The term MENA is an English-language acronym referring to the Middle East and North Africa region. The term MENA covers an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including all Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries. The term is roughly synonymous with the term the Greater Middle East.
The MENA acronym is often used in academia, military planning, disaster relief, and business writing.[1][2]
Due to the geographic ambiguity and Eurocentric nature of the term "Middle East", many people prefer use of the term WANA (West Asia and North Africa)[3] or the less common NAWA (North Africa-West Asia).[4]
The population of the MENA region at its least extent is considered to be around 381 million people, about 6% of the total world population.
List of countries
MENA has no standardized definition; different organizations define the region as consisting of different territories. The following is a list of commonly included countries and territories.[1][5]
Sometimes also included in broader definitions of MENA:[6][7]
Economy
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, 2009), the MENA region has 60% of the world's oil reserves (810.98 billion barrels (128.936 km3)) and 45% of the world's natural gas reserves ( 2,868,886 billion cubic feet (81,237.8 km3) ).[8]
As of 2011, 8 of the 12 OPEC nations are within the MENA region.
MENAP
In April 2013, the International Monetary Fund created a new analytical region called MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan), which adds Afghanistan and Pakistan to MENA countries.[9]
MENASA
The Asian Nationalpolis of MENASA includes the nations of Middle East, North Africa, the eastern frontier of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan with the South Asian region comprising India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh extending further east to the Indo-China regions of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia).[10]
MENAT
The term MENAT has been used to include Turkey in the list of MENA countries.[11] [12]
See also
- List of business region acronyms
- Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
- Middle East economic integration
- Greater Middle East
- Near East
- Arab world
- Arab Spring
- Arab Winter
- Subsaharan Africa
- African Union
- OPEC
References
- ^ a b "World Bank Definition: MENA". Worldbank.org. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, Marrakech, Morocco, 26-28 October 2010". World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2010 - World Economic Forum. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "West Asia and North Africa: A Regional Vision". Worldbank.org. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Welcome". Agu.org. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ Dumper, Michael, and Stanley, Bruce E., Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopaedia, 2007
- ^ "About MENA". Renaissance Capital Research Portal.
- ^ "MENA Magazine, which covers issues in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Somalia". Middle East and North Africa magazine. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "International Reserves". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2011.
- ^ "World Economic Outlook Database". Imf.org. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOCpo10zQlM. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ^ "MENAT Regional Council". Syracuse University Dubai. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ^ "About GE in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT)". General Electric. Retrieved June 14, 2016.