Middle East Demographics

Introductory Video on the Demographics of the Middle-East
Population Distribution & Density
Ethnic & Religious Distribution
- Ethnic Minorities: Amazigh/Berbers (30 million), Armenians (0.5 million), Assyrians (1.2 million), Circassians (0.4 million), Copts (8 million), Mizrahi Jews (0.01 million), Kurds (11 million), etc.
- Muslim population: 96% (80% Sunni, 20% Shia)
- Christian population: 3%
Arabic Language Dialects: Gulf, Baharna, Najdi, Omani, Hijazi, etc.
Population Size & Growth
- Population growth from 1950 to 2024 and projections up to 2100 for countries like Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, etc.
Population Pyramids
Human Development
- HDI ranking for Arab League countries (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, etc.)
- Includes HDI, GNI per capita, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and life expectancy at birth.

Urbanization
- Largest Cities: Cairo, Baghdad, Riyadh, Khartoum, Dubai, Alexandria, Jeddah, Amman, Casablanca, Mosul.
- 58% of total population
- Future outlook: International cities (Dubai), Hub cities (Amman, Beirut, Casablanca), Mega cities (Cairo, Riyadh and Baghdad)
Migration
- Inbound: Flow to GCC countries
  - Migrants in the six Gulf States account for over 10% of all migrants globally.
  - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates host the 4th and 5th largest migrant populations in the world
  - In 2020, there were 41.4 million international migrants in the Arab States region.
  - Consequences on Economy, Politics and Social matters.
- Outbound and Transit
- Death toll in the Mediterranean Sea
Internal Displacement
- IDP Refugees 2014-2023
Refugees
Unemployment/Youth
Brain Drainage