ECONOMIC-AGRICULTURE, MINERALS SOCIOLOGICAL-POPULATION, LITERACY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2002
• Sequence Number: 94
• Publication Date: March 6, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED
SECURITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT NO.
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY Middle East DATE OF
SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
Economic - Agriculture, minerals
Sociological - Population, literacy
Daily newspaper
Cairo
11 Aug 1952
lxlf OOCUrIxt Co.?, IN. I111OIN l T ION 111tCTlx0 lnL Nf 110F.1 OI/(N11
0I Tx( UNIT10 STATES. .17x15 TNLflIA5I,G of TI Tlt 11. 110TI Orr + 1
.1xO Tll. or rx( u.s. coo[. ?[ fr[x 010. ITS TI1xNfrlfI,O, a 01 V[.
11110, CI Ill CONTLxtf to 00 ^1C(IOT lr Ir Ur1UTx011171f1 POISON If
Journal du Commerce et de Is. Marine.
25X1A
DATE DIST. 6 Mar 1953
NO. OF PAGES 6
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST. 1920 1952
ZC-omment: The 11 August 1952 issue of the Journal du Commerce
et de 2a Marine published the following notes used by r 1bn hnn ki
(or possibly Shurayqi) at various conferences in Europe and in the
School of Economics at the University of Rome. Born in Damascus,
Dr Shreki is known for hits work in geography and geology, and for
nearly 2 years served as an expert for the Iranian government. He
is director general of the Institute of Research for East Africa, a
member of the Academy of Asia, a member of the International Feder-
ation of Research Scientisto, and a member of the Geographical Society
of France.
The Middle Eastern countries, stamped with the Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine,
Persian, and Egyptian cultures, have now accomplished a social and economic ren-
aissance through the aid of science. They have come a long and hard road after
having been plunged into darkness and chained by enforced feudal laws before World
War I. Until 1920-1925, only 2.5 percent could read and write Arabic, Turkish,
or Persian; only 3.6 percent of arable land was used; industry was limited and
devoid of machines; roads were impassable. The countries had no institutes, hos-
pitals, agriculture or hygiene laboratories, or experienced professionals such
as doctors, engineers, and professors.
Today this historic East is no longer the same, no longer fertile ground for
parasitPS. fettdalists, and enemies of human principles. I+- is ?ondergoing a social,
cultural, and economic reform based on scientific research.
The following tables and statistics, gathered on the spot over 10 years by
me and n-? colleagues, give a general picture of the present social and economic
situation in the Near and Middle East.
-1-
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
ILLEGIB
 Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
25X1A
Surface
Population (1,000 Arable Land Used Land
Country (1,000 eq km) (*,) (*)
Egypt 20,000 1,100 18-20 30.35
Iran 16,ooo 1,643 30-35 18-20
Iraq 5,000 450 30-35 t5-20
Afghanistan 22,000 730 28-30 15-18
Turkey 20,000 765 40-45 20-25
Syria 3,800 170 45-50 30-35
Lebanon 1,200 10 40-50 40-50
Jordan 500 94 20-25 20-25
Saudi Arabia, Muscat,
Oman, Aden, Hadramaut 6,200 1,921 4-5 7-10
Yemen 1,500 60 15-20 8-12
86,200 5,943
The 6,943-square-kilometer area of these countries) which is 22 times larger
than Italy, is divided as follows (in percent):
Desert region 36
Rocky and mountainous region 33
Forest region 5
Arable land for exploitation 25
Arable land, which covers about 1,735,875 square kilometers, is divided into
six main classifications as follows: (1) sandy-clayey-chalky, (2) sandy-clayey,
(3) clayey-chalky, (4) clayey-sandy, (;) chalky-clayey-sandy, and (6) humus.
The clayey-sandy or sandy-clayey part is the coastal region and the clayey
or clayey-chalky part is the central region. In general, these different types
of soil contain an average of 1 to 1.5 percent nitrogen; 1.25 percent phosphoric
acid; 1.5 percent potassium; and 2.5 percent organic matter.
