The Arabic Language
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Arabic Language (العربية Al Arabyia, or عربي arabī) is the 4th most widely spoken language in the world. Over 280 million Arabic-speaking people spanning 22 countries around the world with combined economies equaling over $1 trillion annually.1
Arabic is a one of the Semitic languages, and is widely used in Arabic countries as a first language. Most Arabic-speaking countries are located in the Middle East, North Africa and the Arabic Gulf area. A total of 22 countries use Arabic as their official language and Arabic is also the liturgical language of Islam.
When considering the Arabic language, one must be aware of the very important distinction made between its written form and its numerous spoken forms. There are three different Arabic dialects or forms: Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and Local dialects (Amya or Darja).
Classical Arabic is the language of "Qur'an" and the liturgical language of Islam and also known as literary language.
Modern Standard Arabic is derived from Classical Arabic, and is in current use as the official language for all Arabic countries for government and education. Modern Standard Arabic is used as the intra-country communication language for Arabic publications, newspapers, books, media, television and radio broadcasts across the Arabic world and is understood by educated Arabic speakers.
Arabic Local dialects (Colloquial Arabic) make up the spoken languages of people throughout the Arab world. Colloquial Arabic differs from country to country within the Arabic world. In many cases, the different forms of spoken Arabic are mutually unintelligible to one another. For a comprehensive listing of the all the different forms of spoken Arabic, see the following: http://www.omniglot.com/language/arabic_stats.xls
The main groups of local Arabic dialects are:
- Maghreb Arabic
- Egyptian Arabic
- Sudanese Arabic
- Levantine Arabic (Shami)
- Iraqi Arabic
- Gulf Arabic
- Najdi Arabic
- Yemeni Arabic
The Arab world consists primarily of the 22 different countries that make up the membership of the League of Arab States. These countries are:
|
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
The United Arab Emirates |
Below are some brief but important facts about the larger markets within the Arabic-speaking world:
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Capital: Amman
Currency: Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Government Type: Constitutional monarchy
Population: 6,407,085 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .jo
Internet Hosts: 42,412 (2010)
Internet Users: 1.5 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The United Arab Emirates
Capital: Abu Dhabi
Currency: Emirati dirham (AED)
Government Type: Federation with specified powers
delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved
to member emirates
Population: 4,975,593
Note: estimate is based on the results of the
2005 census that included a significantly higher estimate of net
immigration of non-citizens than previous estimates (July 2010
est.)
Internet Country Code: .ae
Internet Hosts: 379,309 (2010)
Internet Users: 2.922 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Kingdom of Bahrain
Capital: Manama
Currency: Bahraini dinar (BHD)
Government Type: Constitutional hereditary
monarchy
Population: 738,004
Note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2010
est.)
Internet Country Code: .bh
Internet Hosts: 53,944 (2010)
Internet Users: 402,900 (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Capital: Riyadh
Currency: Saudi riyal (SAR)
Government Type: Monarchy
Population: 25,731,776
Note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2010
est.)
Internet Country Code: .sa
Internet Hosts: 488,598 (2010)
Internet Users: 7.7 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Arab Republic of Syria
Capital: Damascus
Currency: Syrian pound (SYP)
Government Type: Republic under military regime
since March 1963
Population: 22,198,110
Note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in
the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and
2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2010
est.)
Internet Country Code: .sy
Internet Hosts: 8,114 (2010)
Internet Users: 3.565 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Republic of Iraq
Capital: Baghdad
Currency: New Iraqi dinar (NID)
Government Type: parliamentary democracy
Population: 29,671,605 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .iq
Internet Users: 300,000 (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The State of Qatar
Capital: Doha
Currency: Qatari rial (QAR)
Government Type: Traditional monarchy
Population: 840,926 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .qa
Internet Hosts: 822 (2010)
Internet Users: 436,000 (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The State of Kuwait
Capital: Kuwait
Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (KD)
Government Type: Nominal constitutional
monarchy
Population: 2,789,132
Note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2010
est.)
Internet Country Code: .kw
Internet Hosts: 2,485 (2010)
Internet Users: 1 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Republic of Lebanon
Capital: Beirut
Currency: Lebanese pound (LBP)
Government Type: Republic
Population: 4,125,247 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .lb
Internet Hosts: 51,451 (2010)
Internet Users: 2.19 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital: Cairo
Currency: Egyptian pound (EGP)
Government Type: Republic
Population: 80,471,869 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .eg
Internet Hosts: 187,197 (2010)
Internet Users: 11.414 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Kingdom of Morocco
Capital: Rabat
Currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Government Type: Constitutional monarchy
Population: 31,627,428 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .ma
Internet Hosts: 277,793 (2010)
Internet Users: 10.3 million (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
The Republic of Yemen
Capital: Sanaa
Currency: Yemeni rial (YER)
Government Type: Republic
Population: 23,495,361 (July 2010 est.)
Internet Country Code: .ye
Internet Hosts: 255 (2010)
Internet Users: 370,000 (2008)
Languages: Arabic language (official)
For additional demographic information on the Arabic countries listed here, you can check out The World Factbook.
For information on The Arabic Writing System and Arabic Translation, please check our Arabic Language Library.
Arabic Language external resources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language
- http://www.arabic-language.org/
Find more Arabic translation and localization resources in our translation blog:
- Arabic Website Localization for the UAE
- Translation Services in UAE and Dubai
- Translation Services in Qatar
You may also check out our Arabic website for complete information about our translation services in Arabic Language:

