Middle East and Africa: Oil, Wealth and Poverty

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with a vast area running from the oil-rich Arabian peninsula with its sparse population through Egypt and its North African neighbours and on to the diverse but relatively underdeveloped countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The term ‘Middle East’ does not denote a clearly defined geographical area. It sometimes refers to the entire region from Afghanistan to Mauritania, including Turkey. Other designations separate the so-called Maghreb countries: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya; with Mauritania, they are also referred to as North Africa as distinct from the Middle East. Whatever the grouping, these countries are mostly Islamic and, except for Iran and Turkey, make up a large part of the Arab world.