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Sub-region of Asia · Country Index 2026

Western Asia

How are the countries of Western Asia doing?

Half of Western Asia’s 17 placed countries sit at or above 93rd of 178 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 12th of 21 sub-regions. Cyprus is placed highest, 35th; Yemen lowest, 176th. 2 reach the world’s top fifth. 2 more of its 19 countries and territories are not placed.

Western AsiaUN M49 145

Western Asia, shown in red on a map of the world

93rd

median position of 178 · 12th of 21 sub-regions

Asia →median 91st

01Who is in it

The countries of Western Asia

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Western Asia

The Middle East and the Caucasus, from Türkiye and the Levant to the Gulf.

Western Asia reaches from Türkiye and the Caucasus in the north to the Arabian Peninsula in the south, and from the eastern Mediterranean to Iraq and the Gulf. Much of it is desert, while the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates and the mountains of Anatolia and the Caucasus hold rivers, forests and farmland.

Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and the Euphrates, was home to some of the world’s first cities and writing, and the region is the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It was later part of the Persian, Roman, Arab and Ottoman worlds, and most of its modern states took shape in the twentieth century. Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian are among its languages.

03Where

Western Asia on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st178thMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Western Asia’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 178, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Western Asia’s 17 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st178th
1Cyprus35 / 178between 32nd and 36th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
2Israel36 / 178between 36th and 38th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
3United Arab Emirates38 / 178between 36th and 44th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
4Armenia56 / 178between 54th and 62nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
5Qatar59 / 178between 50th and 65th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
6Georgia65 / 178between 59th and 71st if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
7Saudi Arabia84 / 178between 71st and 94th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
8Kuwait91 / 178between 74th and 99th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
9Bahrain93 / 178between 76th and 101st if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
10Oman94 / 178between 76th and 99th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
11Türkiye99 / 178between 93rd and 102nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
12Azerbaijan103 / 178between 97th and 108th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
13Jordan112 / 178between 107th and 115th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
14Lebanon138 / 178between 135th and 143rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
15Iraq156 / 178between 151st and 167th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
16Syria170 / 178between 167th and 175th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
17Yemen176 / 178between 174th and 180th if any one key were dropped · standings on 13 of 16 topics

A further 2 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. Northern Cyprus and Palestine.

Western Asia among the 21 sub-regions with a median

12th of 21. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Northern Europe6thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 25th.
  2. Western Europe10thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from New Zealand 17th to Australia 24th.
  4. Northern America17thPlaced countries run from Canada 17th to United States 37th.
  5. Eastern Asia23rdPlaced countries run from South Korea 14th to Mongolia 73rd.
  6. Southern Europe32ndPlaced countries run from Slovenia 12th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 63rd.
  7. Eastern Europe39thPlaced countries run from Czechia 11th to Russia 68th.
  8. Polynesia70thPlaced countries run from Samoa 70th to Tonga 85th.
  9. South America74thPlaced countries run from Uruguay 34th to Venezuela 137th.
  10. Caribbean78thPlaced countries run from Barbados 63rd to Haiti 169th.
  11. Central America81stPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  12. Western Asia93rdPlaced countries run from Cyprus 35th to Yemen 176th.
  13. South-eastern Asia95thPlaced countries run from Singapore 26th to Myanmar 153rd.
  14. Central Asia100thPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 60th to Turkmenistan 148th.
  15. Southern Asia100thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 44th to Afghanistan 172nd.
  16. Melanesia106thPlaced countries run from Fiji 62nd to Papua New Guinea 138th.
  17. Southern Africa116thPlaced countries run from South Africa 102nd to Eswatini 140th.
  18. Northern Africa127thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 107th to Libya 174th.
  19. Eastern Africa143rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 177th.
  20. Western Africa144thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 74th to Guinea-Bissau 168th.
  21. Middle Africa161stPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 104th to Chad 175th.
  22. Micronesia—
  23. Asia, the whole continent91st
  24. The world’s midpoint88th
1st178thmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Western Asia: Education & Knowledge, 7th of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Gender & Equality, 21st of 21.

