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CRAIN'S MINI WORLD ATLAS

ASIA and MIDDLE EAST
Mini World Atlas

Includes surrounding Pacific and Indian Oceans. Use Edit >> Find, or scroll down, to locate a country of your choice. Previous names for the country are shown in brackets. Alternate spelling for the country name are given if different than the English name. Where a different alphabet is used, a phometic transliteration is given, unless the name sounds the same as in English. "Intl Oval" = Oval sign or sticker used to designate vehicle origin, eg: or . Click on country location map for more detailed map.

To find more info about a country, use your favorite search engine with the country name followed by wiki or cia, for example: Canada wiki or Canada cia.

ABU DHABI أبو ظبي‎ Abū Ẓabī

Abu Dhabi is an emirate and the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Colony

Prptectorate

ADEN See also YEMEN
1914 - 1937 Aden (Bombay Presidency)
1937 - 1962 Aden Colony (British),
Aden Protectorate (sheikdoms)
1963 - 1967 South Arabian Federation
1967 - 1990 South Yemen
1990 Merged with North Yemen to form Yemen

AFGHANISTAN افغانستان, Afġānistā

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Kabul
Religion	Islam (80% Sunni and 20% Shia)
Languages	Dari, Pushtu
History	British occupation ended 1919. Russian occupation 1979 - 1989. US+NATO occupation 2001 - 2015.
Intl Oval	AFG

AJMAN عجمان‎ Aǧmān

Ajman is an emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

ARMENIA Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun

Location	Caucasus
Capital	Yerevan
Religion	Christianity (93% Orthodox, 7% Other)
Language	Armenian
History	Armenia seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Intl Oval	ARM

AZERBAIJAN Azərbaycan

Location	Caucasus
Capital	Baki (Baku)
Religion	Islam (85% Shia, 15% Sunni)
Language	Azerbaijani, Russian
History	Azerbaijan seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991. .
Intl Oval	AZ

BAHRAIN ‏البحرين‎ al-Baḥrayn

Location	Arabia
Capital	al-Manamah [Manama]
Religion	Islam (70% Shia and 30% Sunni)
Language	Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu.
History	British occupation ended 1971
Intl Oval	BRN

BANGLADESH বাংলাদেশ
(East Bengal, East Pakistan)

Location	South Asia
Capital	Dhaka (Dacca)
Religions	85% Islam (Sunni), 15% Hinduism
Languages	Bengali, English
History	Part of India until 1947. Joined Pakistan in 1947 as East Bengal province.,renamed East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan in 1971
Intl Oval	BD

BHUTAN འབྲུག་ཡུལ Dru Ü,

Location	South Asia
Capital	Thimphu
Religions	Buddhism, Hinduism
Languages	Dzonghka, Tibetan, Nepalese.
History	Indian occupation ended 1971
Intl Oval	BHT

BRUNEI نڬارا بروني دارالسلام نڬارا بروني دارالسلام‎
Negara Brunei Darussalam نڬارا برون

Location	South Asia
Capital	Bandar Seri Begawan
Religions	Islam (Sunni), Buddhism,
Language	Malay, English, Chinese.
History	British occupation ended 1984
Intl Oval	BRU

CAMBODIA ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា
Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa
(Kymer Republic)

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Phnom Penh
Religion	Buddhism
Language	Khmer
History	French occupation ended 1954. US incursions 1964 - 1973. Vietnamese occupation 1979 - 1991.
Intl Oval	K

CHINA 中国中國 Zhōngguó
People's Republic of China (PRC)

Location	East Asia
Capital	Beijing
Religions	Buddhism, folk beliefs
Language	Chinese (Mandarin)
History	Partial occupation by Japan 1937 - 1945. Taiwan seceded in 1949. Hong Kong reverted from British rule 1997, Macau from Portuguese rule 1999. Tibet occupied by China in 1950.
Intl Oval	PRC

DUBAI دبي‎ Dubayy

Dubai is an emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

FUJEIRAH الفجيرة‎ Al Fuǧaira

Fujeirah is an emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

HONG KONG 香港

Hong Kong reverted to China from British rule in 1997, Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945.

