Arab League

League of Arab States جامعة الدول العربية Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya
Flag Emblem
Headquarters	Cairo, Egypt1
Official languages	Arabic
Membership	22 members Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen 4 observers Brazil Eritrea India Venezuela
Leaders
• Secretary General	Amr Moussa (since 2001)
• Council of the Arab League	Syria
• Speaker of the Arab Parliament	Nabih Berri
Establishment
• Alexandria Protocol	March 22, 1945
Area
• Total area with Western Sahara	13,953,041 km2 (5,387,299 sq mi) (2nd2)
• Area excluding Western Sahara	13,687,041 km2 (5,280,291 sq mi)
Population
• 2007 estimate	339,510,535 (3rd2)
• Density	24.33/km2 (63.0/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2008 estimate
• Total	$2,604,639 million (6th2)
• Per capita	$7,672 (92nd)
Currency	21 currencies ---- ISO 4217 codes bracketed: Algerian dinar (DZB) Bahraini dinar (BHD) Comorian franc (KMF) Djiboutian franc (DJF) Egyptian pound (EGP) Iraqi dinar (IQD) Jordanian dinar (JD) Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) Lebanese livre (LL, LBP) Libyan dinar (LYD) Mauritanian ouguiya (MRO) Moroccan dirham (MAD) Omani rial (OMR) Qatari riyal (QAR) Saudi riyal (SAR) Somali shilling (SOS) Sudanese pound (SDD) Syrian pound (SYP) Tunisian dinar (TND) United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) Yemeni rial (YER)
Time zone	UTC+0 to +4
Website Template:Ar icon http://arableagueonline.org
From 1979 to 1989: Tunis, Tunisia If ranked among nation states.

Template:Contains Arabic text The Arab League (Template:Lang-ar al-Jāmiʻa al-ʻArabiyya), officially called the League of Arab States (Template:Lang-ar Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya), is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan after 1946), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on May 5, 1945. The Arab League currently has 22 members and four observers. The main goal of the league is to "draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries."

Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes, and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter which sets out the principles for economic activities in the region.

Each member state has one vote in the League Council, while decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for them. The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic, and social programs of its members, and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties. Furthermore, the signing of an agreement on Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation on April 13, 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of military defense measures.

The Arab league has played an important role in shaping school curricula, advancing the role of women in the Arab societies, promoting child welfare, encouraging youth and sports programs, preserving Arab cultural heritage, and fostering cultural exchanges between the member states. Literacy campaigns have been launched, intellectual works reproduced, and modern technical terminology is translated for the use within member states. The league encourages measures against crime and drug abuse, and deals with labor issues—particularly among the emigrant Arab workforce.

Member states

Main article: Enlargement of the Arab League

The Arab League was founded in Cairo in 1945 by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (Jordan from 1946), and Yemen. There was a continual increase in membership during the second half of the 20th century, with additional 15 Arab states and 4 observers being admitted.

Egypt's membership was suspended in 1979 after it signed the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, and the League's headquarters were moved from Cairo to Tunis. In 1987, Arab countries restored diplomatic relations with Egypt and the country was readmitted to the league in 1989 while the league's headquarters moved back to Cairo. In September 2006, Venezuela was accepted as an observer, and India in 2007.

Israel is not a member despite 20% of its population being of Arab origin, nearly half the Jewish population being descended from Jews from Arab countries, and Arabic being an official language. Neither is Chad a member, although Arabic is in both official and vernacular use there.

Four countries are observer states—a status that entitles them to express their opinion and give advice but denies them voting rights. These are Eritrea, where Arabic is one of the official languages, as well as Brazil and Venezuela, which have large and influential Arab communities. India is another observer to the Arab League.