All topics
Western Asia: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Education & KnowledgeWork & LabourDevelopment & Human CapitalHealth & WellbeingDigital & TechnologyMobility & TradeRisk & ResilienceEconomy & InnovationFood & AgricultureGovernance & InstitutionsPoverty & InequalityEnergyEnvironment & SustainabilityPeace & SecurityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesGender & EqualityMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
CyprusNo standing28 of 18237 of 19616 of 20030 of 19857 of 14741 of 19231 of 17636 of 17535 of 19424 of 15997 of 193152 of 18158 of 17747 of 19877 of 183No standingNo standing
Israel25 of 17115 of 18210 of 1969 of 20029 of 19817 of 14748 of 19213 of 17650 of 17525 of 19467 of 15999 of 193167 of 181131 of 17774 of 198116 of 183No standingNo standing
United Arab Emirates7 of 17110 of 18264 of 19615 of 20035 of 1989 of 14766 of 192No standing9 of 17558 of 1944 of 15998 of 193179 of 18134 of 177150 of 198127 of 183No standingNo standing
Armenia36 of 171153 of 18278 of 19657 of 20083 of 19863 of 14741 of 19257 of 176111 of 17591 of 19427 of 15985 of 193131 of 181143 of 17787 of 19835 of 183No standingNo standing
Qatar27 of 1718 of 18282 of 19633 of 20039 of 19840 of 14716 of 19284 of 176No standing59 of 19438 of 159130 of 193180 of 18175 of 177144 of 198179 of 183No standingNo standing
Georgia57 of 171132 of 18252 of 19675 of 20093 of 198107 of 14781 of 19254 of 17686 of 17553 of 19486 of 15943 of 19366 of 181140 of 177111 of 19875 of 183No standingNo standing
Saudi Arabia13 of 17145 of 18250 of 19659 of 20056 of 19834 of 147104 of 19269 of 17683 of 17554 of 194No standing150 of 193178 of 181123 of 177166 of 198169 of 183No standingNo standing
Kuwait23 of 17112 of 18276 of 19649 of 20062 of 19875 of 14758 of 19287 of 17674 of 17576 of 194No standing143 of 193181 of 181103 of 177143 of 198178 of 183No standingNo standing
Bahrain107 of 17119 of 18249 of 19650 of 20028 of 19850 of 14733 of 19253 of 176No standing123 of 194No standing163 of 193177 of 181164 of 177148 of 198157 of 183No standingNo standing
Oman70 of 17143 of 18276 of 19669 of 20076 of 19835 of 14782 of 19292 of 17678 of 17590 of 194No standing126 of 193175 of 18183 of 177137 of 198176 of 183No standingNo standing
Türkiye100 of 171151 of 18259 of 19661 of 20079 of 19844 of 147127 of 19264 of 17661 of 175115 of 19474 of 15981 of 193152 of 181157 of 177149 of 198134 of 183No standingNo standing
Azerbaijan11 of 171110 of 18289 of 19673 of 20073 of 198No standing83 of 19299 of 17678 of 175138 of 194No standing131 of 193146 of 181124 of 177171 of 198135 of 183No standingNo standing
Jordan79 of 171144 of 182110 of 19670 of 20085 of 198No standing92 of 192104 of 176148 of 17559 of 194No standing118 of 193100 of 181122 of 177120 of 198161 of 183No standingNo standing
Lebanon142 of 171No standing107 of 196103 of 200148 of 19872 of 147130 of 192102 of 176123 of 175163 of 19488 of 15993 of 193118 of 181169 of 177127 of 198162 of 183No standingNo standing
Iraq117 of 171168 of 182117 of 196114 of 200137 of 198103 of 147162 of 192164 of 176145 of 175164 of 19423 of 159180 of 193137 of 181167 of 177163 of 198174 of 183No standingNo standing
Syria129 of 171179 of 182121 of 196131 of 200186 of 198128 of 147182 of 192No standing155 of 175186 of 19456 of 159185 of 19375 of 181171 of 177195 of 198180 of 183No standingNo standing
YemenNo standing181 of 182170 of 196172 of 200197 of 198126 of 147191 of 192No standingNo standing189 of 194120 of 159148 of 19359 of 181177 of 177192 of 198183 of 183No standingNo standing
Northern CyprusNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Palestine46 of 171No standing118 of 196138 of 200113 of 198No standingNo standing156 of 176No standing140 of 19468 of 15978 of 19333 of 181No standing179 of 198177 of 183No standingNo standing
Region median46th of 17145th of 18276th of 19661st of 20076th of 19857th of 14782nd of 19284th of 17678th of 17590th of 19456th of 159118th of 193146th of 181131st of 177144th of 198161st of 183——
Among sub-regions7th of 217th of 218th of 228th of 229th of 2210th of 2110th of 2211th of 2111th of 2111th of 2212th of 2117th of 2218th of 2118th of 2019th of 2221st of 21——

Columns run from the topic where Western Asia places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Western Asia in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Western Asia’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    No reading: Northern Cyprus

    CyprusTürkiye496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    No reading: Northern Cyprus

    BahrainSaudi Arabia0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Lebanon, Northern Cyprus, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

    PalestineQatar1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Northern Cyprus

    PalestineARE54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Northern Cyprus

    YemenARE0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    No reading: Lebanon, Northern Cyprus, Palestine

