MENA
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2008-05-14T21:47:51Z
Koavf
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Rv. Please find a source for Georgia being in the Middle East
The term '''MENA''', for "[[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]]", is an [[acronym]] often used in academic and business writing. The term generally covers an extensive region, extending from [[Morocco]] in northwest [[Africa]] to [[Iran]] in southwest [[Asia]]. It generally includes all the [[Arab]] [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]] countries, as well as [[Iran]] but not [[Turkey]].<ref>[http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/mna/mena.nsf/Attachments/MNABrief2004/$File/MNA+BRIEF-ENG+2004AM.pdf World Bank document on the definition of MENA]</ref>
==List of countries==
'''MENA''' has no standardized definition; certain organizations define the region as making up different territories.
===World Bank definition===
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:500px_World_Map_MENA_h.JPG|thumb|500px|[[World Bank]]-defined MENA region (MENA countries are colored in [[red]])]] -->
* [[Algeria]]
* [[Bahrain]]
* [[Djibouti]]
* [[Egypt]]
* [[Iran]]
* [[Iraq]]
* [[Israel]]
* [[Jordan]]
* [[Kuwait]]
* [[Lebanon]]
* [[Libya]]
* [[Morocco]]
* [[Oman]]
* [[Palestinian territories]] (the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip]])
* [[Qatar]]
* [[Saudi Arabia]]
* [[Syria]]
* [[Tunisia]]
* [[United Arab Emirates]]
* [[Yemen]]
===Other regions in the Greater Middle East and North Africa===
Some organizations, such as the [[Group of 8]] have [[Greater Middle East|larger and more inclusive definitions]] of the Middle East which include most of the above territories as well as:
*[[Afghanistan]]
*[[Cyprus]]
*[[Mauritania]]
*[[Pakistan]]
*[[Somalia]]
*[[Sudan]]
*[[Turkey]]
==Population==
The population of the MENA region as it is typically defined comprises about 6% of the total world population, and is equivalent in number to one third of the population of the [[People's Republic of China]]. The population of the MENA region is almost equivalent to the population of the [[European Union]], and is one and a quarter times larger than the population of the [[United States]].
==Resources==
The MENA region has vast reserves of [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]] that make it a vital source of global [[economic stability]]. According to the Oil and Gas Journal (January 1, 2007), the MENA region has 70% of the world's [[oil reserves]] (797.04 billion [[barrels]]) and 46% of the world's natural gas reserves (2.8413 quadrilion [[cubic feet]]). [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/reserves.html 2]. As of 2007, 8 of the 12 [[OPEC]] nations are within the MENA region. [http://www.opec.org/aboutus/ 3]
==References==
<references />
==External links==
*[http://www.worldbank.org/mena World Bank page on MENA]
{{economy-stub}}
[[Category:International economics]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:North Africa]]
[[de:MENA-Region]]
[[ja:MENA]]