The current members of the Arab League are listed below:

Country	Admission date	Capital	Area (km²)	Population (2008)	Density (per km²)	GDP (2008) in millions	GDP (2009) per capita	Currency	Official languages
Algeria	1962, August 16	Algiers	2,381,741	34,895,000	14.6	$159,669	$4,588	Dinar	Arabic
Bahrain	1971, September 11	Manama	750	791,000	1,189	$27,014	$34,662	Dinar	Arabic
Comoros	1993, November 20	Moroni	2,235	798,000	275	$754	$1,157	Franc	Comorian, Arabic, French
Djibouti	1977, September 4	Djibouti	23,200	864,000	37.2	$1,880	$2,396	Franc	Arabic, French
Egypt	1945, March 22	Cairo	1,002,450	77,420,000	82.3	$443,430	$5,896	Pound	Arabic
Iraq	1945, March 22	Baghdad	438,317	31,234,000	71.2	$114,151	$3,655	Dinar	Arabic, Kurdish
Jordan	1945, March 22	Amman	92,300	6,316,000	68.4	$32,416	$5,661	Dinar	Arabic
Kuwait	1961 July 20	Kuwait city	20,000	3,000,000	167.5	$137,450	$38,875	Dinar	Arabic
Lebanon	1945, March 22	Beirut	10,452	4,224,000	404	$53,818	$13,952	Lira	Arabic
Libya	1956, March 28	Tripoli	1,759,541	6,420,000	3.6	$60,609	$9,570	Dinar	Arabic
Mauritania	1973 November 26	Nouakchott	1,030,700	3,291,000	3.2	$6,232	$2,055	Ouguiya	Arabic
Morocco	1958, October 1	Rabat	446,550	31,993,000	71.6	$146.231	$4,587	Dirham	Arabic
Oman	1971, September 29	Muscat	309,550	2,845,000	9.2	$68,331	$24,674	Rial	Arabic
Palestine	1976, September 9	Ramallah	approx: 6,000	4,136,540	–	$11,950	$2,900	Dinar	Arabic
Qatar	1971, September 11	Doha	11,437	1,409,000	123.2	$94,404	$86,008	Riyal	Arabic
Saudi Arabia	1945, March 22	Riyadh	2,149,690	28,686,633	12	$592,886	$23,814	Riyal	Arabic
Somalia	1974, February 14	Mogadishu	637,661	9,133,000	14.3	$7,599	$795	Shilling	Somali, Arabic
Sudan	1956, January 19	Khartoum	2,505,813	42,272,000	16.9	$92,037	$2,309	Pound	Arabic, English
Syria	1945, March 22	Damascus	185,180	21,906,000	118.3	$55,024	$2,767	Lira	Arabic
Tunisia	1958, October 1	Tunis	163,610	10,432,500	63	$82,636	$8,002	Dinar	Arabic
United Arab Emirates	1971, December 6	Abu Dhabi	83,600	6,000,000	55	$187,851	$38,283	Dirham	Arabic
Yemen	1945, May 5	Sana'a	527,968	23,580,000	44.7	$55,393	$2,410	Rial	Arabic

Geography

Administrative divisions in the Arab League

Main article: Geography of the Arab League

The area of members of the Arab League covers around 14,000,000 km² (5,400,000 sq mi) and straddles two continents: Western Asia as well as Northern and Northeastern Africa. The area consists of large arid deserts, namely the Sahara. Nevertheless, it also contains several very fertile lands, such as the Nile Valley, the High Atlas Mountains, and the Fertile Crescent which stretches from Iraq over Syria and Lebanon to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The area comprises also deep forests in southern Arabia and southern Sudan as well as the major parts of the world's longest river—the Nile.

The area has witnessed the rise and fall of many ancient civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Rome, Ancient Israel, Assyria, Babylon, Phoenicia, Carthage, Kush, and Nabateans.

Governance

Main article: Government of the Arab League

The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland while respecting the sovereignty of the individual member states. The internal regulations of the Council of the League and the committees were agreed in October 1951. Those of the Secretariat-General were agreed in May 1953.

Since then, governance of the Arab League has been based on the duality of supra-national institutions and the sovereignty of the member states. Preservation of individual statehood derived its strengths from the natural preference of ruling elites to maintain their power and independence in decision making. Moreover, the fear of the richer that the poorer may share their wealth in the name of Arab nationalism, the feuds among Arab rulers, and the influence of external powers that might oppose Arab unity can be seen as obstacles towards a deeper integration of the league.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Arab League

The Arab League is rich in resources, with enormous oil and natural gas resources; it also has great fertile lands in South of the Sudan, usually referred to as the food basket of the Arab World. The region's instability has not affected its tourism industry, that is considered the fastest growing industry in the region, with Egypt, UAE, Algeria, Tunisia, and Jordan leading the way. Another industry that is growing steadily in the Arab League is telecommunications. Within less than a decade, local companies such as Orascom and Etisalat have managed to compete internationally.

Economic achievements initiated by the League amongst member states have been less impressive than those achieved by other smaller Arab organizations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). However, several promising major economic projects are set to be completed soon. Among them is the Arab Gas Pipeline, scheduled to be accomplished in 2010. It will transport Egyptian and Iraqi gas to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. The Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), planned to come into effect on January 1, 2008, will render 95% of all Arab products free of customs.

Economic development in the Arab League is very disparate. Significant difference in wealth and economic conditions exist between the rich oil states of UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Algeria on the one hand, and poor countries like the Comoros, Mauritania, and Djibouti on the other hand. Arab economic funding is under development. As an example, the Arab League agreed to support the Sudanese region of Darfur with 500 million dollars, and Egyptian and Libyan companies are planning to build several wells in this dry area.

List of member states by GDP (PPP)

See also: List of countries by GDP (PPP) and List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita

Education

Arab League map indicating literacy by country (2009 Human Development Report) Grey = no data

Main article: List of countries by literacy rate

In collecting literacy data, many countries estimate the number of literate people based on self-reported data. Some use educational attainment data as a proxy, but measures of school attendance or grade completion may differ. Because definitions and data collection methods vary across countries, literacy estimates should be used with caution.| United Nations Development Programme Report 2009.^[1][2]

Rank	Country	Literacy rate [b]
1	Kuwait	94.5
2	Palestine	93.8
3	Qatar	93.1
4	Jordan	91.1
5	United Arab Emirates	90.0 [l]
6	Lebanon	89.6 [j]
7	Bahrain	88.8
8	Libya	84.2 [l]
9	Saudi Arabia	82.9
10	Oman	81.4
11	Syria	80.8
12	Tunisia	74.3
13	Egypt	71.4
14	Djibouti	70.3 [j]
15	Algeria	69.9
16	Sudan	60.9 [aa]
17	Comoros	56.8 [j]
18	Yemen	54.1 [l]
19	Morocco	52.3
20	Mauritania	51.2
x	Iraq	No info Submitted
x	Somalia	No info Submitted

Status of Palestine

See also: Arab Peace Initiative

Mindful of their previous announcements in support of the Arabs of Palestine the framers of the Pact were determined to include them within the league from its inauguration. This was done by means of an annex that declared:

Even though Palestine was not able to control her own destiny, it was on the basis of the recognition of her independence that the Covenant of the League of Nations determined a system of government for her. Her existence and her independence among the nations can, therefore, no more be questioned de jure than the independence of any of the other Arab States. [...] Therefore, the States signatory to the Pact of the Arab League consider that in view of Palestine's special circumstances, the Council of the League should designate an Arab delegate from Palestine to participate in its work until this country enjoys actual independence

At the Cairo Summit of 1964, the Arab League initiated the creation of an organization representing the Palestinian people. The first Palestinian National Council convened in East Jerusalem on May 29, 1964. The Palestinian Liberation Organization was founded during this meeting on June 2, 1964.

At the Beirut Summit on March 28, 2002 the league adopted the Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-inspired peace plan for the Arab–Israeli conflict. The initiative offered full normalization of the relations with Israel. In exchange, Israel was demanded to withdraw from all occupied territories, including the Golan Heights, to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a "just solution" for the Palestinian refugees.

The Peace Initiative was again endorsed at 2007 in the Riyadh Summit. In July 2007, the Arab League sent a mission, consisting of the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, to Israel to promote the initiative. The mission was welcomed with reservations by Israel.

Following Venezuela's move to expel the resident Israeli diplomats amid the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Kuwaiti member of parliament Waleed al-Tabtabai made a public plea to move the Arab League headquarters from Cairo to Caracas, Venezuela.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Arab League

The Arab League is a culturally and ethnically diverse association of 22 member states, although a vast majority of the league consist of Arab people. As of January 1, 2007, about 340,000,000 people live in the states of the Arab League. Its population grows faster than in most other global regions. This threatens to diminish the slow economic expansion expected in the league's developing countries.

