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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 18 placed countries sit at or above 95th of 183 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 13th of 22 sub-regions. Cyprus is placed highest, 33rd; Yemen lowest, 181st. 2 reach the world’s top fifth. 1 more of its 19 countries and territories is not placed.

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Western AsiaUN M49 145

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

95th

median position of 183 · 13th of 22 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: 1st183rdMember, 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 183, 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 18 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st183rd
1Cyprus33 / 183between 30th and 35th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
2Israel36 / 183between 35th and 38th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
3United Arab Emirates39 / 183between 36th and 43rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
4Qatar58 / 183between 54th and 63rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
5Georgia66 / 183between 61st and 74th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
6Armenia69 / 183between 65th and 73rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
7Saudi Arabia78 / 183between 73rd and 81st if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
7Türkiye78 / 183between 74th and 82nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
9Kuwait95 / 183between 87th and 98th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
10Bahrain97 / 183between 89th and 108th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
11Oman100 / 183between 84th and 106th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
12Azerbaijan102 / 183between 97th and 108th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
13Jordan112 / 183between 108th and 116th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
14Palestine136 / 183between 132nd and 141st if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 16 topics
15Lebanon140 / 183between 134th and 142nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
16Iraq161 / 183between 155th and 168th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
17Syria178 / 183between 175th and 179th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
18Yemen181 / 183between 179th and 183rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 1 of its countries and territories is not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. Northern Cyprus.

Western Asia among the 22 sub-regions with a median

13th of 22. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Western Europe8thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  2. Northern Europe11thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 26th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from Australia 17th to New Zealand 19th.
  4. Northern America24thPlaced countries run from Canada 24th to United States 37th.
  5. Southern Europe31stPlaced countries run from Slovenia 14th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 62nd.
  6. Eastern Asia42ndPlaced countries run from South Korea 13th to Mongolia 75th.
  7. Eastern Europe43rdPlaced countries run from Czechia 10th to Russia 73rd.
  8. Central America80thPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  9. Caribbean81stPlaced countries run from Barbados 67th to Haiti 173rd.
  10. South America83rdPlaced countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 133rd.
  11. South-eastern Asia86thPlaced countries run from Singapore 25th to Myanmar 159th.
  12. Polynesia89thPlaced countries run from Samoa 89th to Tonga 97th.
  13. Western Asia95thPlaced countries run from Cyprus 33rd to Yemen 181st.
  14. Central Asia102ndPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 61st to Turkmenistan 158th.
  15. Southern Asia106thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 52nd to Afghanistan 175th.
  16. Melanesia107thPlaced countries run from Fiji 64th to Papua New Guinea 144th.
  17. Micronesia109thPlaced countries run from Kiribati 109th to Kiribati 109th.
  18. Northern Africa116thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 104th to Sudan 179th.
  19. Southern Africa121stPlaced countries run from South Africa 93rd to Eswatini 147th.
  20. Western Africa148thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 94th to Guinea-Bissau 171st.
  21. Eastern Africa153rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 45th to South Sudan 183rd.
  22. Middle Africa166thPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 115th to Chad 180th.
  23. Asia, the whole continent91st
  24. The world’s midpoint91st
1st183rdmedian

