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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.
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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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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