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Middle East.


Three years after the American-led invasion that outsted Saddam Hussein, IRAQ is still largely in a state of upheaval, with Shiites and Sunnis killing each other on a daily basis. Many fear the country is on the verge of civil war, with 141,000 U.S. troops (above) caught in the middle. To the east, oil-rich IRAN, governed by anti-American Shiite clerics 27 years, is defying the U.N. with its nuclear research program. The prospect of Iran Having nuclear weapons is frightening for its Sunni neighbors--EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA, and JORDAN--and for ISRAEL, which Iran's President has threatened to "wipe off the map."

U.N. peacekeepers (left) are monitoring southern LEBANON after the month-long war last summer between ISRAEL and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. The prospect of renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians group Hamas is part of the Palestinian government and refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right t exist.
MIDDLE EAST

                                        URBAN
                      AREA (SQ MI)      POP. %

                                      POP. RISE
COUNTRY                POPULATION       %/YEAR          CAPITAL

BAHRAIN                    266           100            MANAMA
                         700,000         1.8

CYPRUS                    3,571           66            NICOSIA
                        1,000,000        0.4

EGYPT (4)                386,660          43             CAIRO
                       75,400,000        2.1

IRAN                     630,575          67            TEHRAN
                       70,300,000        1.2

IRAQ                     169,236          68            BAGHDAD
                       29,600,000        2.6

ISRAEL (5)                8,131           91           JERUSALEM
                        7,200,000        1.5

JORDAN                   34,444           82             AMMAN
                        5,600,000        2.4

KUWAIT                    6,880           96            KUWAIT
                        2,700,000        1.7

LEBANON                   4,015           87            BEIRUT
                        3,900,000        1.5

OMAN                     82,031           71            MUSCAT
                        2,600,000        2.0

QATAR                     4,247          100             DOHA
                         800,000         1.6

SAUDI ARABIA             829,996          86            RIYADH
                       24,100,000        2.7

SYRIA                    71,498           50           DAMASCUS
                       19,500,000        2.5

TURKEY                   299,158          59            ANKARA
                       73,700,000        1.3

UNITED ARAB              32,278           74           ABU DHABI
EMIRATES                2,600,000        1.3

YEMEN                    203,849          26             SANAA
                       21,800,000        3.2

COUNTRY                  MAJOR LANGUAGES

BAHRAIN                       Arabic
                             English
                           Farsi & Urdu

CYPRUS                        Greek
                             Turkish
                             English

EGYPT (4)                     Arabic
                             English
                              French

IRAN                      Farsi, Turkic,
                             Kurdish,
                          Luri & others

IRAQ                          Arabic
                             Kurdish
                       Assyrian & Armenian

ISRAEL (5)                    Hebrew
                              Arabic
                             English

JORDAN                        Arabic
                             English

KUWAIT                        Arabic
                             English

LEBANON                       Arabic
                              French
                        Armenian & English

OMAN                         Arabic,
                        English, Baluchi,
                          Urdu & others

QATAR                         Arabic
                             English

SAUDI ARABIA                  Arabic

SYRIA                    Arabic, Kurdish,
                            Armenian,
                         French & others

TURKEY                       Turkish
                             Kurdish
                              Arabic

UNITED ARAB               Arabic, Farsi,
EMIRATES                 English, Hindi,
                               Urdu

YEMEN                         Arabic

                                   POLITICAL SYSTEM &
COUNTRY                            HEAD OF GOVERNMENT

BAHRAIN               Monarchy
                      KING HAMAD BIN 'ISA AL KHALIFAH

CYPRUS                Presidential-parliamentary democracy
                      President TASSOS PAPADOPOULOS

EGYPT (4)             Dominant party
                      President HOSNI MUBARAK

IRAN                  Presidential-parliamentary under Islamic
                      religious control
                      President MAHMUD AHMADINEJAD

IRAQ                  Transitional
                      Prime Minister NURI AL-MALIKI

ISRAEL (5)            Parliamentary democracy
                      Prime Minister EHUD OLMERT

JORDAN                Constitutional monarchy
                      KING ABDULLAH II

KUWAIT                Monarchy
                      EMIR SHEIKH SABBAH AL AHMAD AL
                      JABIR AL SABAH

LEBANON               Presidential-parliamentary
                      President EMILE LAHOUD

OMAN                  Monarchy
                      Prime Minister and Sultan
                      QABOOS BIN SA'ID AL-SAID

QATAR                 Monarchy
                      EMIR SHEIKH HAMID BIN
                      KHALIFAH AL-THANI

SAUDI ARABIA          Monarchy
                      King and Prime Minister
                      ABDULLAH BIN ABD AL-AZIZ AL-SAUD

SYRIA                 Dominant party (military-dominated)
                      President BASHAR AL-ASSAD

TURKEY                Parliamentary democracy
                      Prime Minister RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN

UNITED ARAB           Federation of traditional monarchies
EMIRATES              President KHALIFA BIN ZAYID
                      AL-NUHAYYAN

YEMEN                 Dominant party
                      President ALI ABDULLAH SALEH

                          DATE         LITERACY       PER CAPITA
                        OF ORIGIN      RATE (%)           GDP

                         % POP.          LIFE
COUNTRY                 UNDER 15      EXPECTANCY          HDI

BAHRAIN                   1971          92/85           $23,000
                           28           73/75            0.846

CYPRUS                    1960          99/96      $21,500 GREEK (3)
                                                    $7,135 TURKISH
                           20           75/80            0.891

EGYPT (4)                 1922          68/47           $3,900
                           35           67/72            0.659

IRAN                      1502          86/73           $8,300
                           29           69/72            0.736

IRAQ                      1932          56/24           $3,400
                           42           57/60             NA

ISRAEL (5)                1948          97/94           $24,600
                           28           78/82            0.915

JORDAN                    1946          96/86           $4,700
                           37           71/72            0.753

KUWAIT                    1961          85/82           $19,200
                           26           77/79            0.844

LEBANON                   1943          93/82           $6,200
                           27           70/74            0.759

OMAN                      1650          83/67           $13,200
                           33           73/75            0.781

QATAR                     1971          89/89           $27,400
                           23           71/76            0.849

SAUDI ARABIA              1932          85/71           $12,800
                           38           70/74            0.772

SYRIA                     1946          90/64           $3,900
                           37           71/75            0.721

TURKEY                    1923          94/79           $8,200
                           29           69/74            0.750

UNITED ARAB               1971          76/82           $43,400
EMIRATES                   25           75/80            0.849

YEMEN                     1990          71/30            $900
                           46           59/62            0.489

* All the countries of the Middle East are in Asia, with the
exception of Egypt, which is partly in Asia and partly in
Africa, and Turkey, which is partly in Asia and partly in
Asia and partly in Europe.

(3) Figures are broken down into Greek and Turkish populations,
respectively.

(4) Egypt is partly in Africa and partly in Asia, and is
considered part of the Middle East. In this Almanac, it is
listed in both the Middle East and Africa.

(5) Israel's area and population do not include the occupied
territory of the West Bank.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Scholastic, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Title Annotation:population, head of governmnet and political system followed
Publication:New York Times Upfront
Article Type:Table
Geographic Code:70MID
Date:Oct 23, 2006
Words:838
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