Middle East Vocabulary Project
By: Maya Guinn
Choice 6: Life expectancy, infant mortality, GDP, and GDP per capita
Life Expectancy
Life expectancy means the amount of time an individual is expected to live. In the Southwest and Central Asia region, the average life expectancy is 59-84.3 years. The countries with a low life expectancy rates are Iraq, Libya, and Yemen. Some countries with higher life expectancy rates are Qatar, Israel, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The life expectancy rates that are higher are usually in more developed countries. For example, The UAE is very well developed and they have a higher life expectancy rate. Their life expectancy rate is 76.96 years. This is is much higher than Yemen who's rate is more than 10 years lower. Their rate is 62.91 years. Their country is not as developed and has a lower population which causes this difference.
Infant Mortality
Infant mortality rate is the ratio of the number of deaths in the first year of life. The infant mortality in the Middle East is about 32 children. Usually, the higher the infant mortality rate, the lower the life expectancy rate. This is because if a child dies before the age of one, that can make the life expectancy decline a lot. Same with life expectancy, the infant mortality can depend on how developed a country is. This is true because babies are more likely to survive if they have proper care. Fro example, if they have a disease at a young age that only doctors can cure. The baby will need to be taken to the doctor so that they can survive. Countries that aren't as developed may not have local hospitals that are needed to help the baby's care/ life, but that is not always the case. Some countries may be developed but just have a terrible disease spreading throughout the country. Some countries in the Middle East that have high infant mortality rates are Yemen (as mentioned above, not very developed), Iraq, and Turkey. Countries in Southwest and Central Asia that have low infant mortality rates are Kuwait, UAE, and Oman.
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of a country's overall output of goods and services. For example, the overall GDP of Iran is 368.9 billion U.S. dollars (USD). This also has to do with developed countries and developing countries. Developed countries are countries that are wealthy and have an advanced economy. Developing counties are countries that are poor with a less advanced economy. Some developed countries in the Middle East are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Some examples of developing countries in the Middle East are Yemen, Iraq, and Iran.
Fun Fact
The UAE is home to the tallest building in the world called the Burj Khalifa that reaches the height of 2,717 ft.
Highest GDP
Qatar has the highest GDP in the Middle East.
Fun Fact
The GDP in Southwest and Central Asia ranges from low GDPs to high ones.
GDP Per Capita
The average value of goods produced per person in a country. You can calculate the GDP per capita by dividing the country's GDP by the total population. For example, I can calculate Turkey's GDP per capita by dividing their GDP (822.1 billion USD) by their total population (74.93 million). The equation would look like this, 822,100,000,000/ 73,930,000. Then, once I solve the equation, I would found out Turkey's GDP per capita is about 10,971.66 USD.