The demographics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region show a highly populated, culturally diverse region spanning three continents. As of 2023, the population was around 501 million. The class, cultural, ethnic, governmental, linguistic and religious make-up of the region is highly variable.
Debates on which countries should be included in the Middle East are wide-ranging. The Greater Middle East and North Africa region can include the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), Cyprus, Afghanistan and Pakistan due to various social, religious and historic ties. The most commonly accepted countries in the MENA region are included on this page.
Population by country
The most populous country in the MENA region is Egypt with nearly 100 million people, accounting for approximately 17% of the total. The least populous country is Djibouti with a population of almost 0.9 million, accounting for about 0.15% of the total. The largest country in land area is Algeria at 2,381,740 km2. The smallest country in land area is the Gaza Strip at 360 km2. The average population density for the MENA region is about 39 people per square kilometer. The highest population density is in the Gaza Strip, with about 5,102 people per square kilometer. The lowest population density is in Mauritania, with 3.73 people per square kilometer.
CountryPopulationAreaPopulationdensity/km2Number% of totalMENAkm2% of totalMENAAlgeria44,700,0006.79%2,381,74015.93%17.49Bahrain1,442,6590.25%7600.01%1,898.24Djibouti1,066,8090.15%23,2000.16%38.10Egypt107,770,52417.20%1,001,4506.70%99.27Eritrea6,700,000117,60056.97Gaza1,836,7130.32%3600.00%5,101.98Iran86,758,30414.37%1,648,19511.02%50.37Iraq40,194,2166.96%438,3172.93%91.70Israel8,424,9041.46%20,7700.14%405.63Jordan10,458,4131.81%89,3420.60%117.06Kuwait4,277,3040.73%17,8180.12%240.06Lebanon6,100,0751.06%10,4000.07%586.55Libya6,754,5071.17%1,759,54011.77%3.84Mauritania3,840,4290.66%1,030,7006.89%3.73Morocco34,314,1305.94%446,5502.99%76.84Oman4,613,2410.80%309,5502.07%14.90Qatar2,363,5690.41%11,5860.08%204.00Saudi Arabia33,091,1135.73%2,149,69013.52%15.39Somalia17,066,000637,65727.2South Sudan11,544,905644,32913.33Sudan47,958,8567.46%1,861,48412.45%23.16Syria26,019,7113.37%185,1801.24%105.06Tunisia11,516,1891.99%163,6101.09%70.39Turkey84,680,27314.06%783,5625.24%103.70United Arab Emirates9,701,3151.68%83,6000.56%116.04West Bank2,798,4940.48%5,8600.04%477.56Yemen30,667,2304.96%527,9683.53%54.30Total599,676,643100%16,546,112100%39.91
Population shifts The MENA region's population is growing at an average rate of 1.56%. This is well above the global rate of 1.1% population growth. High rates of migration, high birth rates, higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rates contribute to higher populations. CountryPopulationPopulationGrowthRateBirths/1000 pop.Net migration rate/1000 pop.MedianAgeAlgeria41,657,4881.63%21.5 -0.928.3Bahrain1,442,6592.19%13.111.632.5Djibouti884,0172.13%23.35.524.2Egypt99,413,3172.38%28.8 -0.423.9Gaza1,836,7132.25%30.5 -517.4Iran83,024,7451.19%17.4 -0.230.8Iraq40,194,2162.50%30 -1.120.2Israel8,424,9041.49%17.92.130.1Jordan10,458,4132.02%23.6022.8Kuwait2,916,4671.38%18.8 -2.829.4Lebanon6,100,075 -3.13%14.4 -40.331.3Libya6,754,5071.45%17.20.929.4Mauritania3,840,4292.14%29.9 -0.820.7Morocco34,314,1300.95%17.5 -3.129.7Oman4,613,2412.00%23.7 -0.425.8Qatar2,363,5691.95%9.511.533.4Saudi Arabia33,091,1131.63%15.64.129.9Sudan43,120,8432.93%34.21.917.9Syria19,454,263n/a20.7n/a24.5Tunisia11,516,1890.95%17.4 -1.632Turkey81,257,2390.49%15.4 -4.531.4United Arab Emirates9,701,3151.44%9.86.337.2West Bank2,798,4941.81%26 -4.421.4Yemen28,667,2302.17%27.60.119.8Total577,845,5761.56%20.981.4826.83
Migration Migration rates to, from and between the MENA region are high. On average there are 1.5 migrants per 1000 in the population. This accounts for net immigration and emigration rates. The highest net immigration is in Bahrain with 11.6 immigrants per 1000 of the population. The highest net emigration is in Lebanon with 40.3 emigrants per 1000 of the population. In other words, more people are leaving Lebanon than are coming in. Migration in the Middle East has been shaped by various events and phenomena including, but not limited to, the following:
The Israel-Palestine conflict The Syrian Civil War The Iraq War The Algerian Civil War (See Algerians in France) Post-colonial relationships Job prospects in oil rich states Political repression Human rights violations
Most MENA migrants go to Europe (See Immigration to Europe) or to other MENA states. There are also large populations from sub-Saharan Africa in North Africa and from South and Southeast Asia in Persian Gulf region.
