Arab world: Difference between revisions

The '''Arab world''' ({{lang-ar|العالم العربي}} ''{{transl|ar|al-ʿālam al-ʿarabī}}''; formally: '''Arab homeland''', {{lang|ar|الوطن العربي}} ''{{transl|ar|al-waṭan al-ʿarabī}}''),<ref>{{cite web|last1=Khan|first1=Zafarul-Islam|title=The Arab World – an Arab perspective|url=http://www.milligazette.com/news/6666-the-arab-world-an-arab-perspective|website=milligazette.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Phillips|first1=Christopher|title=Everyday Arab Identity: The Daily Reproduction of the Arab World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C8djTtq2v5AC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false|publisher=Routledge|language=en|date=12 November 2012|isbn=9781136219603}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mellor|first1=Noha|last2=Rinnawi|first2=Khalil|last3=Dajani|first3=Nabil|last4=Ayish|first4=Muhammad I.|title=Arab Media: Globalization and Emerging Media Industries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GoU-NRhn1agC&pg=PT10&lpg=PT10&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|language=en|date=20 May 2013|isbn=978-0745637365}}</ref> also known as the '''Arab nation''' ({{lang|ar|الأمة العربية}} ''{{transl|ar|al-ummah al-ʿarabīyyah}}''), the '''Arabsphere''' or the '''Arab states''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Majority and Minorities in the Arab World: The Lack of a Unifying Narrative|url=http://jcpa.org/article/majority-and-minorities-in-the-arab-world-the-lack-of-a-unifying-narrative/|website=Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs}}</ref> consists of the 22 [[Arabic]]-speaking countries which are members of the [[Arab League]].<ref name="Frishkopf" /> These countries are located in [[Western Asia]], [[North Africa]] and the [[Horn of Africa]]. The region stretches from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in the west to the [[Arabian Sea]] in the east, and from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in the north to the [[Indian Ocean]] in the southeast.<ref name="Frishkopf" /> [[Arabic]] is used as the lingua franca throughout the Arab world. [[Malta]], an island country in [[Southern Europe]] whose [[Maltese language|national language]] also derives from Arabic, is not included in the region. The Arab world has a combined population of around 422 million inhabitants (as of 2012).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/world-arabic-language-day/ |title=World Arabic Language Day |work=UNESCO |date=18 December 2012 |accessdate=12 February 2014}}</ref> [[Arabic]] is used as the lingua franca throughout the Arab world. [[Malta]], an island country in [[Southern Europe]] whose [[Maltese language|national language]] also derives from Arabic, is not included in the region. The eastern part of the Arab world is known as the [[Mashriq]], and the western part as the [[Maghreb]].