I.

Introduction

Arabia, great desert peninsula in extreme southwestern Asia, bounded on the north by Jordan and Iraq, on the east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and on the west by the Red Sea. With an area of about 3 million sq km (about 1.2 million sq mi) and a population (2000 estimate) of about 48 million, Arabia is one of the most sparsely inhabited areas of the world. It comprises the independent states of Saudi Arabia (which occupies nearly three-quarters of the peninsula), Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and the island state of Bahrain.