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| Definition | |
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Further information: Arab people, Arab nationalism, and Pan-Arabism
The linguistic and political denotation inherent in the term Arab is generally dominant over genealogical considerations. Thus, individuals with little or no direct ancestry from the Arabian Peninsula could identify themselves or be considered as Arabs, partially by virtue of their home language (see Arab identity). Such an identity however, is disputed by many peoples. Egyptians for example, may or may not identify themselves as Arabs.
[edit] Tags:Arab Nationalism,Pan-arabism,Arabian Peninsula,Arab,Genealogical,Arabs,Home Language,Egyptians,Egypt, | |
| Standard territorial definition | |
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Map of the member states of the Arab League. Under the standard territorial definition of the Arab world, the states and territories of the Arab League constitute the Arab world.
Main article: Arab League
Although no globally-accepted definition of the Arab world exists,[1] all countries that are members of the Arab League are generally acknowledged as being part of the Arab world.[1][4]
The Arab League is a regional organisation that aims (among other things) to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries and sets out the following definition of an Arab:
“
An Arab is a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic-speaking country, and who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic-speaking peoples.[5]
”
This standard territorial definition is sometimes seen to be inappropriate[6] or problematic,[7] and may be supplemented with certain additional elements (see ancillary linguistic definition below).[8]
[edit] Tags:Arabic,Arabic-speaking,Arab League,Member States,Members, | |
| Member states of the Arab League | |
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Main article: Member states of the Arab League
Algeria (Arabic: الجزائر al-Jazāʾir)
Bahrain (Arabic: البحرين al-Baḥrayn)
Comoros (Arabic: جزر القمر Juzur al-Qamar) (Comorian and French are the other official languages)
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Djībūtī ) (French is the other official language)
Egypt (Arabic: مصر Miṣr)
Iraq (Arabic: العراق al-ʿIrāq) (Kurdish is the other official language (minority))
Jordan (Arabic: الأردن al-ʾUrdun)
Kuwait (Arabic: الكويت al-Kuwayt)
Lebanon (Arabic: لبنان Lubnān)
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā)
Mauritania (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā)
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maġrib)
Oman (Arabic: عمان ʿUmān)
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين Filasṭīn) (Full member of Arab League and recognized by the majority of the World's nation states, but not recognized by the U.N., Israel, or most Western states)
Qatar (Arabic: قطر Qaṭar)
Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-ʿArabiyyah as-Saʿūdiyyah)
Somalia (Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl) (Somali is the other official language)
Sudan (Arabic: السودان as-Sūdān) (English is the other official language (minority))
Syria (Arabic: سوريا Sūryā)
Tunisia (Arabic: تونس Tūnis)
United Arab Emirates (Arabic: الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabiyyah al-Muttaḥidah)
Yemen (Arabic: اليمن al-Yaman)
[edit] Tags:Algeria,Bahrain,Comoros,Comorian,Djibouti,Iraq,Jordan,Kuwait,Lebanon,Libya,Mauritania,Morocco,Oman,Palestine,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,Somalia,Sudan,Syria,Tunisia,United Arab Emirates,Yemen,Official Languages,Somali,French,Israel,Mali, | |
| Ancillary linguistic definition | |
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Main article: Arabic language
As an alternative to,[9] or in combination with,[1] the standard territorial definition, the Arab world may be defined as consisting of peoples and states united to at least some degree by Arabic language, culture or geographic contiguity,[10] or those states or territories in which the majority of the population speaks Arabic, and thus may also include populations of the Arab diaspora.[1]
When an ancillary linguistic definition is used in combination with the standard territorial definition, various parameters may be applied[citation needed][clarification needed] to determine whether a state or territory should be included in this alternative definition of the Arab world. These parameters may be applied[clarification needed] to the states and territories of the Arab League (which constitute the Arab world under the standard definition) and to other states and territories. Typical parameters that may be applied include: whether Arabic is widely spoken; whether Arabic is an official or national language; or whether an Arabic cognate language is widely spoken. These are considered below.
[edit] Tags:Arabic Language,Populations Of The Arab Diaspora,National Language, | |
| Arabic is an official or national language but is not widely spoken | |
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Several states have declared Arabic to be an official or national language, although Arabic is not widely spoken. As members of the Arab League, however, they are considered part of the Arab world under the standard territorial definition.
Somalia has two official languages, Arabic and Somali, both of which belong to the larger Afro-Asiatic language family. Although Arabic is spoken by many in the north, Somali is the more widely used language and contains many Arabic loan words.[11]
Similarly, Djibouti has two official languages, Arabic and French. It also has several formally recognised national languages; besides Somali, many people speak Afar, which is also an Afro-Asiatic language. The majority of the population speaks Somali and Afar, although Arabic is also widely used for trade and other activities.[12]
Comoros has three official languages: Arabic, Comorian and French. Comorian is the most widely spoken language, with Arabic having a religious significance, and French being associated with the educational system.
[edit] Tags:Arabic To Be An Official Or National Language,Afro-asiatic,Loan Words,Afar, | |
| Arabic is an official or national language but is not widely spoken | |
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Chad, Eritrea and Israel all recognise Arabic as an official language, but none of them is a member-state of the Arab League. Although Eritrea has observer status at the Arab League, and has a large number of Arabic speakers, both Eritrea and Chad are not commonly considered parts of the Arab world.
Israel is a self-professed Jewish state and is not, therefore, part of the Arab world. However, according to some definitions,[8][13] the population of Arab citizens of Israel may be considered a constituent part of the Arab world.
[edit] Tags:Chad,Eritrea,Jewish State,Arab Citizens Of Israel, | |
| Arabic cognate languages are spoken but not widely | |
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Iran has about 5 million Arabic speakers. Iranian Arabs are mainly found in Al-Ahwaz, a southwestern region in the Khuzestan province; others inhabit the Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces as well as the city of Qom. Mali and Senegal recognize Hassaniya, the Arabic dialect of the Moorish ethnic minority, as a national language.[14] Also Cyprus recognised Cypriot Maronite Arabic under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and Malta has an official language, Maltese, akin to Maghrebi Arabic, but is not part of the Arab world.
[edit] Tags:Iran,Iranian Arabs,Al-ahwaz,Khuzestan,Bushehr,Hormozgan,Qom,Senegal,Hassaniya,Moorish,Cyprus,Cypriot Maronite Arabic,European Charter For Regional Or Minority Languages,Malta,Maltese, | |
| Population | |
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Pos
Country
Population
World ranking
1
Egypt
80,776,815
[15]
16
2
Algeria
36,423,000
34
3
Iraq
34,400,000
37
4
Morocco
32,393,100
39
5
Sudan
30,894,000
40
6
Saudi Arabia
27,136,977
45
7
Yemen
23,580,000
49
8
Syria
22,505,000
55
9
Tunisia
10,432,500
77
10
Somalia
9,359,000
85
11
United Arab Emirates
8,264,070
93
12
Libya
6,597,960
103
13
Jordan
6,407,085
106
14
Lebanon
4,224,000
125
15
Palestinian territories
4,136,540 (Disputed)
126
16
Mauritania
3,340,627
134
17
Kuwait
2,818,000
138
18
Oman
2,773,479
139
19
Qatar
1,699,435
149
20
Bahrain
1,234,571
155
21
Djibouti
864,000
159
22
Comoros
691,000
163
Total
Arab League
355,251,539
[edit] Tags:Palestinian Territories, | |
| Area | |
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Rank
Country
Area (km2)[Note 1]
Area (sq mi)
% of Total
Notes
1
Algeria
2,381,741
919,595
18.1%
Largest country in Africa and in the Arab world.
2
Saudi Arabia
2,149,690
830,000
16.4%
Largest country in the Middle East.
3
Sudan
1,861,484
718,723
14.2%
Formerly the largest country in Africa.
4
Libya
1,759,540
679,360
11.4%
5
Mauritania
1,025,520
395,960
7.8%
6
Egypt
1,002,000
387,000
7.6%
Excluding the Hala'ib Triangle (20,580 km2/7,950 sq mi).
7
Somalia
637,657
246,201
4.9%
8
Yemen
527,968
203,850
4.0%
9
Morocco
446,550
172,410
3.4%
Does not include Western Sahara (266,000 km2/103,000 sq mi).
10
Iraq
435,244
168,049
3.3%
11
Oman
309,500
119,500
2.4%
12
Syria
185,180
71,500
1.4%
Including the part of the Golan Heights (1,200 km2/460 sq mi) currently administered by Israel.
