Culture

The global art market rebounded in 2025 with sales valued at $59.6 billion, achieving 4% growth year-over-year. The United States dominates with 44% market share worth $26 billion, followed by the United Kingdom at 18% and China at 14%. France, Switzerland, and Austria experienced notable growth, with intergenerational wealth transfer reshaping art acquisition patterns and preferences among younger buyers. Auctions grew 9% while gallery sales increased 2%, reflecting synchronized improvement in art market activity and commercial performance globally.

Forbes Middle East ranked the most famous Arab artists based on their social media followers, years of experience in the field, and impactful activities. The year 2025 witnessed great diversity in Arab artistic talents across music and acting. This ranking reflects the success and immense popularity of these artists in the Arab world.

Master painters dominate global auction rankings with astronomical prices. Prestigious auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's have sold rare masterpieces at record-breaking figures. This demonstrates the increasing demand for both modern and classical art among elite collectors worldwide.

Data reveals that Turkish and Persian constitute the primary sources of loanwords in Arabic, resulting from six centuries of Ottoman rule and cultural interaction with Persians since the Islamic conquests. Turkish loanwords predominantly entered administrative, military, and daily life domains (e.g., tabur/queue, pasha, effendi), while Persian words concentrated in literature, commerce, and crafts (e.g., barnamaj/program, bazaar, chess). French and English words appear primarily in modern technical and scientific terminology, while ancient Greek words feature in philosophical and scientific terms transmitted through the Abbasid translation movement. Notably, many words entered Arabic through linguistic intermediaries; numerous Persian and Greek words came via Ottoman Turkish.