The Middle East, by the numbers.

This summer's conflict between Israel and Hezbollah raised many questions about the balance of power in the Middle East, and America's rote in this volatile region. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has fought six wars with its Arab neighbors, including this summer's war with Hezbollah. Israel has also engaged in conflict with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and has been the target of countless suicide bombings and other attacks by militant groups opposed to its existence. Among its neighbors, only Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel.

As the graph shows, most nations in the region have large military forces and spend more than the world average on their militaries. (Note: All countries also have thousands of reserve troops subject to callup whenever it is deemed necessary.])

Country          Population

Egypt            74 million
Israel            7 million
Iran           69.5 million
Jordan          5.8 million
Lebanon         3.8 million
Saudi Arabia   24.6 million
Syria          18.4 million

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

1. Iran has the largest
military in the region, with
a troop strength of about

(a) 730,000   (c) 750,000
(b) 740,000   (d) 770,000

2. How many times larger
than Saudi Arabia's military
is the military of Iran?

(a) seven times

(c) five times

(b) six times

(d) four times

3. Lebanon's Gross Domestic
Product [GDP]--the value
of all goods and services
produced in a year--is
about $24 billion. About
how many millions of
dollars per year does
Lebanon spend on its
military?

(a) 300       (c) 700
(b) 400       (d) 900

4. Israel's GDP is about $155
billion, making its military
expenditure almost

(a) $12 billion

(c) $21 billion

(b) $4 billion

(d) $7 billion

5. The average military
expenditure as a
percentage of GDP of
the seven Middle East
countries shown is about

(a) 10%       (c) 3.5%
(b) 6%        (d) 9%

6. The percentage point difference
between answer
number five and the average
world military expenditure
as a percent of GDP
is about

(a) 2         (c) 4
(b) 1         (d) 3

7. The Middle Eastern
country of--has
approximately twice
the number of troops as
Israel

1. [d] 770,000

2. [b] six times

3. [c] 700

4. [a] $12 billion

5. [b] 6%

6. [c] 4

7. Syria