The Arab League: Fact sheet

The Arab League was formed in 1945 and now has 22 member states. Below is a brief profile of each country.

The Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt

Algeria

 

Capital: Algiers
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria

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Joined league
in 1962

President: Abd al-Aziz Butaflika
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
Political parties: Established a
multi-party system in September 1989.
Elections: National People’s Assembly: first round held on 26 December 1991 (second round cancelled by the military  after President Shadli Benjedid resigned on 11 January 1992); following the victory of the Islamic Salvation Front.
Literacy rate (as percentage of the population): male: 78.8%, female: 61% (2003 estimate).  

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Joined league
in 1971

Bahrain

Capital: Manama
Type of government: Constitutional monarchy since 2002
Full name: Kingdom of Bahrain
Monarch: King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)
Political parties: None
Elections: 40-member elected parliament, known as the Council of Deputies.
Literacy rate: male: 91.9%, female: 61% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1993

Comoros

Capital: Moroni
Type of government: Independent republic
Full name: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
President: Azali Assumani
Independence: 31 December 1975 (from France)
Elections: Federal Assembly
Literacy rate: male: 63.6% female, 49.3% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1977

Djibouti

Capital: Djibouti
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Republic of Djibouti
President: Ismail Umar Gallah
Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France; formerly French Territory of the Afars and Issas)
Political parties: One-party state
Elections: National Assembly
Literacy rate: male: 51%, female: 21% (1999 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Egypt

Capital: Cairo
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Arab Republic of Egypt
President: Muhammad Husni Mubarak
Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic.
Political parties: A multi-party system. Formation of political parties must be approved by the government.
Elections: Advisory Council and Peoples Assembly. Presidential elections every five years.
Literacy rate: male: 68.3%, female: 46.9% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Iraq

Capital: Baghdad
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Republic of Iraq
President: None, following the US-led occupation of the country and the toppling of president Saddam Hussein.
Independence: Under occupation.
Political parties: Many political parties emerged in Iraq following the fall of Iraq’s Baath party in 2003.
Elections: None
Literacy rate: male: 55.9%, female: 24.4% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Jordan

Capital: Amman
Type of government: Kingdom
Full name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Monarch: King Abd Allah bin Al Husain (since 1999)
Independence: 25 May 1946
Political parties: Multi-party state
Elections: National Assembly, consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables (40 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures),
and the House of Representatives (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms).
Literacy rate: male: 95.9%, female: 86.3% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1961

Kuwait

Capital: Kuwait
Type of government: Nominal constitutional monarchy
Full name: State of Kuwait
Amir: Shaikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah
Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)
Political parties: None
Elections: National Assembly (parliament) since 1963
Literacy rate: male: 85.1%, female: 81.7% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Lebanon

Capital: Beirut
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Republic of Lebanon
President: General Emile Lahud
Independence: 22 November 1943
Political parties: Multi-party system organised along largely sectarian lines.
Elections: Assembly of Representatives
Literacy rate: male: 93.1%, female: 82.2% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1953

Libya

Capital: Tripoli
Type of government: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses)
Full name: Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
President: Muammar al-Qadhafi
Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)
Political parties: None
Elections: General Peoples Congress. Elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples’ committees.
Literacy rate: male: 92.4%, female: 72% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1973

Mauritania

Capital: Nouakchott
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
President: Muawiya Wald Sid Ahmad Taya
Independence: 28 November 1960
Political parties: Multi-party system
Elections: Parliament, National Assembly and Senate
Literacy rate: male: 51.8%, female: 31.9% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1958

Morocco

Capital: Rabat
Type of government: Constitutional monarchy Full name: Kingdom of Morocco
Monarch: King Muhammad VI
Independence: 2 March 1956 (from France)
Political parties: Multi-party system
Elections: Chamber of Representatives and Assembly of Councillors.
Literacy rate: male: 64.1%, female: 39.4% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1971

Oman

Capital: Muscat
Type of government: monarchy
Full name: Sultanate of Oman
Monarch: Sultan Qabus bin al-Said
Independence: Since 1861
Political parties: None
Elections: Consultative Assembly & Council of State
Literacy rate: male: 83.1%, female: 67.2% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Palestine

Capital: Jerusalem
Type of government: Republic
Full name: State of Palestine
President: Yasir Arafat
Independence: Still under Israeli occupation
Political parties: Multi-party system
Elections: Elected Palestinian Authority
Literacy rate: male: 78.8%, female: 61% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1971

Qatar

Capital: Doha
Type of government: Traditional monarchy
Full name: State of Qatar
Amir: Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Independence: 3 September 1971 (from UK)
Political parties: None
Elections: Elected municipal council
Literacy rate: male: 81.4%, female: 85% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Saudi Arabia

Capital: Riyadh
Type of government: Monarchy
Full name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Monarch: King Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
Independence: 23 September 1932 (Unification of the Kingdom)
Political parties: None
Elections: None
Literacy rate: male: 84.7%, female: 70.8% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1974

Somalia

Capital: Mogadishu
Type of government: None
Full name: None
President: Abd al-Qasim Salat Hasan
Independence: 1 July 1960
Political parties: Transitional government
Elections: Provisional parliament with appointed members
Literacy rate: male: 49.7%, female: 25.8% (2001 est).

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Joined league
in 1956

Sudan

Capital: Khartoum
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Republic of the Sudan
President: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK; formerly Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)
Political parties: The government allows political “associations” under a 1998 law revised in 2000
Elections: None
Literacy rate: male: 71.8%, female: 50.5% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Syria
 
Capital: Damascus
Type of government: Republic; under leftwing military regime since March 1963
Full name: Syrian Arab Republic
President: Bashar al-Asad
Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration); formerly United Arab Republic
Political parties: The ruling party is the Arab Socialist (Baath) party.
Elections: Elected National Assembly
Literacy rate: male: 89.7%, female: 64% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1958

Tunisia
 
Capital: Tunis
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Republic of Tunisia
President: Zain al-Abidin Bin Ali
Independence: 20 March 1956 (from France)
Political parties: Multi-party system
Elections: Elected Chamber of Deputies
Literacy rate: male: 84%, female: 64.4% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1971

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Capital: Abu Dhabi
Type of government: Federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE central government and other powers reserved to member emirates.
Full name: United Arab Emirates; abbreviated UAE
President: Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan
Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK)
Political parties: None
Elections: None
Literacy rate: male: 76.1%, female: 81.7% (2003 est).

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Joined league
in 1945

Yemen

Capital: Sanaa
Type of government: Republic
Full name: Republic of Yemen
President: Ali Abd Allah Salih
Independence: Republic of Yemen was established on 22 May 1990 following the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic (known as North Yemen) and the Marxist-dominated People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (known as South Yemen).
Political parties: Multi-party system
Elections: Elected Assembly of Representatives
Joined as a charter member in 1945
Literacy rate: male: 70.5%, female: 30% (2003 est).

Sources: Various

Source: Al Jazeera