Introduction

This book, first published in 1984, examines the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and UAE. Culturally, historically, geographically and politically the GCC countries represent a rare instance of regional homogeneity and they face similar problems and challenges. Despite their international importance as oil exporters, there is a lack of solid statistical information on each country or as a region as a whole. This book addresses that gap with a substantial collection of data on the individual countries and the larger region.