How many Arab countries are there in the world? The unification became necessary

Multimillion-dollar and motley Arab world includes a number of countries in Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania) and Asia (Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and etc.). All of them are largely united on the basis ethnic community and powerful civilizational traditions, in which the leading role is played by Islam. However, the level of socio-economic development of Arab countries can hardly be called homogeneous.

Countries with huge oil reserves (especially small Arabian states) are in an advantageous position. The standard of living there is quite high and stable, and the once poor and backward Arabian monarchies, thanks to the flow of petrodollars, have turned into prosperous countries with the highest level income per capita. And if at first they only exploited the generous gifts of nature, then today the psychology of the “rentier” is giving way to a sound and rational strategy. A striking example This is Kuwait, where billions of petrodollars are invested in programs of socio-economic transformations, in the purchase of the latest technology, etc. Saudi Arabia and some other countries have taken the same path.

At the opposite pole are, for example, Sudan and Mauritania, whose level of development is practically no higher than poor African countries. These contrasts are somewhat mitigated by the system of mutual assistance: a fair amount of petrodollars from Arabian states is pumped into the poorest Arab countries to support them.

Of course, the success of Arab countries depends not only on the availability of natural oil reserves, but also on the development model they choose. The Arabs, like some African states, have already passed the stage of “socialist orientation”, and today we are no longer talking about the choice between socialism and capitalism. The issue of preserving the traditions of Islam and combining this with the attitude towards Western values ​​and the influence of Western culture is now much more relevant and acutely perceived in the Arab world.

Islamic fundamentalism(i.e., an extremely conservative movement in one religion or another), which noticeably revived in the last quarter of the 20th century. and which, along with other regions, covers almost the entire Arab world, calls for a return to the purity of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, to restore the lost standards of life that are prescribed by the Koran. There is something more behind this: on the one hand, the desire to strengthen one’s civilizational identity, and on the other, to oppose the inviolability of tradition to the onslaught modern world, changing before our eyes. In some countries (for example, Egypt), despite the increased frequency in the 90s. surges of fundamentalism, the Eurocapitalist path has been chosen, which leads to an inevitable change in traditional foundations. In other states (in particular, in the Arabian monarchies), a deep commitment to Islam is combined with the adoption of only external standards of Western life, and not by the entire population. Finally, there is a third option: complete rejection of everything that brings with it the influence of the West. This is the case, for example, in Iraq. There is militant fundamentalism combined with aggressive foreign policy(which, by the way, caused resistance even from a number of Arab countries) inflicted in the 80-90s. a heavy blow to the state's economy and seriously hampered its development.

A somewhat similar situation arises in countries associated with a single Arab religion - Islam (Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan). The differences between them are also largely determined by their relationship to the Western model. If Turkey consistently continues to follow the Euro-capitalist path, then in Iran the course towards modernization and Europeanization, launched by Shah Reza Pahlavi back in the mid-20s, led to mass discontent half a century later. As a result, Iran was proclaimed an Islamic republic (1979) and became one of the main strongholds of fundamentalism. The coming century will show what kind of future awaits Islamic fundamentalism and whether its adherents will be able to find a special path of development without exposing their countries to economic and political disasters.

A high GDP per capita means that the country is an important participant in the global market. Here are the top ten richest Muslim countries according to Yahoo Finance.

Qatar:

Countries Persian Gulf with a population of 1.7 million, they lead the ranking of the richest Muslim countries in the world. Qatar's average GDP per capita for 2011 is $88,919. The main levers of active growth are the continuous growth of production volumes and exports of natural gas, oil and petroleum products. Qatar, which will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is also bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Kuwait:

The state with a population of about 3.5 million ranks second in the ranking of the richest Muslim countries. The country's per capita GDP for 2011 is $54,654. Kuwait has discovered 104 million barrels of crude oil reserves, representing approximately 10% of the world's reserves. Oil production in Kuwait is expected to increase to 4 million barrels by 2020. Other important sectors of the country's economy include shipping, construction and financial services.

Brunei:

Brunei is the third richest Muslim country in the world. Brunei's per capita GDP for 2011 was $50,506. The country's wealth stems from its vast natural gas and oil deposits. Over the past 80 years, the country's economy has been dominated by the oil and gas industry, with hydrogen resources accounting for more than 90% of its exports and more than half of its GDP.

United Arab Emirates:

The UAE ranks fourth on the list of richest Muslim countries. The UAE relies on oil and gas, which forms 25% of GDP, amounting to 48,222 as of 2011. The country's oil and natural gas exports play an important role in the economy, particularly in Abu Dhabi.

Oman:

Oman is the fifth richest Muslim country in the world. Oman's per capita GDP for 2011 was $28,880. Oman's oil reserves total 5.5 billion barrels.

Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia ranks sixth on the list. The country's per capita GDP in 2011 was $24,434. Arabia ranks second in the world in terms of oil reserves. Oil accounts for 95% of the country's exports and 70% of government revenue. The country also has gas reserves that are the sixth largest in the world.

Bahrain:

Bahrain is the seventh richest Muslim country in the world. The country's per capita GDP for 2011 was $23,690. Oil is Bahrain's most exported product.

Türkiye:

Türkiye ranks eighth in the list of richest Muslim countries. The country's per capita GDP in 2011 was $16,885. Tourism in Turkey has achieved rapid growth and is the most important sector of the economy. Other key parts of the country's economy are construction, oil refining, petrochemicals and automobile manufacturing. Türkiye is one of the leading countries in shipbuilding and ranks fourth after China, Japan and South Korea by the number of ships ordered.

Malaysia:

Malaysia completes the ranking of the richest Muslim countries in the world. The country's per capita GDP in 2011 was $15,589. Malaysia is an exporter of agricultural resources and oil. Also, Malaysia is the largest producer of rubber and palm oil. Tourism in Malaysia is the third largest source of income.

One day a friend of mine was consulting on where he should go on vacation so that it would be cheaper and better. When the conversation turned to Turkey, I heard an interesting phrase from him: “No! I don’t want to go to an Arab country!” I had to spend about five minutes explaining that Arabs and Turks are completely different peoples, and calling Turkey an Arab country is not correct.

But this is a cliché, and the most common one among Russian tourists. The phrase 'Arab country' is used to describe many countries, but no one can really explain what this means and what properties a country must have in order to receive such status from the average Russian citizen. That's what we'll talk about in this blog post.

Which countries do Russians consider to be Arab countries?

After I asked myself this question, I without much haste began asking friends and clients about which countries they put on this list. The first country that almost everyone called was , which surprised me, since .

Egypt is truly an Arab country, since almost 90% of its population are Arabs. Do not forget that 10% of the population are Copts, who consider themselves descendants of the builders. Copts profess Christianity, for which they suffer. I agree “100%” with Egypt.

Only half of the people I interviewed named the United Arab Emirates. Almost 100% of the population are Arabs. Even the main attraction, the tower, is reminiscent of the famous Spiral Minaret in Samarra.

It turned out that inclusion in the list (more than half of those surveyed included it among the Arab countries) is just a small thing. Iran is included in this list, although there are almost no Arabs there. Most Iranians are Persians and they are very far from Arabs.

Arab world traditionally called the Arab countries of the Middle East and some countries of the North and East Africa, members of the League of Arab States and having Arabic as the state language. Today, the Arab world has 23 countries, of which two - SADR (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) and the State of Palestine - are not recognized by all countries. Total area of ​​Arab countries, including the SADR and the State of Palestine - more than 13.5 million sq. km. Population exceeded the mark in 380 million people.

Arab countries are members of the international organization created on March 22, 1945 "League of Arab States"(LAG).

Arab countries are a territory of contrasts. GDP per capita fluctuates from 260 US dollars(in Yemen) to over 17,000 US dollars in the Gulf countries. The leader is Saudi Arabia, the only Arab country included in the TOP 20 largest economically. developed countries world, its GDP is more than a quarter of the entire GDP of the Arab world. Half of the Arab economies are made up of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Richest countries The region has inexhaustible reserves of oil and gas. Most high rating Among the Arab countries, Kuwait has – Arab state, owning 9% of the world's oil reserves. Oil provides Kuwait with about 50% of GDP, 95% of export revenues and 95% of government budget revenue. Djibouti is at the bottom of the Arab countries- an Arab state located in the Horn of Africa with virtually no natural resources and is the main commercial port of Ethiopia.

Social policy, the unity inherent in Arab culture, and the tradition of helping the poor contribute to the fact that poverty in Arab countries is not as terrible as in some other regions of Africa. However, they also have a significant deficiency human capital. Long before the Arab Spring, Arab countries faced employment problem for a rapidly growing young population, especially among educated youth. Unemployment in Arab countries is 15%- the highest in the developing world.

Massive popular unrest that swept through a number of Arab countries, turning them into a hotbed of tension and escalating into uprisings, revolutions and civil wars, with thousands of victims among demonstrators and civilians, recent turbulent political events in the Arab world, “revolutions of social expectations,” the transition from autocracy to democracy forever changed the vector of development of the region.

In many countries of the Arab world began restructuring of political and socio-economic models, which required the mobilization of the state and society to create an innovative economy as the main source of growth in the well-being of citizens. At the same time, the processes of globalization accelerated, forcibly drawing Arab countries into the sphere of influence on them in trade, in the regulation of export-import mechanisms, in the field of science, technology, culture, art, the formation of artistic tastes, the imposition of European standards - from clothing styles to moral principles .

