The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region covers an extensive territory, extending from Morocco to Iran (and sometimes Afghanistan), including all Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries. The region includes approximately 26 countries and has a population of about 381 million people, accounting for 6% of the world’s population. The region also has vast oil and natural gas reserves.
Ethnically and culturally, the MENA region is extremely diverse: it embraces Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Jews – among others. Even though Islam is the majority religion in the region, there are many other religions, sects and other spiritual traditions such as Christianity (and its diverse denominations), Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Druze or Baha’i.