INDIA Bhārat Gaṇarājya

Location	South Asia
Capital	New Delhi
Religions	80% Hinduism, 14% Islam (Sunni)
Languages	Hindi, English, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Sanskrit.
History	British occupation ended 1947. Partitioned into India, Pakistan and East Bengal (East Pakistan) in 1947. Kashmir is disputed between India, Pakistan, China. Sikkin annexed in 1975, Portuguese Goa in 1961.
Intl Oval	IND

INDONESIA Republik Indonesia
(Java, Netherlands India, Dutch East Indies

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Jakarta
Religion	87% Islam (Sunni), 10% Christian
Language	Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese.
History	Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945. Dutch occupation ended 1949.
Intl Oval	RI

IRAN ایران al-Irān‎ (Persia)

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Tehran (Teheran)
Religion	Islam (95% Shia, 5% Sunni)
Languages	Farsi, Turkic languages, Kurdish
History	Persia was renamed Iran in 1935
Intl Oval	IR

IRAQ لعراق‎ al-‘Irāq Êraq

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Baghdad
Religion	Islam (65% Shia, 35% Ssunni)
Language	Arabic, Kurdish
History	British occupation ended 1932. Kurdistan became self-governing region 1992. US + NATO occupation 2003 - 2011. Partial ISIL occupation 2011 - present.
Intl Oval	IRQ

ISRAEL מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Yisrā'el دولة إِسرائيل‎
(Palestine)

Location	West Asia
Capital	Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)
Religions	80% Judaism, 16% Islam (Sunni)
Language	Hebrew, Arabic
History	British occupation ended 1948 with partition into Israel and Palestine. West Bank (part of Jordan), Gaza (part of Egypt), Golan Heights (part of Syria) occupied by Israel 1967.
Intl Oval	IL

JAPAN 日本 Nippon or Nihon

Location	East Asia
Capital	Tokyo
Religion	Shintoism, Buddhism
Language	Japanese
History	US occupation 1945 - 1952
Intl Oval	J

JORDAN الأردن‎ al-Urdun (Transjordan)

Location	Asia
Capital	Amman
Religion	Islam (sunni)
Language	Arabic
History	British occupation ended 1946. Name changed 1949.
Intl Oval	JOR

KAZAKHSTAN Қазақстан Qazaqstan,
Казахстан Kəzɐxˈstan

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Astana
Religions	26% Christianity, 70% Islam (Sunni)
Languages	Kazakh, Russian
History	Russian occupation ended 1991.
Intl Oval	KZ

KUWAIT دولة الكويت‎)

Location	Arabia
Capital	al-Kuwait
Religion	Islam (65% Sunni, 35% Shia)
Language	Arabic
History	British occupation ended 1961. Iraq occupation 1990 - 1991.
Intl Oval	KWT

KYRGYZSTAN Кыргызстан Kyrgyzstan Киргизия or Кыргызстан),

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Bishkek
Religions	80% Islam (Sunni), 17% Christianity
Languages	Kyrgyz, Russian
History	Russian occupation ended 1991
Intl Oval	KS

LAOS ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ

Location	East Asia
Capital	Vientiane
Religions	67% Buddhism, 30% local religions
Language	Laotian
History	French occupation ended 1954
Intl Oval	LAO

LEBANON لبنان‎ Libnān or Lubnān לבנאנ; Liban

Location	West Asia
Capital	Beirut
Religions	54% Islam (50:50 Sunni-Shia), 40% Christianity
Language	Arabic
History	French occupation ended 1943
Intl Oval	RL

MACAU or MACAO 澳門澳门
(Portuguese Macao)

Portuguese occupation ended 1999, reverted to China. Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945.

MALAYA Persekutuan Tanah Melayu
ڤرسكوتوان تانه ملايو)

British controlled federation of 9 Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements (Penang and Malacca), 1948 - 1963. British control ended 1957. Renamed as Malaysia 1963. See below.

MALAYSIA (Malaya+Sabah+Sarawak)

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Kuala Lumpur
Religions	60 % Islam, 20% Buddhist, 10% Christian
Languages	Malay, Chinese
History	Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945. British occupation ended 1957. Malaya merged with British North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, Singapore into Malaysia in 1963. Singapore seceded from Malaysia in 1965.
Intl Oval	MAL

MONGOLIA ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ Monggol Ulus
Монгол Улс

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Ulaan Bataar
Religion	Buddhism, shamanism
Language	Mongolian
History	Mongolia seceded from China in 1923
Intl Oval	MGL

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MYANMAR Myăma (Burma, Burmah)

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Yangon (Rangoon)
Religion	Buddhism, (Islam suppressed)
Language	Burmese
History	British occupation 1824 - 1948. Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945.
Intl Oval	MYA

NEPAL नेपाल Neˈpal

Location	South Asia
Capital	Kathmandu
Religions	Hinduism, Buddhism
Languages	Nepalese, Maithili, Bhojpuri
History	Kingdom from 1779, now a Republic
Intl Oval	NEP

NORTH BORNEO (British North Borneo, Sabah)

Bristish colony 1882. Japanese occupatopn 1942 - 1945. British control ended 1963. Joined Malaysia 1963.

