Geography Revision Magic import test

• The Middle East is facing water shortages for 25 years
• Fourteen of the 33 most water-stressed countries are in the Middle East
• A rapidly growing population

  Causes increased consumption by people, farms, and companies
• The Middle East's water suppliers depend on aquifers
• The Middle East's water supplies are restricted to a few hours a day
• Causes of drought in the Middle East

  • Dry land - 80% of the Middle East has an arid (desert) climate
  • Drought - Severe drought has affected the area since the 1990s
  • Population and Growth - The Middle East is growing rapidly (2.5% yearly)
  • Agriculture - Enormous use of water in the region, Jordan uses 80%
  • Pollution - Water is increasingly polluted, has little government regulation
• Turkey's water management

  The most sustainable because they are benefiting from their natural surface water and distributing it, which generates them profit
• How Israel is tackling their water problems


  • Using greywater to irrigate their crops
  • Installing 5 water plants that cost 400 million each
  • Using sea water to clean salt water
• Turkey's potential to transfer water


  They have the most surface water throughout the region and have the benefits of being bordered by River Tigris and River of Euphrates
• Desalination plants


  Machines that remove salt from saltwater making it consumable, located in Israel, around Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE
• Environmental problems caused by desalination plants

  Excess salt being dumped back into the sea, increasing the salinity and damaging the environment
• Aquifer


  A device that pumps up water that has remained under the ground for years, located in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Egypt
• Main reasons for water scarcity in the Middle East

  • The government does not have enough political leverage in Turkey and Iran to get a greater share of water
  • The Tigris, the main source of water, is now shallow enough for a man to walk their dog, meaning Iraq has very limited access to the resources of neighbouring countries
• The Ilisu Dam will flood 52 villages and 15 small towns, including the city of Hanakeyf, affecting the homes and livelihoods of 15,000-20,000 people
• The Ilisu Dam will drastically decrease the quality of water reaching Iraq and Syria, creating tensions that could potentially become an issue to the nation
• The Ilisu Dam will have a life of 50-70 years, but a beautiful site will be permanently destroyed
• The adjacent choropleth map shows the population density of the Middle East
• The 3 countries with the largest population in the Middle East

  • Egypt (93.4m)
  • Turkey (80.9m)
  • Iran (79.1m)
• The mean population in the Middle East is 28, the mean population range is 92
• The newly emerging countries in the Middle East have the smaller populations whilst the higher income countries tend to have the largest populations
• There is low air pressure in the areas of the Middle East with an arid climate
• Major fossil fuels


  • Coal
  • Oil
  • Gas
• Organic matter, temperature, time, and pressure conditions lead to the formation of fossil fuels
• Crude oil is formed because of plant mosses in the ocean
• 48% of oil reserves are in the Middle East
• The Middle East produces the most oil in the world at 28.4 million
• Europe consumes the most oil in the world at 22.4 million
• Why the Middle East is a major economic region

  They produce the most crude oil at 28.67 million, which will result in an excessive amount of money being generated from exportation to higher income countries that do not have the suitable land area
• Yemen is the most southern country in the Middle East and borders Saudi Arabia and Oman
• Yemen has a population of 27.5 million, a significantly low HDI score (0.46), high infant mortality, and low life expectancy. 8.7 years of expected schooling. The GDP per capita is $2.285 per year
• Reasons for Yemen being the poorest country in the Middle East

  • Wealth from oil: In 2005, oil sales made up 67% of government income, and 87% of export revenues. Exploration and investment by oil companies have not been developed due to the insecurity of the nation. Oil pipelines have been destroyed by enemies.
  • Infrastructure: Limited access to basic services like transport, education, medical services. People are too ill to work, pushing them into poverty. Only a tenth of the roads are paved, war has cost 7 billion in damages. If you include the damage to their economy it rises to a staggering 14 billion.
  • Conflict: Until 1990 Yemen was divided into two countries: North + South. The civil war began in 2014, killing more than 10,000 people, and leaving 20 million in need of aid.
  • Trade: Yemen does not export from other countries, agriculture is poorly developed in Yemen with most of their food being imported from other countries, they rely heavily on other countries imported goods. The percentage of Yemen's GDP is made from exporting goods from other countries.
  • Population: Yemen's population has increased and is expected to double to more than 40 million in the next 20 years, in 30 years it is estimated that it will reach 60 million. Unemployment among young people is estimated to be at 60%, two thirds of the population are under 24. Limited food and water supplies for everyone.
  • Gender Equality: Yemen is classified as the worst in the world for gender equality. Yemeni girls are taken out of school to be married or care for relatives. School attendance and graduation rates for women are lower for men, 49% of Yemeni girls are illiterate. Life expectancy for men is significantly less than women.
  • Water: Yemen is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, ranked the seventh most water stressed in the world. Yemen's capital city Sanas tap water's only available once every four days for 2 million people. Half the population has no access to safe drinking water. Lack of laws to regulate water use like drought and extreme heat
• The Arab Spring is one of the most significant causes of the ongoing conflict in Yemen because the protestors have changed the governments, altering the leader's perspectives and causing violence
• How arid zones (deserts) are formed

  1. The sun's light and heat energy is greatest at the equator

  2. Heat energy from the sun warms the air at the equator and makes it rise

  3. Rising air draws out moisture which condensates to form clouds and precipitation

  4. Precipitation falls over areas of rainforest meaning there is little moisture over the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

  5. The now dry air moves away from the equator in both northerly and southerly directions towards the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

  6. The lack of moisture creates dry conditions which creates deserts