Sociocultural Development
The following table given the numoer of schools, universities, hospitals,
and professional men, doctors, engineers, and lawyers, as well as the percentage
of literacy.
ILLEGIB
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
 Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
25X1A
Primary and
Hospitals
Doctors,
C
Secondary
With
Engineers,
Literates
ow
Schools
Universities
20-100 Beds
Lawyers
(%)
Egypt
6,500
4
125
13,000
30-35
Iran
5,000
2
80
8,000
25-30
Iraq
1,200
1
30
2,500
15-20
Turkey
7,000
3
120
10,000
45-50
Afghanistan
1,300
1
30
2,000
15-20
Syria
2,000
1
75
4,000
60-65
Lebanon
2,000
2
50
5,000
85-90
Saudi Arabia
350
-
10
200
8-10
Jordan
150
-
7
150
10-15
Yemen
100
-
5
120
7- 8
Total
25,600
14
532
44,970
Egypt is among the most economically developed of these countries and is the
"brain" of the Arab World and the cradle of ancient civilization.
Iran, which also has ancient traditions, has had a remarkable socioeconomic
recovery stemming from Shah Reza Pahlavi the Great, father of the present Shah.
There has been a reconstruction of rural life, industrial development, and a cul-
tural propagation of the old empire.
Mineral Resources
Petroleum, phosphate, kaolin, coal, bitumen, sulfur, and turquoise are net-
ural resources now being exploited. Others which remain practically intact are
iron, copper, lead, silver, gold, and precious stones.
Petroleum deposits exist from the Red Sea to the central regions of Iraq
and from Azerbaijan to the Persian Gulf, and are not as yet fully exploited.
British and American oil fields cover only a small part of the total oil area.
It is estimated that annual production in the Middle East will reach 200 million
tone. There are 450,000 people employed in the refineries, at the wells, and in
offices.
2. Phosphate
Phosphate, an important fertilizer for agriculture, is found in Jordan,
Egypt, Southern Lebanon, and 100 kilometers east of Damascus. Natural phosphate
deposits in Egypt and Jordan are rich in phosphoric acid, varying between 40 and
60 percent, of which 6 to 10 percent is soluble. Middle Eastsrn phosphate comes
from animal decomposition, particularly of fish which lived centuries ago over
what is now dry land.
RESTRICTED
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
ILLEGIB
 Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
25X1A
RESTRICTED
Natural phosphate is used in the East as a fertilizer suitable for all
types of cultivation and all kinds of soil, particularly that which is weak in
chalk. In Jordan and Lebanon it has given excellent results with banana and
orange trees.
In Egypt and Jordan 300,000 to 400,000 tons are exploited annually,
while in Syria and in Lebanon the deposits remain intact.
Bitumen is abundant in Southern Lebanan (Hasbaya, Ayn-Abal, Milkh) and
near Latakia (ICfaray) on the West Syrian side. Lebanese bitumen is used in the
chemical industry to make certain products, particularly adhesive products. Its
extraction is difficult and costly, and amounts to 600 tons annually. Latakian
bitumen is a brown, shining asphalt which is used to pave roads and has become
famous throughout the Near East, where most of the roads are paved with it. The
annual extraction is 30,000 tons.
Coal, anlfur, and turquoise are mined on a large scale in Iran. The
coal centers are Mazanderan and Gilan (North Iran) and the sulfur and turquoise
centers are IQzorassan (East Iran) and Nishapur, the latter having been the main
turquoise center for c.nturies. These important mines were started at the end
of World War I, before which time there was only a very limited extraction.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the main source of economic independence in the Near and
Middle East, whose soil varies greatly and is only partly used, the rest being
abandoned for lack of modern machinery. Of the 174 million hectares (one hectare
equals 2.47 acres), only 43 million are used for orchards, cereals, industrial
plants, and vegetables. It is only since 1940 that efforts have been made to
cultivate products which are not only suitable to the soil and climate, but which
will also give large returns.
