Demographics of the Arab League
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The Arab League is a culturally and ethnically diverse league of 22 member states. As of January 1, 2007, the population of the Arab League was about 340 million people.
The most populous member state is Egypt, with a population of 80 million people. Djibouti is the least populated with around 500,000 inhabitants. Most of the gulf states import high amounts of foreign labor. For example, the UAE's native inhabitants make up less than 20% of its overall population.
Some gulf states import cheap labor from poorer Arab countries such as Yemen, while others turn to countries in Asia and Africa.
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[edit] Population Growth
The population of the Arab League as estimated by the CIA in the year 2007 was around 340,000,000, making it (if ranked as a single country) third after China and India in overall population. No exact figures of the League's annual population growth, fertility rate, or mortality rate are known to exist.
Most of the Arab League's population is concentrated in and around major urban areas.
[edit] List of the largest cities in the Arab League
| N | Country | City | Population (est. 2007) | Foundation Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Egypt |
Cairo | 17,250,000 | 641 AD |
| 2 |  Iraq |
Baghdad | 8,092,000 | 762 AD |
| 3 |  Sudan |
Khartoum | 4,969,000 | 1821 AD |
| 4 | Egypt |
Giza | 4,779,000 | ____ |
| 5 |  Syria |
Damascus | 4,500,000 | 8000 BCE |
| 6 |  Saudi Arabia |
Riyadh | 4,260,000 | 100 AD |
| 7 |  Morocco |
Casablanca | 3,859,858 | 768 AD |
| 8 | Saudi Arabia |
Jeddah | 3,855,912 | 500 BCE |
| 9 | Syria |
Aleppo | 3,780,000 | 8000 BCE |
| 10 | Egypt |
Alexandria | 3,500,000 | 331 BCE |
[edit] Religion
Islam, Christianity, and Judaism were all founded in or near areas that are now Arab League countries. Consequently, the majority of the Arab League's citizens are either Muslims, Christians or Jews. The countries of the Arab League host several holy cities and other religiously significant locations, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Alexandria, Mecca, Medina, Kirkuk, Arbil, and Baghdad. Sunni Muslims make up the Majority of the Arab League's citizens. However, large numbers of Shi'a Muslims make up the majority in areas of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and other Gulf States. Christianity is the second largest religion in the League, with over 20 million Christians living in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and Jordan. There are smaller Jewish populations living mainly in the western part of the Arab league. Places such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, all have Jewish populations. However, most Arab Jews emigrated from the Arab states to Israel after its founding in 1948. Other minor religions such as the Bahá'í Faith are practiced on a much smaller scale.
- Muslim Population - 311,093,951
- Total Population - 339,510,535
[edit] Language
Arabic is the Arab League's official language, but additional languages are often used in the daily lives of some of the League's citizens. Currently, three major languages other than Arabic are used widely: Kurdish in northern Iraq and parts of Syria, Berber in parts of North Africa, and Nubian in areas of the Nile Valley.
There are several minority languages that are still spoken today, such as Afar, Syriac, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Turkmen, and Somali.
Arabic is a non-native language to over 25% of the Arab League's population.
Arabic is divided into over 27 dialects. Almost every Arab state has at least one local dialect.
[edit] Comparison of Population to Area and GDP
| Country | Area (sq km) | Population (est. 2007) | GDP PPP (in million $) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Arab League |
13,676,641 | 340,043,965 | 1,860,193 |
 Algeria |
2,381,740 | 33,333,216 | 250,000 |
 Bahrain |
665 | 708,573 | 18,000 |
 Comoros |
2,170 | 711,417 | 1,275 |
 Djibouti |
23,000 | 496,374 | 1,878 |
| Egypt |
1,001,450 | 80,335,036 | 334,400 |
| Iraq |
437,072 | 27,499,638 | 50,720 |
 Jordan |
92,300 | 6,053,193 | 30,000 |
 Kuwait |
17,820 | 2,505,559 | 55,910 |
 Lebanon |
10,400 | 3,925,502 | 22,020 |
 Libya |
1,759,540 | 6,036,914 | 72,680 |
 Mauritania |
1,030,700 | 3,270,065 | 8,124 |
| Morocco |
446,550 | 33,757,175 | 152,500 |
 Oman |
212,460 | 3,204,897 | 44,530 |
 Palestinian Authority |
6,220 | 4,018,332 | 5,327 |
 Qatar |
11,437 | 907,229 | 26,370 |
| Saudi Arabia |
2,149,690 | 27,601,038 | 366,200 |
 Somalia |
637,657 | 9,118,773 | 5,259 |
| Sudan |
2,505,810 | 39,379,358 | 97,470 |
| Syria |
185,180 | 19,314,747 | 77,660 |
 Tunisia |
163,610 | 10,276,158 | 89,740 |
 United Arab Emirates |
83,600 | 4,444,011 | 129,500 |
 Yemen |
527,970 | 22,230,531 | 20,630 |
