Gulf States

Oil-rich countries sharing the coastline of the Gulf (Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). In the USA, the term refers to those states bordering the Gulf of Mexico (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas).

The Gulf States are estimated to have two-thirds of the world's oil reserves and one-third of the world's natural gas reserves. By the late 20th century these states were producing about a quarter of the world's total output of crude oil, and petrochemical industries were developing there. The Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88 and the Gulf War of 1991 brought about serious loss of oil production and extensive pollution of the environment through oil fires and oil spillages, though there has since been considerable recovery. A Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was formed in 1981, and in January 2002, six of the states agreed to set up a customs union by 2003 to hasten a trade pact with the European Union. Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates also announced plans to adopt a single currency by 2010.