13
Tunisia
163,610
63,170
1.2%
14
Jordan
89,342
34,495
0.7%
15
United Arab Emirates
83,600
32,300
0.6%
16
Djibouti
23,200
9,000
0.1%
17
Kuwait
17,818
6,880
0.1%
18
Qatar
11,586
4,473
0.08%
19
Lebanon
10,452
4,036
0.08%
20
Palestine
6,020
2,320
0.05%
21
Comoros
2,235
863
0.01%
22
Bahrain
758
293
0.005%
[edit] Tags:Golan Heights, | |
| Population density | |
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Rank
Country
Density
(/km2)
Density
(/mi2)
Area
(km2)
Area
(mi2)
Population
Notes
1
Bahrain
1,646
4,263
750
290
1,234,596
[4]
2
Palestinian territories
681
1,764
6,020
2,320
4,100,000
[16]
3
Lebanon
404
1,046
10,452
4,036
4,224,000
4
Comoros
302
782
2,235
863
676,000
5
Kuwait
200
518
17,818
6,880
3,566,437
6
Qatar
128
332
11,000
4,200
1,409,000
7
Syria
118
306
185,180
71,500
21,906,000
8
United Arab Emirates
99
256
83,600
32,300
8,264,070
[17]
9
Egypt
81
210
1,001,449
386,662
80,436,072
[18]
10
Morocco
73
189
446,550
172,410
32,287,474
[19]
11
Jordan
71
184
89,342
34,495
6,316,000
12
Iraq
70
181
438,317
169,235
30,747,000
13
Tunisia
63
163
163,610
63,170
10,327,800
[20]
14
Yemen
45
117
527,968
203,850
23,580,000
15
Djibouti
37
96
23,200
9,000
864,000
16
Sudan
17
44
1,886,068
728,215
31,894,000
[21]
17
Algeria
15
39
2,381,741
919,595
34,895,000
18
Somalia
14
36
637,657
246,201
9,133,000
19
Saudi Arabia
12
31
2,149,690
830,000
28,146,658
20
Oman
9.2
24
309,500
119,500
2,845,000
21
Libya
3.6
9.3
1,759,540
679,360
6,420,000
22
Mauritania
3.2
8.3
1,025,520
395,960
3,291,000
[edit] Tags: | |
| Demographics | |
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Main article: Demographics of the Arab League
The Arabic language forms the unifying feature of the Arab world. Though different areas use local varieties of Arabic, all share in the use of the modern standardized language, derived from Classical Arabic (symptomatic of Arabic diglossia). This contrasts with the situation in the wider Islamic world, where in contiguous Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Arabic maintains its use in a similar script and retains its cultural prestige primarily as the language of religion and theological scholarship, but where Arabic is not spoken as a vernacular.
The majority of people in the Arab World adhere to Islam and the religion has official status in most countries. Shariah law exists partially in the legal system in some countries, especially in the Arabian peninsula, while others are secular. The majority of the Arab countries adhere to Sunni Islam. Iraq and Bahrain, however, are Shia majority countries, while Lebanon, Yemen, and Kuwait have large Shia minorities. In Saudi Arabia, the eastern province Al-Hasa region has Shia minority and the southern province city Najran has an Ismalia Shiite minority also. Ibadi Islam is practised in Oman and Ibadis make up 75% population of the country.
There are sizable numbers of Christians, living primarily in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and Sudan. Formerly, there were significant minorities of Jews throughout the Arab World. However, the Partition of Palestine, and establishment of Israel prompted their subsequent mass emigration and expulsion within a few decades. Today small Jewish communities remain, ranging anywhere from ten in Bahrain, to more than 1,000 in Tunisia and 7,000 in Morocco. Overall, Arabs make up about one quarter of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, a group sometimes referred to as the Islamic world.