NORTH KOREA 조선민주주의인민공화국
Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk

Location	East Asia
Capital	Pyongyang
Religions	Buddhism, officially non-religious
Language	Korean
History	Japanese occupation 1910 - 1945. Split into North Korea and South Korea 1948. US intervention 1950 - 1953+
Intl Oval	none

NORTH YEMEN

Turkish occupation ended 1918. Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen 1918–1962. Yemen Arab Republic 1962–1990. Merged in 1990 with South Yemen to become unified Yemen. Civil war still in progress.

OKINAWA 沖縄本島 Okinawa-hontō
Ryukyu Islands Senkaku Islands

Okinawa Prefecture is Japan's southern prefectures, and consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 km long, extending southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. The disputed Senkaku Islands are also administered as part of Okinawa Prefecture.

OMAN عمان‎ ʻUmān

Location	Arabia
Capital	Muscat
Religion	Islam (75% Ibadi)
Language	Arabic
History	Muskat and Oman became an independent state in 1744
Intl Oval	OM

PAKISTAN پاكستان‎ Pākistān
(British India)

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Islamabad
Religion	Islam (80% Sunni, 20% Shia)
Languages	Punjan, Urdu, Pushtu, Sindh
History	British occupation ended 1947. Created by partition of India 1947. East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan in 1971 and became Bangladesh.
Intl Oval	PK

KASHMIR کٔشِیر कॅशीर कश्मीर کشمیر‎ کشمیر

Kashmir is disputed between India, Pakistan, China. Sikkin annexed in 1975,

PALESTINE فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn or Falasṭīn Παλαιστίνη פלשתינה See also Israel

Location	West Asia Click map for detail view
Capital	Ramallah
Religions	Islam (Sunni)
Language	Arabic
History	British occupation ended 1948 with partition into Israel and Palestine. Israeli occupation 1962 - present. Palestinian National Authority established 1994 controls West Bank and Gaza.
Intl Oval	IL

PARACEL ISLANDS Xisha Islands
Hoang Sa Archipelago

The Paracel Islands are a group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea administered by the People's Republic of China but also claimed by Vietnam

PORTUGUESE GOA Portuguese India
Estado Português da Índia

Portuguese Goa was annexed in the 15th century by Portuguese merchants. It was annexed by India in 1961, but was not recognized by Portugal until 1973.

PHILIPPINES Pilipinas

Location	East Asia
Capital	Manila
Religion	85% Christianity, 11% Islam (Sunni)
Languages	Philipino, Tagalog, Cebuano. English
History	Spanish occupation ended 1898. US occupation 1898 - 1941. Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945. US occupation ended 1946
Intl Oval	RP

QATAR قطر‎ Qatar

Location	Arabia
Capital	Doha
Religion	Islam (90% Sunni, 10% Shia)
Language	Arabic
History	British occupation 1916 - 1971
Intl Oval	Q

RAS-AL-KHAIMAH رأس الخيمة‎
Rā's al-Ḫaymah

Ras al Khaimah is an emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

RUSSIA Россия Rossiya
Russian Federation (Soviet Union)

Location	Eastern Europe and North Asia (Siberia)
Capital	Moskva (Moscow)
Religion	70% Christianity, 30% Islam (Sunni)
Language	Russian. Many others
History	Russia was formed in 1521, became the main constituent part of the Soviet Union 1922, which broke up 1991.
	Russian Federation includes the following autonomous republics: Adygeya, Altai, Bashkortostan, Burjatia, Chakasia, Chechnia, Chuvasia, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmukia, Karacha-Cherkesia, Karelia, Komi, Mari El, Mordovia, North-Ossetia, Sacha (Jakutia), Tatarstan, Tuva and Udmurtia. Chechnia and Tatarstan did not sign the federation treaty. Tatarstan (Tatar Republic) declared independence 1994.
Intl Oval	RUS

SARAWAK

Autonymous to 1941. Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945. British control 1946 - 1963. Joined Malaysia 1963.

