The

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

consists of 22 countries located in

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

, Northern Africa, the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

, and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. It covers a combined area of 13 million km². It extends from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in the west, southward to the

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

, eastward to

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, and northward to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Geography of each country

The geography of each country:

Regions

Terrains in the area can be divided into three main types: the large arid desert covering most of it, the fertile south and north, and finally the high mountains of the

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

Ahaggar The Hoggar Mountains ( ar, جبال هقار, Berber languages, Berber: ''idurar n Ahaggar'') are a highland region in the central Sahara in southern Algeria, along the Tropic of Cancer. The mountains cover an area of approximately 550,000 km. ...

, Zagros and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, along with the Hijaz Mountain range. The Arab world can also be divided into two continental parts: Asian, which has 12 states, and African, which is larger and has 10 states. Adjacent to the Arab world are 14 land neighbours and 4 sea neighbours. Geographically, the Arab world countries are further subdivided into four regions:
The Arab world has a high population density, with an estimated 350 million inhabitants. Culturally, the Arab states can be divided into 3 regions: *The

Greater Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, which includes Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. *The

Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...

, which includes Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. *The

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

, which includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen.

Landscape

Most of the Arab world falls in the driest region of the world. Almost 80% of it is covered in

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

(10,666,637 of 13,333,296 km2), stretching from Mauritania and Morocco to Oman and the UAE. The second most common terrain is the semi-arid terrain, which found in all Arab countries except Lebanon and Comoros. Several deserts span the Arab world: The highest point in the Arab world is in

called

Jbel Toubkal Toubkal or Tubkal (Berber: ⵜⵓⴳⴳ ⴽⴰⵍ/ⵜⵓⴱⵇⴰⵍ ''Tugg kal/Tubqal''; ar, توبقال ''Tūbqāl'') is a mountain peak in southwestern Morocco, located in the Toubkal National Park. At , it is the highest peak in the Atlas ...

, standing 4,165m tall, making it the 40th highest place on earth, and 6th in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, next comes Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb (at 3,666 m)"Arabian peninsula and Middle East"
Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2011-11-20. in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and

Cheekha Dar Cheekha Dar, ( ku, Çîxî Derê / چیخی دەرێ) which means Black Tent, is the local Kurdish name for the mountain, located in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, currently thought to be the highest in Iraq. It is claimed to be high in the CIA Worl ...

(at 3,611 m)"Cheekha Dar, Iraq/Iran"
Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2012-09-06. in

. The lowest point in the Arab world is the

Dead sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

between Jordan and Palestine. At 1,312 feet (400 meters) below sea level it is also the

lowest point on Earth This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or coun ...

Climate

The hottest temperature recorded in the Arab world took place in Kuwait from Mid-July to Mid-August 2022, reaching 54.6 °C (129.3 °F) in

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

, breaking a record set in 1987.

References

{{Reflist

Geography of each country

Regions

Landscape

Climate

See also

References