Among the consequences of the Arab Spring, especially noteworthy active development of the credit and banking system. Bahrain is officially considered the financial capital of the Middle East, and Qatar has legislation to transform it into an international financial center. United United Arab Emirates- traditional place of concentration and movement of large cash flows. Experts from the international agency Standard & Poor’s believe that the Islamic banking sector in the Arab region has great growth opportunities, and banks can carry out operations without violating Islamic principles. According to experts, in the next 10 years, Islamic banks will be able to attract 40-50% of all available savings on the global market. Currently, the growth rate of the Islamic finance industry reaches 15% per year, the number of institutions has reached 300, and deposit accounts have reached US$500 billion. Largest number of Islamic financial organizations concentrated in Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar.

The number of Internet users is growing. Just 10-15 years ago, only 0.6% of residents of Arab countries used the Internet. Now, according to the Internet World Status website, more than 60 million people already use the Internet, which is one sixth of the region’s population. The countries of the Arab world continue to actively modernize information Technology and infrastructure as part of the strategy for economic development and creation of new jobs (Jordan, UAE, Qatar, Algeria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc.). Many Arab countries have begun to liberalize the telecommunications sector, although this process still lags far behind the rest of the world: since financial costs are not commensurate with profits, investors are in no hurry to invest their funds in this sector of the economy. And yet, most of the largest operators cellular communication North African countries are no longer owned by the private sector, with the exception of Algerie Telecom, whose privatization was delayed due to the global financial crisis.

Leading world powers, including Russia, have always experienced an increased interest in Arab countries, whether it concerns history, culture, people, religion, society, state... In the era of globalization, with political, economic and environmental problems, countries of the Arab world are of interest global community from the point of view of political and economic prospects, the place for solving many political and economic, in particular, energy and raw materials issues.

And now, although the existing cooperation between Russia and Arab countries in the trade, economic and socio-political spheres is insignificant and inconsistent, it has serious potential and prospects.

A people is a group of people united by certain characteristics; there are more than 300 of them on Earth. There are numerous ones, for example the Chinese, and there are also small ones, for example, the Ginukh people, whose representation does not even reach 450 people.

The Arab people are the second largest group of people in the world, approximately 400 million people. Inhabited by the states of the Middle East and North Africa, but also in Lately they actively emigrate to Europe due to wars and political conflicts. So what kind of people are they, what is their history, and are there countries where Arabs live?

Where did the Arab people come from?

The predecessors of the Arabs are the wild tribes of Africa and the Middle East. In general, the first mentions of them were found in various Babylonian writings. More specific instructions are found in the Bible. It is in it that in the 14th century BC. e. in Transjordan, and then in Palestine, the first pastoral tribes from the Arabian oases appeared. Of course, this is a rather controversial version, but in any case, scientists agree that it was in Arabia that this people originated, and from there the history of the Arabs began.

The vast majority of Arabs are Muslim (90%), and the remainder are Christian. In the 7th century, a previously unknown merchant Muhammad began to preach a new religion. After several years, the prophet created a community, and later a state - the Caliphate. This country began to rapidly expand its borders, and literally a hundred years later it stretched from Spain through North Africa and southwest Asia to the borders of India. Due to the fact that the Caliphate had a huge territory, it actively spread in the lands under its control. official language, due to which the local population transitioned to the culture and customs of the Arabs.

The widespread spread of Islam allowed the Caliphates to establish close contact with Christians, Jews, etc., which contributed to the formation of one of the greatest civilizations in the world. During its existence, many great works of art were created, and there was a rapid rise in science, including astronomy, medicine, geography and mathematics. But in the 10th century, the fall of the Caliphate (the state of the Arabs) began due to wars with the Mongols and Turks.

By the 16th century, Turkish subjects had conquered the entire Arab world, and this continued until the 19th century, when the British and French already dominated North Africa. It was only after World War II that the entire people, except the Palestinians, gained independence. They received freedom only towards the end of the 20th century.

We will look later at where Arabs live today, but for now it’s worth focusing on linguistic and cultural characteristics of this people.

Language and culture

Arabic, the official language of all countries in which this group of people lives, belongs to the Afroasiatic family. About 250 million people speak it, and another 50 million people use it as a second language. The writing is based on the Arabic alphabet, which has changed slightly over its history. long history. The language was constantly transformed. Arabic is now written from right to left and has no capital letters.

Along with the development of the people, culture also developed. It reached its peak during the Caliphate period. It is noteworthy that the Arabs based their culture on the basis of Roman, Egyptian, Chinese and others, and in general these people took a big step in the development of universal civilization. Studying the language and heritage will help you understand who the Arabs are and what their values ​​are.

