Middle East.

• Position: 2014 America's Challenges - Statistical data

What is the middle east?

The Middle East is a region, not a continent. It's mostly in Asia, but also includes a part of Africa (Egypt) and a corner of Europe (the small European section of Turkey). Egypt and Turkey are also included on the maps and tables for Africa and Europe, respectively.

Rich in oil and predominantly Muslim, the Middle East is both strategically important and an area of great tension. Since 1991, the United States has fought two wars in Iraq. Today, the United States and the United Nations are struggling with Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

To many people, the region is defined by the decades-long conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza have resumed, but many difficult issues remain.

In 2011, uprisings known as the Arab Spring ousted longtime authoritarian rulers in Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere. But the changes have led to broad instability and violence across the region. In Syria, protests ignited a civil war that has killed more than 115,000 and made 2 million others refugees.

Egypt

Three years after the Arab Spring began, the military's ouster in July of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, has caused widespread unrest. The military's crackdown on Morsi's Islamist supporters has left more than 1,000 people dead and returned the country to martial law. Egypt remains unstable and its economy is in free fall.

By the Numbers

$1.5 billion

Annual military and economic aid the U.S. provides to Egypt

SOURCE: CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

Israel

With encouragement from the U.S., Israel and the Palestinians have resumed negotiations over the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. One of the most difficult issues in any political settlement is the status of Jerusalem (above). The city is holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Iran

Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, has been sending signals that Iran may be willing to negotiate with the United States over the country's suspected nuclear weapons program. So far, tough U.S. and E.U. economic sanctions remain in place.

Syria

Since 2011, a civil war has left more than 115,000 dead, made 2 million others refugees, and attracted extremist fighters with ties to Al Qaeda. The use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad's regime prompted President Obama to call for air strikes against the Syrian government. But an agreement...