Technical and economic progress has been made mostly in wheat, rice, cotton,
sugar beets, tea, and orange, olive, and apple trees, and today most of the land
used is devoted to these products. Each country specializes in one or more crops:
Egypt in cotton, rice, and corn; Syria in wheat, tobacco, and olives; Lebanon in
oranges, tobacco, and olives; Iraq in dates; Iran in rice, opium, tobacco, and
tea; Turkey in tobacco, fruits, and sugar cane; and Saudi Arabia and Yemen in dates
and coffee.
Our statistics show the following approximate production in various crops
in the Near and Middle East:
Cotton
4,000,000 bales
Tobacco
70,000 tons
Dates
700,000 tons
Rice
1,500,000 tons
Wheat
5,000,000 ton:
Oranges
350,000 tons
Olive oil
30,000 tons
Technical methods and agricultural machines (tractors, reapers, threshers)
appeared after 1925 and are spreading, although there is still a lack of machinery,
which pi=vents any great acceleration in production.
RESTRICTED
ILLEGIB
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 CIA-RDP80-00809A
 Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
25X1A
Chemical fertilizers have been known only for about 20 years, but are widely
used in Egypt and Lebanon. Other countries such as Syria, Turkey, and Iran use
them very slightly, for these countries, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan, use or-
ganic fertilizer, particularly sheep and goat manure. Throughout the area, pro-
duction is aided by the use of insecticides against the aphis, olive fly, apple
worm, vine 2aildew, and locust.
Animal husbandry is also included in the agricultural recovery as the result
of breeding centers in Turkey, Egypt, and Iran which have improved the stock and
have led to a remarkable increase. The following figures are in thousands:
Donkeys,
Cows,
Goats,
Country
Horses
Mules
Steers
Camels
Sheep
Iran
500
2,200
6,ooo
500
13,000
Iraq
200
1,000
2,500
2,000
7,000
Turkey
350
2,500
6,ooo
300
11,000
Afghanistan
300
1,500
3,000
150
6,000
Egypt
200
1,500
5,500
300
8,000
Saudi Arabia
200
400
200
3,000
4,500
Yemen
80
200
250
130
1,000
Syria
150
800
3,500
150
4,000
Lebanon
50
100
500
20
1,000
Jordan
60
70
320
100
1,000
Total
2,090
10,270
27,770
6,650
56,500
Industrialization has not yet reached the expected level; the only indus-
tries are the wool and cotton textiles industries in Iran, Egypt, a..1 Turkey.
There are many factories which cannot compete technically with the great Indus-
trial countries but nevertheless produce an excellent quality of sugar, leather,
fabric, soap, and wax. Tae Iranian and Egyptian textile industries are expected
to rival those in Europe and the US within a few years.
Until some 30 years ago, cotton, wool, and silk spinning was done by archaic
eethods, but now mechanical instruments are being introduced more and more. Iran
now prodnees 5 million kilograms of cotton thread annually and 30 million meters
of cotton, wool, and silk fabric. It is estimated that in about 10 years the
Middle East will not only be able to satisfy local demand, but will also be able
to export textiles, as a r+sult of th.: use of the natural resources of arable land,
anima]e, and native intelligence.
In a quarter of t_ century 80 textile factories, 20 sugar refineries, 70 leather
factories, and 85 oil refineries have been built in adc.Ltion to plants for soap, wax,
and glass.
ILLEGIB
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A00070~ 021?
 Approved For Release 2002/08/06 CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0
Literacy
In Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon an average of 20 percent of the
women can read and write, and of these a large number are doctors, lawyers, jour-
nalists, writers, and teachers.
25X1A
ILLEGIB
The press also has seen a great increase; as the following figures how:
Country
Daily Papers
Weekly Magazines
Monthly Magazines
Egypt
25
15
35
Turkey
20
10
10
Iran
17
6
7
Syria
17
7
6
Lebanon
22
10
6
Iraq
10
1E
3
Afghanistan
5
3
2
Jordan
5
2
1
Saudi Arabia
2
1
1
Yemen
2
1
1
Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210094-0