Middle East and North Africa
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 Mashriq and Maghreb countries. The term is roughly synonymous with the term the Greater Middle East. 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. The MENA acronym is often used in academia, military planning, disaster relief, and business writing.
Due to the geographic ambiguity and Eurocentric nature of the term "Middle East", some people prefer use of the terms Arab World, WANA' (West Asia and North Africa) or the less common NAWA (North Africa-West Asia). Both the Arab World and MENA region remain the most common terms and are used by most organizations, academia, and political entities flexibly, including those in the region itself. The World Bank,UNDP and even the UNSC all use both terms.
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.
Sometimes also included in broader definitions of MENA:
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) ).
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