    QatarYemen0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Western Asia’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
Armenia2,943,393rank 14028,199rank 13821,153rank 8175.68rank 1010.811rank 6912.87rank 21
Azerbaijan10,318,207rank 9482,650rank 11222,314rank 7774.43rank 1160.789rank 815.457rank 81
Bahrain1,569,666rank 154800rank 18060,670rank 2281.28rank 420.899rank 381.102rank 176
Cyprus1,344,976rank 1589,240rank 16454,103rank 2881.65rank 380.913rank 324.924rank 98
Georgia3,807,492rank 13169,490rank 11825,136rank 6974.5rank 1140.844rank 5712.1rank 23
Iraq45,074,049rank 35434,130rank 5712,192rank 11372.32rank 1350.695rank 12615.48rank 14
Israel9,256,314rank 9721,640rank 14948,197rank 3982.41rank 250.919rank 273.489rank 126
Jordan11,439,213rank 8488,794rank 11010,794rank 11977.81rank 720.754rank 10016.54rank 12
Kuwait4,838,782rank 12817,820rank 15448,254rank 3780.4rank 480.852rank 522.181rank 163
Lebanon5,773,493rank 11610,230rank 161—77.82rank 710.752rank 102—
Oman5,049,269rank 126309,500rank 6936,143rank 5480.03rank 520.858rank 503.251rank 134
Palestine5,409,202rank 1216,025rank 1664,272rank 15365.17rank 1940.674rank 133—
Qatar2,979,082rank 13811,490rank 159110,136rank 582.37rank 260.886rank 430.13rank 182
Saudi Arabia33,264,292rank 482,149,690rank 1263,051rank 2078.73rank 610.9rank 373.038rank 142
Syria23,594,623rank 58183,630rank 88—72.12rank 1370.564rank 16213.57rank 19
Türkiye87,270,501rank 18769,630rank 3637,301rank 5377.16rank 830.853rank 518.52rank 46
United Arab Emirates10,642,081rank 8971,020rank 117—82.91rank 210.94rank 152.174rank 164
Yemen39,390,799rank 37527,968rank 49—69.3rank 1610.47rank 18417.32rank 11

07In records

Western Asia in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Western Asia’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. United Arab Emirates23 → 15+8
  2. Armenia72 → 69+3
  3. Oman52 → 50+2

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Palestine109 → 133−24
  2. Bahrain33 → 38−5
  3. Israel23 → 27−4
Every country in the Human Development Index

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Western Asia that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

Eastern Europe

Northern Africa

Southern Asia

Southern Europe

The neighbouring sub-regions

10Places

Landmarks of Western Asia

Two places from each member with a gallery on its profile.

  • At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    At-Turaif

    Mud-brick historic district in Diriyah, the first capital of the Saudi dynasty.

    Photo: Radosław Botev · CC BY 3.0 pl · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Mada'in Saleh is an archaeological site located in the Sector of Al-`Ula within the Province of Al-Madinah, the Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. A majority of the…

    Qasr al-Farid

    Large Nabataean tomb at Hegra, carved into a single sandstone outcrop.

    Photo: Ahmad AlHasanat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Göreme National Park

    Göreme National Park

    Landscape of rock-cut dwellings and fairy chimneys in Cappadocia.

    Photo: Brallan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Façade of the Celsus library, in Ephesus, near Selçuk, west Turkey.

    Ephesus

    Ancient Greek and Roman city near Selçuk on the Aegean coast.

    Photo: Benh LIEU SONG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Skyline of Downtown Dubai with Burj Khalifa from a Helicopter (crop of skyline 2015.jpg)

    Burj Khalifa

    Skyscraper in Dubai, the tallest building in the world since its completion in 2010.

    Photo: Tim.Reckmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

  • Sunset, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Canal

    Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

    White marble mosque in Abu Dhabi, completed in 2007.

    Photo: PotatoWitch · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

11Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Asia

12Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Western Asia?

19 countries and territories: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Northern Cyprus, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification. Northern Cyprus is not listed by M49. This site places it here by geography, and listing it takes no position on its status.

Which country in Western Asia is placed highest?

Cyprus, placed 35th of 178 in the Country Index 2026. Yemen is placed lowest, 176th. 17 of the region’s 19 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Western Asia compare with other regions?

Half of its 17 placed countries sit at or above 93rd of 178, which places it 12th of 21 sub-regions. The median across Asia is 91st. The middle of the whole field is 88th. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Western Asia?

303,965,434 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for 18 of its 19 countries and territories. No figure is published for Northern Cyprus.

What is the largest country in Western Asia?

By land area, Saudi Arabia: 2,149,690 square kilometres (2024). By population, Türkiye: 87,270,501 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Western Asia: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/western-asia

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