According to UNESCO, the average rate of adult literacy (ages 15 and older) in this region is 76.9%. In Mauritania and Yemen, the rate is lower than the average, at barely over 50 %. On the other hand, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan record a high adult literacy rate of over 90%. The average rate of adult literacy shows steady improvement, and the absolute number of adult illiterates fell from 64 million to around 58 million between 1990 and 2000-2004. Overall, the gender disparity in adult literacy is high in this region, and of the illiteracy rate, women account for two-thirds, with only 69 literate women for every 100 literate men. The average GPI (Gender Parity Index) for adult literacy is 0.72, and gender disparity can be observed in Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen. Above all, the GPI of Yemen is only 0.46 in a 53% adult literacy rate.[22] According to a UN survey, in the Arab world, the average person reads four pages a year and one new title is published each year for every 12,000 people.[23] The Arab Thought Foundation reports that just above 8% of people in Arab countries aspire to get an education.[23]
Literacy rate is higher among the youth than adults. Youth literacy rate (ages 15–24) in the Arab region increased from 63.9 to 76.3 % from 1990 to 2002. The average rate of GCC States Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) was 94 %, followed by the Maghreb at 83.2% and the Mashriq at 73.6 %. However, more than one third of youth remain illiterate in the Arab least developed countries (Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen).[24] In 2004, the regional average of youth literacy is 89.9% for male and 80.1 % for female.[25]
The average population growth rate in Arab countries is 2.3%.[citation needed]
The United Nations published an Arab human development report in 2002, 2003 and 2004. These reports, written by researchers from the Arab world, address some sensitive issues in the development of Arab countries: women empowerment, availability of education and information among others.
Women in the Arab world are still denied equality of opportunity, although their disempowerment is a critical factor crippling the Arab nations' quest to return to the first rank of global leaders in commerce, learning and culture, according to a new United Nations-sponsored report in 2008.[26]
Within the most common definition of the Arab World, there are substantial populations who are not Arab either by ethnic or linguistic affiliation, and who often or generally do not consider themselves Arab as such. Nevertheless, most are as indigenous to their areas and many, if not most, actually resided in the area before the arrival of true Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula during which the spread of Islam took place. Certain populations have expressed resentment towards the term "Arab World," and believe that their national and political rights have been unjustly brushed aside by modern governments' focus on Pan-Arabism and promoting an Arab identity.
[edit] Tags:Demographics Of The Arab League, | |
| Early history | |
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Further information: Arabization
The Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba), was founded in 670 by the Arab general and conqueror Uqba ibn Nafi.[27] The Great Mosque of Kairouan is located in the historic city of Kairouan in Tunisia.
The Arabs historically originate as a Central Semitic group in the Arabian peninsula. Their expansion beyond Arabia and the Syrian desert is due to the Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. Egypt was conquered in AD 639, and gradually Arabized during the medieval period. A distinctively Egyptian Arabic language emerged by the 16th century. The Maghreb was also conquered in the 7th century, and gradually Arabized under the Fatimids. Islam was brought to Sudan from Egypt during the 8th to 11th centuries.
The culture of Sudan today depends on the tribe, some have a pure Nubian, Beja, or Arabic culture and some have a mixture of Arab and Nubian elements.[citation needed]
Islam became predominant in the Kanem Empire in Chad and the Adal Sultanate in Somalia by the late medieval period, but no Arabic-speaking majority developed, even though Arabic came to be used as a lingua franca.
[edit] Tags:Semitic, | |
| Ottoman and colonial period | |
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The Arab Abbasid Caliphate fell to the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. Egypt came under Turkic rule. The Turkish Ottoman Empire by 1570 controlled most of the Arab world, although Morocco remained under the rule of Berber dynasties, succeeded by the Saadi dynasty in the 16th to 17th centuries.
The sentiment of Arab nationalism arose in the second half of the 19th century along with other nationalisms within the failing Ottoman Empire.
When the Ottoman Empire collapsed as a result of World War I, much of the Arab world came to be controlled by the European colonial empires: British Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mesopotamia, British protectorate of Egypt, French protectorate of Morocco, Italian Libya, French Tunisia, French Algeria, French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon and the so-called Trucial States, a British protectorate formed by the sheikhdoms on the former "Pirate Coast".
These Arab states only gained their independence during or after World War II, the Republic of Lebanon in 1943, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946, Libya in 1951, the Republic of Egypt in 1952, the Kingdom of Morocco and Tunisia in 1956, the Republic of Iraq in 1958, Algeria in 1962 and the United Arab Emirates in 1971. By contrast, Saudi Arabia had fragmented with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and was unified under Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia by 1932. The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen also seceded directly from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. Oman apart from brief intermittent Persian and Portuguese rule has been self-governing since the 8th century.
[edit] Tags: | |
| Pan-Arabism | |
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The Arab League was formed in 1945 to represent the interests of the Arabs, and especially to pursue the political unification of the Arab worlds, a project known as Pan-Arabism.[2] Tags: | |
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