Economies of the ME

1
Economies of the ME NA

• Introduction

2
Why the Middle East?
3
Geography

• The Middle or Near East
• Arab countries Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
  Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Palestinian
  Authority, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab
  Emirates, Yemen
• Non-Arab countries Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Turkey

4
Geography

• North Africa
• Arab countries Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Sudan,
  Tunisia

5
Geography

• Regions
• Arabian Peninsula
• Iranian Plateau
• Anatolian Plateau
• Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia

6
Geography

• Waters
• Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf
• Read Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian
  Sea
• Nile River, Jordan River, Tigris Euphrates
  Rivers

7
History

• 5500 B.C. to 2004 A.D.
• Sumerian Akkadian
• Babylonian Neo-Babylonian
• Persian, Greek Roman
• Arabian Mongolian
• Saavid Ottoman
• Independent nation states

8
Regional Characteristics

• The Crossroad
• The worlds island
• The tri-continental hub of Asia, Africa, and
  Europe
• The Silk Road

9
Regional Characteristics

• The Cradle of Civilization
• Beginning of human civilization with major
  development in agriculture, science, literature,
  and urbanization

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Regional Characteristics

• The Birthplace
• Judaism (5700 years)
• Mithraism Zoroastrianism (5000 3500 years)
• Christianity (2000 years)
• Islam (1400 years)
• The Bahai Faith (100 years)

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Regional Characteristics

• The Arc of Crisis
• Military conflict from the pre-historic to the
  present time

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Regional Characteristics

• Large Population
• Over 300 million people living in 22 countries
  and millions of immigrants living outside the
  region

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Rich Natural Resources

• Over 60 of the worlds oil reserves
• About 50 of the worlds oil supply
• Reserves of natural gas, copper, iron ore, zinc,
  lead, etc.

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Regional Characteristics

• Trade Commerce
• Exporting natural resources and human resources
• Importing capital and consumer goods and military
  equipment services

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Regional Similarities

• Common History
• The Persian Empire
• The Arab Empire
• The Ottoman Empire

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Regional Similarities

• Common Culture
• Language Arabic, Farsi, Turkish
• Religion Islam, Christianity, Judaism

17
Regional Similarities

• Third World Nations
• Economic problems poverty, income inequality,
  dependence on exports
• Social problems gender and ethnic
  discrimination, inefficient governments

18
Regional Similarities

• Military Conflict
• Arab-Israeli conflict (1948, 1956, 1967, 1973,
  1982, on-going)
• Iran-Iraq War (1980-88)
• Persian Gulf War (1991)
• Iraq Invasion (2003-present)

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Regional Differences

• Country Size in Area
• Large Sudan, Saudi Arabia
• Small Lebanon, Kuwait

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Regional Differences

• Population
• Large Egypt, Iran, Turkey
• Small Qatar, Kuwait, UAE
• Medium Algeria, Morocco, Iraq

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Regional Differences

• Urbanization
• Rural Sudan, Yemen, Libya
• Urban Kuwait, UAE, Qatar

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Regional Differences

• Economic Size
• Affluent UAE, Saudi Arabia
• Less fortunate Sudan, Yemen

23
Regional Differences

• Government
• Democratic Non-secular Tunisia, Turkey
• Autocratic Secular Saudi Arabia, Iran