Middle East

The Middle East has no official borders. In its most common definition it covers 17 countries, from Egypt and Turkey to Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.

Countries: 17
Population: 508.8 million
Area: 7.3 M km²
Most populous: Egypt

All the countries of the Middle East


Bahrain	Manama	1,600,366	765	2,092
Cyprus	Nicosia	1,370,754	9,251	148
Egypt	Cairo	118,365,995	1,002,450	118
Iran	Tehran	92,417,681	1,648,195	56
Iraq	Baghdad	47,020,774	438,317	107
Israel	Jerusalem	10,122,800	20,770	487
Jordan	Amman	11,520,684	89,342	129
Kuwait	Kuwait City	4,865,298	17,818	273
Lebanon	Beirut	5,849,421	10,452	560
Oman	Muscat	5,494,691	309,500	18
Palestine	East Jerusalem	5,413,596	6,220	870
Qatar	Doha	2,972,215	11,586	257
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	36,973,555	2,149,690	17
Syria	Damascus	25,620,427	185,180	138
Türkiye	Ankara	85,878,556	783,562	110
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	11,513,149	83,600	138
Yemen	Sana’a	41,773,878	527,968	79

Population: World Bank, latest available year. Click a header to sort.

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Good to know

Most populous: Egypt (118.4 million people); largest: Saudi Arabia (2,149,690 km²).
Egypt is in Africa but is almost always counted in the Middle East; Turkey straddles Europe and Asia.
Some definitions add Afghanistan, Pakistan or the Maghreb countries.

Other regions of the world

South America Central America Caribbean European Union Maghreb Southeast Asia West Africa