Oman

Type of government: Monarchy

Current head of state: King Fahd

Total population: 31,968,361

% of population living in poverty: 18%

GDP: $76.53 billion

Capital: Muscat

Largest city: Muscat

Coasts: 2092 km

Major bodies of water: Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea

Major rivers: none

Bordering countries: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and U.A.E.

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: the climate of Oman is extremely hot and dry most of the year

Geographical features: central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south gets flat in south-west 

 

Private security guards in Oman blocked the main airport in the Gulf Arab state on Wednesday in a demonstration to demand higher pay, witnesses said. Between 400 and 500 security guards, who are employed by private companies, protested on the Muscat airport road. "Our objective of this protest is for our wages to be raised." 

Morocco

Total population: 31,968,361

% of population living in poverty: 19%

GDP: $153.8 billion

Capital: Rabat

Largest city: Casablanca 

Coasts: 1835 km

Major bodies of water: Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean

Major rivers: Oumer River, Sebou, Bou Regreg, Tensift, Draa, Sous, Ziz and Gheris.

Bordering countries: Western Sahara, and Algeria

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: Generally the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts have a mild climate with hot summers with wet and rainy short winters. The weather becomes more extreme in the interior with very hot summers and cold winters.

Geographical features: northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains central morocco is filled with hilly mountain ranges 

  On February 20, thousands of Moroccans rallied in the capital, Rabat, to demand that King Mohammed give up some of his powers, chanting slogans like: "Down with autocracy" and "The people want to change the constitution”. They were heading towards parliament and police had not tried to halt them, although Moroccan Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said people should not join the march. A separate protest was also under way in Casablanca and one was planned for Marrakesh. 

Tunisia

 Total population: 10,432,500

% of population living in poverty: 22%

GDP: $100.3 billion

Capital: Tunis

Largest city: Tunis

Coasts: 1148 km

Major bodies of water: Mediterranean Sea Tyrrhenian Sea 

Major rivers: Medjerda River

Bordering countries: Algeria, and Libya

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south

Geographical features: mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara some mountains in south

Two U.S. Air Force cargo planes flew blankets, water and other relief supplies to Tunisia on Friday as part of an international effort to help refugees who fled from the fighting in Libya. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that in addition to the C-130 cargo planes headed to Djerba, Tunisia, the U.S. Agency for International Development chartered two civilian aircraft to help repatriate foreign workers who have fled Libya amid an armed insurrection against the government of Moammar Gadhafi. "We know that there is a lot of confusion on the ground that is often difficult for us to sort through to get to what the actual facts are," Clinton said. "But the United States remains deeply concerned about the welfare of the Libyan people.

Sudan

Total population: 41,087,825

% of population living in poverty: 40%

GDP: $92.83 billion

Capital: Khartoum

Largest city: Omdurman

Coasts: 853 km

Major bodies of water: Red sea

Major rivers: Akobo River, Angereb River, Atbarah River, Bahr el Ghazal River, Baro River, Dinder River, Jur River, Kidepo River

Mareb River, Nile, Blue Nile, White Nile, Pibor River, Pongo River, Sobat River, Tekezé River

Bordering countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Central African Republic, Libya, and Chad 

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: Although Sudan lies within the tropics, the climate ranges from arid in the north to tropical wet-and-dry in the far southwest (date varies with my sources, but Southern Sudan is its own country)

Geographical features: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November)

Tens of thousands of people have fled clashes in the oil-rich Abyei region on the border between north and south Sudan, leaving the town almost empty, Medecins Sans Frontieres said Friday. Fighting broke out on Tuesday between fighters from the Misseriya tribe, which supports the government in Khartoum in the north, and the Ngok Dinka people who back the south, which has voted to secede. At least 70 people were killed and two villages razed in two days of clashes north of Abyei, a spokesman for the army in the south said last week.

Algeria

Algeria

Type of government: Republic

Current head of state: Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Total population: 34,895,470

% of population living in poverty: 22.6%

GDP: $159 billion

Capital: Algiers

Largest city: Algiers

Coasts: 998 km

Major bodies of water: Tyrrhenian Sea  

Major rivers: The Chelif, Djedi, Medjerda, and Seybouse rivers

Bordering countries: Tunisia, Mali, Libya, Morocco, and Mauritania

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: Northern Algeria is in the temperate zone and enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate. In the Tell, temperatures in summer average between 21 and 24 °C (70 and 75 °F) and in winter drop to 10 to 12 °C (50 to 54 °F). Winters are not cold, but the humidity is high and houses are seldom adequately heated.

Geographical features: Clearing of land for agricultural use and cutting of timber over the centuries have severely reduced the once bountiful forest wealth. Hilly in south and flat in central and north hilly in extreme north

Algeria has been through two months of strikes, sit-ins and attempted protest marches. The government just lifted a state of emergency after 19 years. It’s anyone’s guess whether measures like those mean Algeria goes the way of Egypt or Libya. At 2.1 million barrels per day, Algeria’s oil production is slightly greater than that of Libya’s, at 1.8 million. Oil could jump another $15 and oil producers in safer regions of the world will stand to benefit.