P OPULATION P ATTERNS

A R EGION OF G REAT D IVERSITY 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.

A RABS 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

I SRAELI F LAG

I SRAELIS 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.

T URKEY

T URKS 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

I RAN AND A FGHANISTAN

I RANIANS AND A FGHANIS 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

C AUCASUS R EGION

C AUCASIAN P EOPLES 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.

C ENTRAL A SIA

T URKIC P EOPLE (O UTSIDE OF T URKEY ) 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

K URD P OPULATION M AP

K URDS 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

R ESOURCES AND P OPULATION 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