POPULATION PATTERNS

A REGION OF GREAT DIVERSITY

The region of North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia (will be referred as NSC) serves as a crossroads for Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Because of this, the NSC has a great amount of ethnic diversity. Ethnic Diversity - differences among groups

based on their language, customs, and beliefs.

ARABS

Arabs make up the majority of NSC Almost 275 million people

Most Arabs practice Islam Both Islamic culture, and Arabic (the

language of Arabs) have influenced the NSC greatly.

Currently Arabs live predominately in 16 countries in the region. This includes: Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and

Morocco These countries are known as the Maghreb or “the

west” in Arabic

ISRAELI FLAG

ISRAELIS

About 6.4 million people in NSC are Israelis living in Israel. 82% are Jewish 18% are Arab Muslims or Christians

Jews trace their lineage back to the biblical Israelites who settled in Canaan (land now shared by Israel and Lebanon). They believe that God gave them this land for a

permanent homeland. After WWII, in 1948, the country of Israel was

created to give the Jews their homeland. However, in order to give the Jews their land many

Arabs had their land and property stripped from them. This has led to great, and continuous, conflict between

Israel / Jews and the Arab world.

TURKEY

TURKS

Over the past 8,000 year, many people have occupied modern day Turkey. Turkic Peoples migrated to this area in AD 1000s

form central Asia The high amount of ethnic diversity within

Turkey makes defining a “Turk” a difficult thing.

Turks can be ethnically Turkic People, Jews, Arab, Greeks, Iranians, Armenians, Kurds, etc. What really defines a Turk:

Primarily live in Turkey Practice Islam Speak Turkish

IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN

IRANIANS AND AFGHANIS

Iranians 66 Million people live in Iran Iranians speak Farsi 90% are Shiite Muslim

Afghanis Afghanis are people who live or come from

Afghanistan Afghanistan is a mountainous country Afghanistan is ethnically diverse

Due to multiple invasions and migration Afghanis speak many different languages, but most

practice Islam

CAUCASUS REGION

CAUCASIAN PEOPLES More than 50 ethnic groups and nationalities live in the

Caucasus Area. Armenians and Georgians are among the largest of these

groups Armenians

Make up 90% of the population of Armenia Armenia:

Became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 Armenians became a Christian nation in the AD 300s While being ruled by the Ottoman Turks in 1915, nearly 1 million

Armenians were killed or deported. Many refugees from this persecution fled to Southwest Asia,

Europe, and the United States.

Georgians Like Armenians, Georgians became Christian in AD 300s,

and gained their independence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union.

CENTRAL ASIA

TURKIC PEOPLE (OUTSIDE OF TURKEY)

Most Turkic People living outside of Turkey live in the republics of Central Asia All these people speak Turkish, and almost all are

Muslim Of these people, the two largest groups are:

Uzbeks – The largest Turkic group in Central Asia Kazakhs – only Turkic group that is a minority in its

own country (Kazakhstan) Other Group (Non-Turks)

Tajiks: predominately Muslim people make up the majority population of Tajikistan Also live in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan Speak language similar to farsi

KURD POPULATION MAP

KURDS

Kurds: Speak a language similar to Farsi Most are Muslim Live in bordering areas of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and

the Caucasian republics. Have no country of their own

RESOURCES AND POPULATION

Water Because of a scarcity of water in the region,

most major settlements occur around bodies of water.

Much of the desert land is left unpopulated Population Growth and Urbanization

A mass population growth in the region has caused many issues Not enough jobs Lots of traffic (no highway infrastructure) Not enough affordable housing Pollution