The most populous member state is Egypt, with a population of about 77.5 million. The least populated is Djibouti, with about 0.5 million inhabitants.

Since large parts of the Arab League are deserts, the population is concentrated in and around cities where most the trade and industry are located. The largest Arab city is Cairo, followed by Baghdad, Khartoum, Giza, Damascus, Riyadh, and Casablanca.

Pos	Country	Population
1	Egypt	77,500,000
2	Sudan	39,154,490
3	Algeria	34,895,000
4	Morocco	31,649,000
5	Iraq	30,747,000
6	Saudi Arabia	25,721,000
7	Yemen	23,580,000
8	Syria	21,906,000
9	Tunisia	10,327,800
10	Somalia	9,133,000
11	Libya	6,420,000
12	Jordan	6,316,000
13	United Arab Emirates	4,599,000
14	Lebanon	4,224,000
15	Palestine	4,136,540
16	Mauritania	3,291,000
17	Kuwait	2,985,000
18	Oman	2,845,000
19	Qatar	1,409,000
20	Djibouti	864,000
21	Bahrain	791,000
22	Comoros	676,000
Total	Arab League	360,029,936

Religion

Religions
Muslims			90%
Christians			10%

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, Iraq,Bahrain and Kuwait. Christianity is the second largest religion in the League, with over 20 million Christians living in countries such as Iraq, 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.

Comparisons with other organizations

Size comparison of the Arab League with Russia, Contiguous USA, and Europe (without Russia)

The Arab League resembles the Organization of American States, Celtic League, the Council of Europe, and the African Union, in that it has primarily political aims. However, membership in the league is based on culture rather than geographical location. In this respect, the Arab League resembles organizations such as the Latin Union or the Caribbean Community.

The Arab League differs notably from the European Union, in that it has not achieved a significant degree of regional integration and the organization itself has no direct relations with the citizens of its member states. However, the Arab League is based on principles that support and promote a unified Arab nationalism and a common position among Arabic states on various issues.

All Arab League members are also members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. In turn, the memberships of the smaller GCC and Arab Maghreb Union organizations are subsets of that of the league.

Secretaries-General

Abdul Rahman Azzam	1945 to 1952
Abdul Khalek Hassouna	1952 to 1972
Mahmoud Riad	1972 to 1979
Chedli Klibi	1979 to 1990
Assad al-Assad	1990 to 1991
Ahmad Esmat Abd al Meguid	1991 to 2001
Amr Moussa	2001 to date

Summits

Summits Held in Arab Cities

2

• Two summits are not added to the system of Arab League summits:
  • Anshas, Egypt: 28–29 May 1946
  • Beirut, Lebanon: 13 – 15 November 1956

• Summit 14 in Fes, Morocco, occurred in two stages:
  • On 25 November 1981: The 5-hours meeting ended without an agreed on document.
  • On 6–9 September 1982

See also

• Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)
• Arab Air Carriers Organization
• Arab Charter on Human Rights
• Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD)
• Arabic industrial development and mining organization
• Arab Inter-parliamentary Union
• Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
• Arab League boycott of Israel
• Arab Maghreb Union (UMA)
• Arab Monetary Fund
• Arab Organization for Industrialization
• Arab Parliament

• Arab World
• Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU)
• Federation of Arab Trade Unions and Labor Societies
• General Arab Insurance Federation
• General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries
• Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
• International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions
• List of largest cities of the Arab League
• Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)
• Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• Pan Arab Games
• Summit of South American-Arab Countries
• United Arab Command

Further reading

• Ankerl, Guy: Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva, INU Press, 2000. ISBN 2-88155-0044-5
• Geddes, Charles L: A Documentary History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Greenwood Press, 1991. ISBN 0-275-93858-1

External links

• Arab League – official site in Arabic, English version under construction
• Arab Gateway – The League of Arab states
• World Statesmen – Arab League
• Winthrop University – Arab League General Information
• Jewish Virtual Library – The Arab League
• Looklex Encyclopedia – Arab League