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Arab world

geography Maturity 5-7 Next article →

The Arab world is a very large and important region. It is made up of many different countries. Most of these lands sit in West Asia and North Africa.

Arabic Varieties Map-2023
Arabic Varieties Map-2023

The area is quite huge in size. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east.

Magrib
Magrib

In the north, you can find the Mediterranean Sea. To the southeast, the land meets the Indian Ocean. The eastern part is called the Mashriq. The western part is known as the Maghreb.

Magrib
Magrib

Many different people live across these lands. Most people are ethnically Arab. However, many other groups live there too. You might find Berbers, Kurds, Somalis, or Nubians.

Girls lining up for class - Flickr - Al Jazeera English
Girls lining up for class - Flickr - Al Jazeera English

Arabic is the main language used to talk to each other. This is called a lingua franca. Governments use Standard Arabic for official work. People use local ways of speaking called dialects in their daily lives. In the Maghreb, these are called Darija. In the Mashreq, they are called Aammiyya.

Arabic Varieties Map-2023
Arabic Varieties Map-2023

This region has a very long history. Long ago, there were strong Arab empires and caliphates.

Age-of-caliphs-xtra-space
Age-of-caliphs-xtra-space

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Arab world grew through conquests. For a long time, the Ottoman Empire controlled most of the area.

Ibrahim Pasha During his Final Years
Ibrahim Pasha During his Final Years

After World War I, European empires took control of many parts. Many Arab states became independent after World War II. Lebanon became independent in 1943. Egypt gained independence in 1952. The United Arab Emirates became a country in 1971.

Arab League Summit, 1964
Arab League Summit, 1964

Today, the Arab world is organized in many ways. The Arab League is an international group with 22 members.

Arab League Summit, 1964
Arab League Summit, 1964

This group includes 19 states where Arabs are the main population. It also includes Comoros, Djibouti, and Somalia. The region has about 456 million people.

Dubai Marina Skyline
Dubai Marina Skyline

The economy is very diverse. Some areas are among the wealthiest in the world. Other areas have very poor populations. The total gross domestic product was $2.85 trillion in 2021.

Dubai Marina Skyline
Dubai Marina Skyline

You can see how much the region has changed. Some places have very modern cities.

Dubai Marina Skyline
Dubai Marina Skyline

You might see the tall buildings of the Dubai Marina skyline. Other places have very old and historic sites.

Great Mosque of Kairouan Panorama - Grande Mosquée de Kairouan Panorama
Great Mosque of Kairouan Panorama - Grande Mosquée de Kairouan Panorama

The Great Mosque of Kairouan was founded in the year 670. You can also see busy places like the Suez Canal.

Egyptianbridge
Egyptianbridge

These places show both the old history and the new world. The region connects many different parts of the globe together.

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🖼️ Images & Media (29)
File:Arabic Varieties Map-2023.svg
Arabic Varieties Map-2023.svg
File:Great Mosque of Kairouan Panorama - Grande Mosquée de Kairouan Panorama.jpg
Great Mosque of Kairouan Panorama -...
File:Ibrahim_Pasha_During_his_Final_Years.jpg
Ibrahim_Pasha_During_his_Final_Years.jpg
File:Nasser,_Arif_and_Ben_Bella.jpg
Nasser,_Arif_and_Ben_Bella.jpg
File:Egyptianbridge.jpg
Egyptianbridge.jpg
File:Operation Chelcheragh (8).gif
Operation Chelcheragh (8).gif
File:Budaiya highway protest 08.JPG
Budaiya highway protest 08.JPG
File:Oil and Gas Infrastructure Persian Gulf (large).gif
Oil and Gas Infrastructure Persian Gulf...
File:SaddamStatue.jpg
SaddamStatue.jpg
File:Destroyed house in the south of Sanaa 12-6-2015-3.jpg
Destroyed house in the south of Sanaa...
File:Magrib.png
Magrib.png
File:Age-of-caliphs-xtra-space.png
Age-of-caliphs-xtra-space.png

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