Arab Maghreb countries .. Background

States is the Maghreb as an important strategic position overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, in addition to natural sources and resources that appear in the following presentation.
Location and area
States is the Maghreb in North Africa extending to the Mediterranean coast and even the Atlantic Ocean, an area of approximately 5.782.140 km 2 and represents more than 42% of the Arab world. The area of Algeria, the only per 41% of the Arab Maghreb Union. The length of the coastline of Morocco approximately 6505 kilometers, or 28% of the entire coast of the Arab world.
Population
The population of the Arab Maghreb Union, some 80 million people according to estimates in 2000, equivalent to 27% of the total population of the Arab world, live 78% of the EU population in Morocco and Algeria, as the percentage share of these two almost equally. The rate of population growth to the European Union about 1.7%, recorded the highest growth rate in Mauritania (2.93%) and least in Tunisia by 1.15%, the lowest population growth in the Arab world.
Birth and death rates
Rate is 23.63 births per thousand inhabitants, while the rate is 5.64 deaths per thousand people. The highest mortality rate in Mauritania, as it is the case of 76.6 deaths per thousand births, the third highest rate in the Arab world after Somalia and Djibouti. The lowest rate between the countries of the Maghreb Union, he is in Libya, where the case is 29 deaths per thousand live births.
Literacy
The rate of literacy among the population of the Maghreb Union countries 55.81% and Libya recorded the highest rate among EU countries by 76.2%, Morocco 43.7% lower rate.
Labor
Estimated number of labor in the States of the Union of Moroccan about 25 million represents more than 31% of the total population of the European Union, and lived 44% of the force in Morocco. The distribution of the labor force according to the different sectors as follows:
Sector Percent
Agriculture 35.36
Industry 15.20
Other sectors 49.44
Agricultural land
Constitute an area of arable land per 3.7% of the CU is 43% of the land in the Kingdom of Morocco.
GDP
Total GDP of the Arab Maghreb Union to about U.S. $ 389.6 billion at current market prices, which is equivalent to 32% of the GDP of the Arab nation almost. The GDP of Algeria is approximately 43% of the GDP for EU countries, while Mauritania's share did not exceed 1.3%. The per capita GDP in the countries of the Maghreb Union to 4865 dollars. These percentages vary among the members of the Union, whose per capita in Libya to 8900 dollars, while the share of Mauritania does not exceed 2000 dollars.
Exports and imports.
Maghreb Union took first place in the oil and gas, phosphates, iron ore, fish, dates, textile, vegetable oil, while imports of equipment, machinery and chemicals .. Etc.. France is almost the first trade partner of the Arab Maghreb Union, followed by Germany, Italy and Spain. EU exports amounted to 47.53 billion U.S. dollars constituted 17.8% of the exports of the Arab world, Algeria is the first place by 41% of the exports of the EU countries. The Union imports worth 37.71 billion dollars, or approximately 22% of imports from the Arab world.