MOROCCOALGERIA

TUNISIA

LIBYA

EGYPT

SAUDI ARABIA

YEMEN

OMAN

U.A.E.

IRAN

PAKISTAN

AFGHANISTAN

QATAR

BAHRAIN

KUWAIT

A F R I C A

IRAQ

TURKEY

SYRIA

JORDAN

Red Sea

Persian Gulf

Arabian Sea

Black Sea

Mediterranean SeaCaspian

Sea

The source of much of the world's oil, the Middle East has been roiled recently by protests against entrenched regimes, most notably that of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. For protesters, the goal is a more democratic government and economic improvement. For the United States, which has long-standing relationships with some of these regimes, any change could significantly alter the future – and not necessarily in friendly ways.

A region on the edge

Pop.: 34.6 millionMedian age: 27.1Literacy rate: 69.9%GDP per capita: $7,400Unemployment: 9.9%Corruption rank: 105Government: RepublicLeader: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika since 1999

As in neighboring Tunisia, Algeria faces growing unrest tied to economic uncertainty and a call for democratic reforms; the government announced plans to lift a nearly 20-year-old stateof emergency; a rally by opposition forces is planned for Feb. 12

Algeria

Pop.: 10.6 millionMedian age: 29.7Literacy rate: 74.3%GDP per capita: $9,500Unemployment: 14%Corruption rank: 59Government: RepublicLeader: Fouad Mebazaa (interim president)

The popular overthrow of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14, sparked by an ailing economy, provided the inspiration for uprisings in Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere

Tunisia

Pop.: 6.5 millionMedian age: 24.2Literacy rate: 82.6%GDP per capita: $13,800Unemployment: 30%*Corruption rank: 146Government: Authoritarian stateLeader: Gadhafi, since 1969*In 2004

Because of the government’s tight control over the political system, opposition groups are weak; but lack of economic opportunity and Libya’s location between Tunisia and Egypt surely have leader Moammar Gadhafi, the longest-serving Arab leader, worried

Libya

While not a part of the Arab world, Israel may have more at stake in the outcome of events in Egypt than any other country; the peace treaty between the two former adversaries has brought more than three decades of relative calm, most of it under Mubarak; Israelis wonder whether Egypt’s next leader will be as agreeable

Israel

Pop.: 25.7 millionMedian age: 24.9Literacy rate: 78.8%GDP per capita: $24,200Unemployment: 10.8%Corruption rank: 50Government: MonarchyLeader: King Abdullah since 2005

With oil wealth and low unemployment in urban areas, Saudi Arabia’s economic conditions differ from Egypt’s; there is a small pro-democracy movement, but the strict religious education Saudis receive discourages dissent

SaudiArabia

Pop.: 6.4 millionMedian age: 21.8Literacy rate: 89.9%GDP per capita: $5,300Unemployment: 13.4%Corruption rank: 50 Government: Constitu-tional monarchyLeader: Abdullah II since 1999

King Abdullah II, leader of this key U.S. ally in the region, has already felt the heat generated by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. He recently sacked his Cabinet and ordered reforms; whether it’s enough to quell ongoing protests remainsto be seen

Jordan

Pop.: 22.2 millionMedian age: 21.5Literacy rate: 79.6%GDP per capita: $4,800Unemployment: 8.3%Corruption rank: 127Government: Republic under authoritarian regimeLeader: President Bashar Assad since 2000

High unemployment and persistent high poverty have given rise to a protest movement against Syria’s authoritarian government

Syria

Pop.: 76.9 millionMedian age: 26.3Literacy rate: 77%GDP per capita: $11,200Unemployment: 14.6%Corruption rank: 146Government: Theocratic republicLeader: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei since 1989

Widespread protests following the disputed 2009 presidential election were met with a severe crackdown by the country’s ruling clerics

Iran

Pop.: 23.5 millionMedian age: 17.9Literacy rate: 50.2%GDP per capita: $2,600Unemployment: 35%Corruption rank: 146Government: RepublicLeader: Saleh, since 1990

