MIDDLE EAST: THE BASIC TERMINOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, DEMOGRAPHY, ANCIENT HISTORY
Mgr. Eva Taterova, M.A., Ph.D.
Faculty of Social Studies
Masaryk University







BASIC TERMINOLOGY
•No consensus about the terminology.
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•Historically, Near East referred to the territory of whole Ottoman Empire while Middle East was
used for the whole region of Arab peninsula, Afghanistan + the countries of southern and central
Asia.
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•Orient – a label for countries of Near, Middle and Far East – today quite negative connotations
(book „Orientalism“ by Edward Said from 1978).
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•The Levant – eastern Mediterranean (Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, northern Iraq).
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•Nowadays the prevailing definition says that "it is a region located on the border between
southwest Asia, northern Africa, and Europe".
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•The terms Near and Middle East are usually used simultaneously.
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•The unifying factors: similar historical development, religion, culture, language.

DEMOGRAPHY OF MIDDLE EAST
•Estimated population in 2018: 411 million people.
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•Great diversity regarding ethnicity, languages, religion.
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•Main ethnic groups: Arab, Turks, Kurds, Jews, Berbers.
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•Main languages: Arabic (different slangs), Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, Hebrew.
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•Countries with biggest populations: Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
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•Main religions: Islam, Christianity, Judaism.

MIDDLE EAST ETHNO-LINGUISTIC GROUPS



MIDDLE EAST: INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS
Countries with biggest population in 2017
Iran
81,824,270
Turkey
79,414,269
Iraq
37,056,169
Saudi Arabia
27,752,316
Yemen
26,737,317
Richest Countries of the Middle East (GDP) in 2017
Qatar
124,900 USD
Kuwait
69,700 USD
United Arab Emirates
68,200 USD
Saudi Arabia
55,300 USD
Bahrain
51,800 USD
Major religious groups in 2010
Islam
317,070,000
Christianity
12,710,000
Judaism
5,630,000
Unaffilliated
2,100,000
Hinduism
1,720,000
Poorest Countries of the Middle East (GDP) in 2017
Afghanistan
1,900
Yemen
2,300
Syria
2,900
Pakistan
5,400
Jordan
12,500

DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST 2017



RELIGIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST



RELIGIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
•Many religions have got their origins in the Middle East.
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•Religions of the book: Judaism, Christianity, Islam – three monoteistic religions.
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•In the past there was a lot of religious tolerance, nowadays religion is often a source of
conflict.

ISLAM
•5 pillars of Islam:
•Shahada: Faith
•Salah: Prayer
•Zakāt: Charity
•Sawm: Fasting (Ramadan)
•Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
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•Significant dispute between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims.

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•THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION