gender equality. Food security (SDG 2) appears to be the most influential variable, followed by SDGs 6 and 16, indicating a vital task for policy makers. The research is restricted due to data availability and regional disparities. Future research needs to incorporate qualitative analyses. Combining efforts toward SDG 5 into national development policies can help achieve other SDGs. The study proves the SDGs' interlinkages and proposes the innovative GEI model considering 17 SDGs, emphasizing gender equality as a catalytic force for the SDGs.