The Persian Gulf Tigers are the four nations of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Emirates. These four nations are similar in many respects. For instance, they have and continue to show spectacular economic growth rates (of between 6 to 9 percent over the past decade). They all have GDPPCs and HDIs as high as high as many European nations. These nations also have a highly diverse population, with high percentages of foreign workers, including a large number of engineers from India. These nations are all quite liberal in comparison to some other Arab countries, with respect for minority religions and non-religious people. The Persian Gulf Tigers are all constitutional monarchies (emirates and kingdoms). The "PGT"s used to rely on oil until they saw that the international community was moving away from the use of fossil fuels, at which time they heavily invested in infrastructure to turn their countries into tourist meccas (quite distinct from the religious Mecca) in neighboring Arabia. Urban mega-projects are in the process of being constructed, and both the United Emirates and Kuwait are vying for the honor of having the tallest man-made structure in the world. It seems as if the United Emirates will soon have the tallest building in the world, while plans are under way in Kuwait for the "City of Silk" (Madinat al-Hareer). The "Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge" is currently under construction, as well.
What's more, these nations are often utilized by the outside world as a go-between when dealing with the insular and extremist nation of Arabia.
Vegetarianism[]
Partly owing to their large Indian immigrant communities, but also due to their liberalism with regards to their region, the Persian Gulf Tigers have some of the highest percentage of vegetarians in the Middle-East, rivaling Israel. Approximately 25-30% (most figures give 28%) of PGT residents are vegetarians of any kind.