Youth The MENA region is characterized with a young average population age. The median age across the MENA region is 26.8 years old. The younger generation is growing, creating an age bulge and high rates of youth unemployment. This has also led to a brain drain, involving young and educated people leaving their home country for better job prospects in other countries.
Most populous areas The Middle East and North Africa have an average annual growth rate of 1.56% and has one of the world's most rapidly expanding populations. Urban areas have been at the center of this growth, as the urban share of the total population in the region grew from 48% in the 1980s and 60% in 2000. In 2015 it was expected to exceed 70% whereas the average growth of developing countries in 2015 was 54%. The only region which exceeds MENA's average annual growth of 4% in sub-Saharan Africa which is not as urbanized as MENA. The regions average growth per capita was 0.9% between 1980 and 2000. The growth in the region did become better after 2000 mainly because of the rise in oil prices. The growth in the MENA region did not happen under ideal circumstances, but instead it occurred during economic decline and struggle. Poverty and vulnerability are also affecting the growing urban population and in the 1990s, 20 million people were living with an income under US$2/day. This happened during a period of rapid growth but did not see any reduction in the regions poverty levels.
Economy Middle Eastern and North African economy are highly dependent and centralized around natural resources within the country. Countries in the region face different challenges depending on the commodity they have. The categorization cannot explain all the different challenges the countries face but is highly useful to categorize countries based on similar challenges.
The three categories are: Firstly, countries with a high population and low natural resources (RPLA countries), secondly, countries with a high population and high oil wealth (RRLA countries) and thirdly, countries with a high indigenous population and high oil deposits (RRLP countries). This categorization cannot be used to explain every social and political challenge faced in the region, instead, these similar challenges and constraints are used to classified the countries. Furthermore, this categorization can be used to understand development within the region. A more detailed classification of each country, their GDP, GDP per capita and oil rent can be found in the GDP table.
As can be seen on the world map the Middle East and North Africa have large reserves of gas and other natural resources.
Education The Middle East and North Africa have strongly developed their education in terms of the average level of schooling, which has quadrupled since the 1960s. They have also halved the illiteracy rate in the region since the 1980s and achieved complete gender parity in primary school. Literacy in the region for adults has improved from 59% in the 1990s to 78% in 2010.
The access and enrollment in the school system have also increased in the region and all boys and girls have had access to primary education in most of the countries in the region. Enrollment in schools has increased from 86% to 94% between 2000 and 2010. It is interesting to note that the region, differently from the rest of the world, has had a reversed gender gap meaning that girls are outperforming boys in 4th-grade math and this is systematic up until the 8th grade.
Even though the region and the countries are highly invested in developing the school system and education by investing 5.3% of the GDP in the education the quality is still low and lacking and needs to be improved (can be seen on the table). There is also a difference in education and a large gap between the rich and the poor. Furthermore, the political instability in the region and the conflicts are forcing children to drop out of school. Still, school dropouts have significantly decreased in the region.
Languages The five major languages in the Middle East and North Africa are: Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish and Kurdish. There are approximately 571 million speakers of the five languages including individuals speaking the language outside of the Middle East and North Africa.
Arabic is spoken in the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Hebrew is spoken in Israel.
Persian is spoken in Iran.
Turkish is spoken in Turkey.
Kurdish is spoken in parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) is spoken in Iraq, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Religion The MENA region is home to the three main monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Diversity in a single religion and sectarian splits have contributed to various group identities and minorities. Approximately 325 million Muslims live in the MENA region, which constitutes 20% of the global Muslim population. However, it also has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries. By 2010 it was estimated that 93% of the populations in the Middle East and North Africa were Muslim, although this information can vary from the availability of the sources each country provides. Even with a majority Muslim population, diverse states in the region do not proclaim Islam as the official religion. The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, are the only countries that include religion in their formal titles.
The main division within Islam is between the Sunni and Shia sects. 80% of Muslims in the MENA region are Sunnis, being the majority group, however, their practices and interpretations of religious mandates can differ from country to country. Between 36 million and 44 million Shi’as live in the Arab region. Of the Shi'a sects, the most prominent group is the Twelvers. Minority groups are the Ismailis, Zaidis, Alevis and Alawites. Iran is home of 70 million Shi'as, which constitutes 40% of the world's total Shi’a population. Iraq counts with 12% of Shi’a worldwide population; other countries with 1 million or more of the Shi’a population are Turkey, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. Groups such as the Druze and Kharijites are difficult to classify as strictly Sunni or Shi’a. Another main commonality in both Sunni and Shi’i groups is Sufism. Sufi practices have reached other African and Asian countries.