Middle East

  1. Middle East

    UAE Eases E-Invoicing Rules With Two-Year Relief for Tax Groups

    mof.gov.ae
  2. Israel

    IDF Says Gaza Strikes Killed Three Hamas Operatives, Including Cell Commander

    Telegram · @idfofficialIsraeli government
Population
503.4M
Nominal GDP
$5.7T
Countries
16

Latest available observations; nominal GDP is in current US dollars. Sources checked August 24, 2026.

Sources:12

Economic engine

≈½of global proven crude-oil reserves are in the Middle East
  1. Oil + gas revenue
  2. Sovereign investment
  3. Tourism · logistics · finance · tech
  • GulfDiversification at unprecedented scale
  • IsraelOne of the world's densest high-tech economies
  • Egypt + IranThe two largest populations
Sources:12

Power & institutions

2020the Abraham Accords formalized a regional realignment
Regional balance
  • IsraelParliamentary democracy
  • Gulf monarchiesEnergy + sovereign wealth
  • IranTheocratic rule + armed proxy network
  • The WestSecurity and trade partnerships
Sources:123

Pressure points

3critical chokepoints connect the region to global trade
  • Suez CanalEurope–Asia shipping route
  • Strait of HormuzGulf energy corridor
  • Bab el-MandebRed Sea gateway
  • Iranian proxy networkLebanon · Syria · Iraq · Gaza · Yemen
  • Post-Ottoman bordersMinorities and rivalries endure
Sources:12

Countries at a glance

Open a country for its capital, population, GDP, and key facts.

Israel

1

A free parliamentary democracy, restored in 1948 and today a global center of innovation, security expertise, and Jewish life.

Sources:12

The Levant

4

The eastern Mediterranean rim: Israel's free democracy alongside states still defined by the wars and state failures of the last two decades.

Sources:12

The Gulf

7

The monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula: the world's energy bank, now spending it on the most ambitious economic diversification programs anywhere.

Sources:12

Iran & Iraq

2

The two heavyweight states east of the Levant: revolutionary Iran and a post-war Iraq balancing between Tehran and the West.

Sources:12

Turkey & the Eastern Mediterranean

2

The Anatolian bridge between Europe and Asia and the island republic beside it.

Sources:12

Egypt

1

The Arab world's most populous state, astride the Suez Canal.

Sources:12

Key institutions

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. Coordinates economic and security policy among the Gulf monarchies; its members hold the region's dominant share of energy exports and sovereign wealth.

Sources:1

Arab League

A 22-member regional organization founded in 1945. Its charter calls for closer relations and policy coordination among Arab states while safeguarding each member's independence and sovereignty.

Sources:12

OPEC

The oil-producer organization is headquartered in Vienna and anchored by Middle Eastern production. Its output decisions — coordinated with Russia and other non-members through OPEC+ — materially affect global oil supply and prices.

Sources:12

Abraham Accords

The 2020 US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco opened direct flights, trade, and wider regional cooperation.

Sources:1

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