ARAB COUNTRIES

“Arab” is not a race, but a cultural, historical, and linguistic term that applies to those peoples whose native language is Arabic. Some Arabs have blue eyes and red hair; others are dark-skinned; many are somewhere in the middle. Most Arabs are Muslims, but there are millions of Christian Arabs and thousands of Jewish Arabs living in the world. The countries of the Arab world are generally considered to be the League of Arab States (hereafter referred to as the League).

The League was established in Cairo in 1945 to protect the independence, sovereignty, affairs and interests of member (22) and observer (7) countries. It is an alliance of Arab-speaking countries in Africa and Asia, predominantly from the Middle East and the northern and eastern parts of the African continent. In 2024, the Arab world comprises 22 states spread over 5 million square miles, home to some 423 million people.

The League's mission is to promote trade and economic growth, as well as sovereignty and political stability in the region. Member states have widely varying amounts of population, wealth, gross domestic product, and literacy. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considered the dominant players in the League. The supreme body is the League's Council, in which each member has one vote. The headquarters are located in Cairo. The secretary general is an Egyptian, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Distinctive features of the above association is the official use of the Arabic language, as well as the dominance of the Muslim population, professing Islam. The largest Arab country with the population of more than 107 million people is Egypt, and the least number of people live in Comoros - 900 thousand. In terms of area, the largest Arab country is Algeria and the smallest is Bahrain.

Note. Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries as the main languages in these countries are Farsi and Turkish respectively.

ARAB COUNTRIES – LIST

Note. The level of nominal GDP per capita in the richest Arab countries is for 2023 according to official data from the International Monetary Fund.

Qatar is not only the most prosperous Arab country, but also one of the richest countries in the world. It is home to just under 3 million people. Work in Qatar, depending on the profession, brings an average of 3.5 thousand dollars a month, and there is virtually no unemployment. In November-December 2022, the country hosted the FIFA World Cup.

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