Science and literature

Arab science developed on the basis of ancient Greek, mostly in military affairs, since vast territories could not be captured and defended only with the help of human resources. At the same time, various schools were opened. Scientific centers also emerge due to the development of natural sciences. Great success have been achieved in historical and geographical areas of research. Mathematics, medicine and astronomy received a big leap in development in the Caliphate.

Main literary work Arab world is the Koran. It is written in prose and serves as the basis of the religion of Islam. However, even before the appearance of this religious book, great written masterpieces were created. Mostly Arabs composed poetry. The themes varied, such as self-praise, love and depiction of nature. In the Caliphate, such world works were written that are popular to this day, these are: “A Thousand and One Nights”, “Maqamat”, “The Message of Forgiveness” and “The Book of Misers”.

Arabic architecture

Many pieces of art were created by the Arabs. On initial stage The influence of Roman and Byzantine traditions was felt, but over time their architecture takes on its own unique look. By the 10th century, a unique type of columnar mosque was created with a rectangular courtyard in the center, surrounded by numerous halls and galleries with graceful arcades. This type includes the Amir Mosque in Cairo, where Arabs have lived for many hundreds of years.

From the 12th century, various letter and floral patterns began to gain popularity, which were used to decorate buildings both outside and inside. From the 13th century domes appeared. In the 15th century, the basis for the decoration of buildings was the Moorish style, an example of this direction is the Alhambra Castle in Granada. After the Turks conquered the Arab Caliphate, the architecture acquired Byzantine features, which affected the Mohammed Mosque in Cairo.

The status of women and religion in the Arab world

It is impossible to answer the question: who are the Arabs without studying the position of women in their world. Up until the mid-20th century, girls were at the lowest level in society. They did not have the right to vote, one might say, they were not considered people, but what is interesting is that the attitude towards mothers was always respectful. Now, especially in major cities, attitudes towards women have changed. Now they can attend schools, higher education educational establishments and even occupy high political and government positions. Polygamy, which is permitted in Islam, is not rapidly disappearing. It is rare now to meet a man who has more than two wives.

As for religion, of course, mostly Arabs profess Islam, about 90 percent. Also a small part are adherents of Christianity, most of them Protestants and a small part of Orthodox Christians. In ancient times, this people, like most ancient tribes, worshiped the stars, the sun and the sky. They revered and paid tribute to the most famous and influential ancestors. Only in the 7th century, when Muhammad began to preach, did the Arabs actively begin to convert to Islam, and are now generally considered Muslims.

Countries of the Arab world

There are quite a large number of states in the world where Arab people live. Countries in which the overwhelming majority of the population are of this nationality can be considered their original ones. For them, their place of residence is mostly in Asian countries. Largest Arab representation in the following countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia. Of course, Arabs still live in Africa and European countries.

Arab emigration

Throughout history, this nationality has moved throughout the world, much of it associated with the great civilization of the Caliphate. Now there is a much more active emigration of Arabs from Africa and the Middle East to Europe and America due to the unstable and threatening situation that has arisen as a result of military and political conflicts. Currently, Arab immigrants are common in the following territories: France, USA, Germany, Italy, Austria, etc. In Russia, this moment Home to about 10 thousand migrants, this is one of the smallest representative offices.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE is a famous, influential and successful Arab state. This is a country in the Middle East, which is divided, in turn, into 7 emirates. The UAE is one of the most modern, advanced and wealthy countries in the world and is considered a leading oil exporter. It is thanks to this natural reserve, The Emirates is developing so quickly. Only in the 1970s did the country gain independence, and for this a short time reached great heights. The most famous cities The UAE is Abu Dhabi, the capital of the country, and Dubai.

Tourism in Dubai

Now the United Arab Emirates attracts tourists from all over the world, but, of course, the center of attraction is Dubai.

This city has everything: any vacationer can satisfy his desires, even ski lovers will find a place here. The best beaches, shops and entertainment centers. The most famous object not only in Dubai, but throughout the UAE, is the Burj Khalifa. This is the tallest building in the world, reaching a height of 830 meters. Inside this massive structure are retail spaces, offices, apartments, hotels and much more.

The largest water park in the world is also located in Dubai. Thousands of different specimens of animals and fish live here. Entering the aquarium, you are immersed in the world of a fairy tale, you feel like an inhabitant of the sea world.

In this city, everything is always the largest and biggest. The largest and most beautiful artificial archipelago “Mir” is located here. The outlines of the island copy the contours of our planet. The views from the top are magnificent, so it's worth taking a helicopter tour.

In summary, the Arab world is a fascinating history, culture and modern look life. Everyone should get acquainted with the peculiarities of this people, go to the states where Arabs live for recreation and entertainment, because this is an amazing and unique phenomenon on planet Earth.