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has announced he will not run for re-election in 2013 nor pass power on to his son, but that has done little to quell protesters seeking his ouster. Yemen, an important ally in U.S. anti-terror efforts, already faces a secessionist movement in the south

Yemen

Pop.: 77.8 millionMedian age: 28.1Literacy rate: 87.4%GDP per capita: $12,300Unemployment: 12.4%Corruption rank: 56Government: Republican parliamentary democracyLeader: President Abdullah Gul since 2007

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came out in supportof Egyptian protesters last week, urging Mubarak to resign; Turkey’s economy is growing, and it is among the region’s most stable countries

Turkey

Rabat

Algiers Tunis

Tripoli

Cairo

AmmanDamascus

Ankara

BaghdadTehran

Riyadh

Sanaa

Muscat

Pop.: 4.1 millionMedian age: 29.4Literacy rate: 87.4%GDP per capita: $14,200Unemployment: n/aCorruption rank: 127Government: RepublicLeader: President Michel Suleiman since 2008

The nation’s complex internal politics have long made for fragile governments, as shown again recently with militant group Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the Cabinet and the replacement of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Ethnic and religious divisions inhibit the growth of a unified reform movement

Lebanon

Pop.: 4.1 millionMedian age: 19.6Literacy rate: 92.4%GDP per capita: $2,900Unemployment: 16.5%

A body politic already divided between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which controls the West Bank, could see fallout from the turmoil in neighboring Egypt; Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel and cooperation in the blockade of Gaza are among key issues to be determined

Palestinianterritories

Pop.: 29.7 millionMedian age: 20.6Literacy rate: 74.1%GDP per capita: $3,600Unemployment: 15.3%Corruption rank: 175Government: Parliamen-tary democracyLeader: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki since 2006

Iraq’s political profile differs from those of its neighbors, many of whom share its long history of autocratic rule;its political difficulties in emerging from the long shadow of Saddam Hussein could serve as a cautionary tale for other nations attempting to build a democracy

Iraq

CORRUPTION RANKINGSNumbers are out of 178 countries. The higher the number, the higher the level of perceived public corrup-tion, as determined by Transparency International, a nonpartisan group that fights corruption

Pop.: 31.6 millionMedian age: 26.5Literacy rate: 52.3%GDP per capita: $4,900Unemployment: 9.8%Corruption rank: 85Government: Constitu-tional monarchyLeader: King Mohammed VI since 1999

While the economy, income inequality and corruption are problems, it is one of the region’s more open democracies, providing a political outlet for discontent

Morocco

Pop.: 80.5 milliomMedian age: 24Literacy rate: 71.4%GDP per capita: $6,200Unemployment: 9.7%Corruption rank: 98Government: RepublicLeader: President Hosni Mubarak since 1981

Tunisia may have sparked the reform wave reverberating

throughout the region, but its spread to Egypt, the largest and most culturally important nation in the Arab world, gave it magnitude; the key ingredients here — political oppression, income inequality, high unemployment and a large youth population — are found in many nearby countries

Egypt

Pop.: 7.4 millionMedian age: 29.3Literacy rate: 97.1%GDP per capita: $29,500Unemployment: 6.4%Corruption rank: 30Government: Parliamentary democracyLeader: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since 2009LEBANON

ISRAEL

WestBank

GazaStrip

Jerusalem

Beirut

Like Egypt and Tunisia, these countries have repressive political conditions, but their considerable wealth and relatively moderate unemployment make similar uprisings unlikely, analysts say

(Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates)

Government: Emirates and monarchies

Pop.: 12.3 million (combined)Median age: 23.9-30.8 (range)Literacy rate: 77.9%-94.4% (range)

GDP per capita: $25,800-$145,300 (range)Unemployment: 0.5%-15% (range)Corruption rank: 19-54 (range)

Smaller Gulfcountries

Source: CIA World Factbook; U.S. State Department; Reuters; CNN; Marina Ottaway, director of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; news reports Graphic: Adam Zoll, Max Rust, Chicago Tribune© 2011 MCT