Arab countries, culture and language, overview

1. PRESENTATION
ON
ARAB COUNTRIES
PRESENTED BY:
ALIFIYA HUSSAIN

2. HISTORY OF ARAB WORLD
 “Arabs” are people that describe more than 300 million persons
who share a common language, culture, and history.
 The Arab World aka Arab Nation lies in the middle of the Ancient
World occupying an area stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the
west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean
Sea in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south.
 It covers an area of approximately 14 million square kilometers.
 It was formed in 1945

3. Countries in the Arab World
• Egypt
• Algeria
• Sudan
• Iraq
• Morocco
• Saudi Arabia
• Yemen
• Syria
• Tunisia
• Somalia
• Bahrain

4. • United Arab Emirates
• Jordan
• Libya
• Palestine
• Lebanon
• Oman
• Kuwait
• Mauritania
• Qatar
• Djibouti
• Comoros islands

5. The Demographics
Population of 422 million people.
The majority of people adhere to Islam.
Has one quarter of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims with
an average population growth rate of 2.3%.
Oman and Qatar have the highest population growth
rates in the world at 9.2% and 5.6% respectively.
Approximately 90% of people in the Arab world identify
as Muslim, while 6% are Christian and 4% make up
other various religions.

6. Arab Culture and Language
Islam is the dominant religion in most countries.
Language:
• There are three forms of Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
(MSA), Qur’anic Arabic, and Colloquial Arabic.
Culture:
• Women generally are considered to be secondary to men in their
societies.
• Wearing of “Abayah” and “Hijab” for women is a must in some
countries like Saudi Arabia.
• Men wear “thawb” or thobe.

7. Generally a man can have only one wife but if he can
financially provide for them, he can have upto four wives.
The family is the key social unit to an Arab.
Family and kin’s honour most important.
Bigger families are preferred.

8. Literacy in Arab Adolescents
In 2004, the regional average of youth literacy was 90% for
males and 80 % for females
Illiteracy for 15-24 year olds ranges from less than 1% in
Jordan to 50% in Yemen.
One third of youth remains illiterate in the some Arab
countries (Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen)
According to a UN survey, the average person reads four
pages a year and one new title is published each year for every
12,000 people.
The Arab Thought Foundation reports that just above 8% of
people in Arab countries aspire to get an education.[28

9. Youth Unemployment
The Arab Labor Organization (ALO) rates
unemployment in the Arab world as the worst
worldwide.
 According to the report the general rate of
unemployment in Arab countries exceeds 14 %
and youth rate of unemployment in Arab world
exceeds 26% , which means that the Arab region has
more than 17 million people unemployed.
Algeria - 46 percent;
Bahrain - 27 percent;
Saudi Arabia - 26 percent;
The UAE has the lowest rate, 6.3 percent.

10. Economic Development
The Arab League is rich in resources.
Telecommunications and Tourism industry is the fastest
growing sector in the region with Egypt, UAE, Lebanon,
Jordan and Saudi Arabia leading the way.
Nearly 60% of the world’s oil supplies are at or near the
Arabian Peninsula, Making Saudi Arabia the world’s
largest oil reserve.
There are economic disparities between oil-rich and oil-
poor countries, and, particularly in the Arabian Gulf and
Libya, triggering extensive labor immigration.

11. Four Arab Gulf states Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait,
and Qatar, are among the top ten oil or gas exporters
worldwide.
Algeria, Libya, Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, and Sudan
all have smaller but significant oil reserves.
Qatar was on top of the list on world’s 15 richest countries
with UAE on sixth and Kuwait on fifteenth.

12. India-Saudi Arabia Relations
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest suppliers of oil to India
Since the 1990s, India's economic liberalisation has helped
bolster trade with Saudi Arabia, which annually supplies to
India nearly 175 million barrels (25 million metric tonnes) of
crude oil.
The two countries also share similar views on
combating terrorism.
India imports organic and inorganic chemicals, metal scrap,
leather, gold and oil from Saudi Arabia.

13. Both nations are expected to expand trade and cooperation
and joint ventures in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals,
health services, information technology, biotechnology,
agriculture, construction projects, energy and financial
services.

14. Challenges
The region faces various socio-political, gender, economic and
environmental challenges.
Socially, the Arab region is facing a period of transition. Weak
social, political and socio-economic planning models have
resulted in the neglect of large parts of the population.
Gender inequality across the region is prevalent. Maternal
mortality rates are high. Statistics show that only 25% of Arab
women participate in the labour force.
Human and income poverty reflect the convergence of social,
economic and political exclusion. High unemployment rates
prevail.
While Arab countries have made significant progress on
several development fronts over the past 40 years, such as
improving life expectancy and school enrolment, the region
could have been more effective in translating its considerable
wealth and potential to achieve development gains.

15. Opportunities
UNDP will support the government of Yemen to diversify its
economy and minimize its dependence on oil production.
In response to regional food insecurity, the Arab states can
combine their financial, technical and environmental assets.
The solution will involve resource management and
organization. Sudan for example, is a country that could be
used to grow large amounts of food because of its wealth in
water and land resources.
The success of the current political change in the region can
bring about a larger developmental course based on mutual
accountability between the State and its citizens.