If you'd like to print out this page, click the Print button above. Alternatively, you may click the printer icon on your browser's toolbar, or choose File>Print from the menu.     Islamic Countries 2 Important variations exist within the Islamic countries. Let’s examine several key Islamic states – Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey, and make some comparisons, beginning with gross domestic product per capita, a measure of income. CLICK DATA FILE: Global04 CLICK TASK: Mapping SELECT VARIABLE 1: GDP/CAP CLICK VIEW: Alphabetical Table CLICK: [Continue] 1. Identify the GDP per capita for the following Islamic countries, and their world rank. Country GDP World Rank Answers Egypt $3,000 and 92 Iraq $2,700 and 96 Pakistan $2,000 and 113 Turkey $6,200 and 58 Gross domestic product per capita has important implications. It influences how much people have to eat, the amount governments have to spend on programs, such as education, and the occurrence of conflict, both externally and internally, among other things. Let’s examine some of these. CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: CALORIES CLICK VIEW: Alphabetical Table CLICK: [Continue] 2. Identify the average calories available per person for the following Islamic countries, and their world rank. Country GDP World Rank Answers Egypt 3327 and 18 Iraq 2268 and 106 Pakistan 2475 and 81 Turkey 3596 and 6 3. True or False: The rank order of these countries for gross domestic product per capita is similar to their rank order for average calories available per person. (Correct Answer: True) CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: WAR CLICK VIEW: Alphabetical Table CLICK: [Continue] 4. Which of our four countries experienced civil wars as recently as the 1990s? (Correct Answer: Egypt and Turkey) 5. Which of our four countries experienced multiple types of war as recently as the 1990s? (Correct Answer: Iraq and Pakistan) CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: C.CONFLICT CLICK VIEW: Alphabetical Table CLICK: [Continue] 6. True or False: All four of our countries have experienced either internal violence or warfare recently. (Correct Answer: True) There are multiple reasons for internal violence. Ethnic and religious divisions often contribute to disputes. Let’s explore the divisions that exist within Iraq, a country that has experienced a significant degree of internal violence in recent years. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: SHARES CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: IRAQ-REL CLICK: [Continue] 7. True or False: Sunni Muslims form a majority in Iraq. (Correct Answer: False) 8. What percentage of Iraqis identify themselves as Shi’a Muslims? (Correct Answer: 62.5 percent) 9. What percentage of Iraqis identify themselves as non-Muslim? (Correct Answer: 3 percent) CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: IRAQ-ETH CLICK: [Continue] 10. Identify the dominant ethnic group in Iraq. (Correct Answer: Arabs) 11. What percentage of Iraqis identify themselves as Kurds? (Correct Answer: 17.5 percent) Let’s examine ethnic and religious diversity in Egypt. CLICK: VARIABLES CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: EGYPT-REL CLICK: [Continue] 12. What percentage of Egyptians identify themselves as Muslims? (Correct Answer: 94 percent) CLICK: VARIABLES CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: EGYPT-ETH CLICK: [Continue] 13. Identify the dominant ethnic group in Egypt. (Correct Answer: Eastern Hamitic) 14. What percentage of Egyptians identify themselves as members of the dominant ethnic group? (Correct Answer: 99 percent) 15. True or False: Ethnic and religious variation is greater in Egypt than in Iraq. (Correct Answer: False) As noted earlier, numerous factors influence politics within the Islamic countries. Egypt, along with other Islamic states, has not been immune to outside influences, particularly as a result of changes in technology and the mass media. In some cases, it appears that these changes have fueled westernization. In others, it appears to fuel religious fundamentalism. Historically, the government monopolized the broadcast media, but recent changes have resulted in more Egyptians obtaining access to satellite programming. Let’s explore the growth of television, as a source of news, over time. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: EGYPTTRENDS CLICK TASK: Historical Trends SELECT VARIABLE 1: TELEVISNEG CLICK: [Continue] 16. True or False: Television ownership was approximately 10,000 in 1960. (Correct Answer: False) 17. True or False: Since the 1960s, television ownership has increased steadily. (Correct Answer: True) Let’s determine whether or not similar trends exist for the print media. CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: NEWS/CPEG CLICK: [Continue] 18. Approximately how many newspapers per 10,000 citizens were in circulation in 1960? (Correct Answer: 200) 19. True or False: Since 1960 there has been an overall increase in the number of newspapers in circulation. (Correct Answer: True) Clearly access to news is one factor that influences political participation. Let’s explore political participation in Egypt and the political process. We’ll begin with voter turnout and make a few comparisons with other countries. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: GLOBAL04 CLICK TASK: Mapping SELECT VARIABLE 1: %TURNOUT CLICK VIEW: Rank Table CLICK: [Continue] 20. What is the turnout percentage for the highest ranked country on the list? (Correct Answer: 98 percent) 21. What is the median turnout percentage (i.e., the percentage for the middle-ranked country, or the 75th of 149 ranked countries)? (Correct Answer: 65.3 percent) 22. Where is the turnout percentage for Egypt? (Correct Answer: 30.4 percent) 23. True or False: The vast majority of the world’s countries have turnout rates higher than Egypt’s. (Correct Answer: True) Now let’s examine voter turnout over time. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: TRENDS CLICK TASK: Historical Trends SELECT VARIABLE 1: EGYPT:TO CLICK: [Continue] 24. What, approximately, was voter turnout in 1976? (Correct Answer: 19 percent) 25. True or False: The highpoint of voter turnout was achieved in the 1990 election. (Correct Answer: False) Now let’s examine the outcomes of the elections to the Assembly in Egypt. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: SHARES CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: EGYPT-E% CLICK: [Continue] 26. Which political party received the largest percentage of the vote in the most recent parliamentary election? (Correct Answer: The NDP, or National Democratic Party) 27. What was the percentage of that party? (Correct Answer: 88 percent) CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: EGYPTSEATS CLICK: [Continue] 28. How many independents and unaffiliated members are in the Assembly? (Correct Answer: 40) 29. How many political parties won fewer than 5 percent of the seats in the Assembly? (Correct Answer: Four) 30. True or False: The NDP controls a majority of the seats in the Assembly. (Correct Answer: True) 31. Given what you’ve learned about Islamic states, do you believe democracy is likely to spread and deepen or decline in these states? Briefly explain your argument.