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: Digital & Technology, 7th of 22 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.
Digital & TechnologyWork & LabourDevelopment & Human CapitalHealth & WellbeingFood & AgricultureMobility & TradeRisk & ResilienceEconomy & InnovationGovernance & InstitutionsPoverty & InequalityEducation & KnowledgeEnergyDemocracy & Civil LibertiesPeace & SecurityEnvironment & SustainabilityGender & EqualityMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Cyprus42 of 19828 of 18237 of 19630 of 20041 of 18446 of 17756 of 19331 of 17635 of 19417 of 1594 of 19884 of 16547 of 19858 of 177132 of 18675 of 183No standingNo standing
Israel13 of 19815 of 18210 of 19610 of 20042 of 18411 of 17744 of 19313 of 17625 of 19468 of 15931 of 19885 of 16555 of 198131 of 177163 of 186116 of 183No standingNo standing
United Arab Emirates26 of 19810 of 18264 of 19613 of 20037 of 18414 of 17775 of 193No standing58 of 1943 of 1591 of 198No standing148 of 19834 of 177173 of 186143 of 183No standingNo standing
Qatar27 of 1988 of 18282 of 19634 of 20082 of 18427 of 17716 of 19384 of 17659 of 19425 of 15984 of 198110 of 165124 of 19875 of 177186 of 186179 of 183No standingNo standing
Georgia93 of 198132 of 18252 of 19674 of 200102 of 18489 of 17782 of 19354 of 17653 of 19491 of 15981 of 19838 of 165109 of 198140 of 17791 of 18677 of 183No standingNo standing
Armenia73 of 198153 of 18278 of 19676 of 200100 of 18470 of 17740 of 19357 of 17691 of 19451 of 159114 of 19874 of 16578 of 198143 of 177160 of 18634 of 183No standingNo standing
Saudi Arabia45 of 19845 of 18250 of 19658 of 20086 of 18440 of 17783 of 19369 of 17654 of 194No standing77 of 198No standing163 of 198123 of 177185 of 186167 of 183No standingNo standing
Türkiye70 of 198151 of 18258 of 19659 of 20036 of 18452 of 177120 of 19364 of 176115 of 19457 of 15928 of 19872 of 165154 of 198157 of 177156 of 186131 of 183No standingNo standing
Kuwait47 of 19812 of 18276 of 19649 of 20061 of 18491 of 17762 of 19387 of 17676 of 194No standing138 of 198121 of 165136 of 198103 of 177184 of 186178 of 183No standingNo standing
Bahrain40 of 19819 of 18249 of 19650 of 200No standing59 of 17731 of 19353 of 176123 of 194No standing163 of 198137 of 165149 of 198164 of 177183 of 186159 of 183No standingNo standing
Oman80 of 19843 of 18276 of 19669 of 20072 of 18457 of 177104 of 19392 of 17690 of 194No standing119 of 198108 of 165127 of 19883 of 177181 of 186176 of 183No standingNo standing
Azerbaijan59 of 198110 of 18289 of 19672 of 20050 of 184No standing97 of 19399 of 176138 of 194No standing38 of 198112 of 165164 of 198124 of 177168 of 186134 of 183No standingNo standing
Jordan75 of 198144 of 182110 of 19670 of 200129 of 18474 of 17793 of 193104 of 17659 of 194No standing113 of 198100 of 165134 of 198122 of 177136 of 186161 of 183No standingNo standing
Palestine108 of 198No standing119 of 196140 of 200No standingNo standing125 of 193156 of 176140 of 19470 of 159140 of 19870 of 165180 of 198No standing24 of 186177 of 183No standingNo standing
Lebanon133 of 198No standing106 of 196104 of 20071 of 184117 of 177119 of 193102 of 176163 of 19496 of 159167 of 19881 of 165124 of 198169 of 177143 of 186163 of 183No standingNo standing
Iraq141 of 198168 of 182117 of 196113 of 200132 of 184101 of 177134 of 193164 of 176164 of 19440 of 159No standing153 of 165177 of 198167 of 177168 of 186173 of 183No standingNo standing
Syria188 of 198179 of 182121 of 196130 of 200156 of 184165 of 177185 of 193No standing186 of 19484 of 159179 of 198157 of 165197 of 198171 of 177107 of 186180 of 183No standingNo standing
Yemen198 of 198181 of 182170 of 196172 of 200175 of 184155 of 177192 of 193No standing189 of 194118 of 159187 of 198127 of 165195 of 198177 of 17749 of 186183 of 183No standingNo standing
Northern CyprusNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Region median70th of 19845th of 18276th of 19669th of 20072nd of 18459th of 17783rd of 19384th of 17690th of 19457th of 159113th of 198100th of 165136th of 198131st of 177160th of 186161st of 183——
Among sub-regions7th of 227th of 218th of 228th of 229th of 229th of 2210th of 2211th of 2111th of 2211th of 2117th of 2217th of 2118th of 2218th of 2020th of 2121st 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 33rd of 183 in the Country Index 2026. Yemen is placed lowest, 181st. 18 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 18 placed countries sit at or above 95th of 183, which places it 13th of 22 sub-regions. The median across Asia is 91st. The middle of the whole field is 91st. 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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