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.
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