SAUDI ARABIA المملكة العربية السعودية
al-Arabiyah as-Sa'ūdiyah
(Nedjed, Nedjed and Asir, Hedshas)

Location	Arabia
Capital	Riyadh
Religion	Islam (80% Sunnu, 20% Shia)
Language	Arabic
History	British influence 1916 - 1927. Annexed Nedjed and Asir as Hedshas-Nedjed 1927. Renamed Saudi Arabia 1932.
Intl Oval	KSA

SINGAPORE 新加坡共和国
சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Singapore
Religions	33% Buddhism, 18% Christianity, 15% Islam
Languages	Chinese, Malay, English
History	Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945. British occupation ended 1963. Joined Malaysia 1963, seceded 1965.
Intl Oval	SGP

SHARJAH الشارقة‎ aš-Šāriqah

Sharjah is an emirate of the United Arab
Emirates.

SOUTH KOREA 대한민국 大韓民國
Daehan Minguk Republic of Great Han

Location	East Asia
Capital	Seoul
Religions	30% Christianity, 22% Buddhism
Language	Korean
History	Japanese occupation 1910 - 1945, split into North Korea and South Korea 1948. US intervention 1950 - 1953+.
Intl Oval	ROC

SOUTH YEMEN (Aden)

1914 - 1937 Aden (Bombay Presidency)
1937 - 1962 Aden Colony (British),
Aden Protectorate (sheikdoms)
1963 - 1967 South Arabian Federation
1967 - 1990 South Yemen 1990 Merged with North Yemen to form Yemen

SOVIET UNION (USSR, CCCP) See RUSSIA
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик
Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik

In 1991, the Soviet Union (USSR.) split into the following now independent countries: +Armenia, *Azerbaijan, +Belarus, +Estonia, +Georgia, *Kazakhstan, *Kyrgystan, +Latvia, +Lithuania, +Moldova, +*Russia, *Tajikistan, *Turkmenistan, +Ukraine, *Uzbekistan.
* = Asia (This Page), + = Europe
International Oval: SU

SPRATLY ISLANDS

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 100 reefs and islands in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam. Various claims by all surrounding nations.

SRI LANKA සමාජවාදී ජනරජය
சோசலிசக் குடியர (Ceylon)

Location	South Asia
Capital	Colombo
Religions	70% Buddhism, 13% Hinduism
Languages	Sinhala, Tamil
History	British occupation ended 1948, renamed 1972. Separatist Tamil state not recognized, now reunified.
Intl Oval	CL

SYRIA سوريا‎ or سورية, Sūriyā or Sūrīyah

Location	West Asia
Capital	Damascus
Religion	Islam (60% Sunni, 13% Shia)
Language	Arabic
History	French occupation ended 1941. Partial ISIL occupation 2011 - present.
Intl Oval	SYR

TAIWAN 中華民國 Zhōnghuá Mínguó
Republic of China (ROC)

Location	East Asia
Capital	Taipeh
Religions	35% Buddhism, 33% Daoism
Language	Chinese
History	De-facto independence from China (PRC) 1949. Claimed by China.
Intl Oval	RC

TAJIKISTAN Тоҷикистон Таджикистан

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Dushanbe
Religions	Islam (95% Sunni, 5% Shia), Christianity
Languages	Tadzhik, Russian
History	Russian occupation ended 1991
Intl Oval	TJ

THAILAND ประเทศไทย Prathet Thai
(Siam)

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Bangkok
Religion	Buddhism
Language	Thai
History	Renamed to Thailand 1939.
Intl Oval	T

TIBET 藏区藏區 Zàngqū

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Lhasa
Religion	Buddhism
Languages	Tibetan, Chinese
History	Chinese occupation 1950 - present.
Intl Oval	none

Portuguese

TIMOR LESTE
(East Timor, Portuguese Timor)

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Dili
Religion	Christianity
Languages	Tetum, Portuguese
History	Portuguese occupation ended 1976, Indonesian occupation ended 1999, independent as Timor Leste 2002.
Intl Oval	TL

TURKEY Türkiye (Ottoman Empire)

Location	Europe (Thrace) and Asia Minor (Anatolia)
Capital	Ankara
Religion	Islam (95%Sunni, 5% Shia)
Language	Turkish, Kurdish.
History	Independent since 1327.
Intl Oval	TR

TURKMENISTAN Туркмения Turkmeniya

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Ashgabat
Religion	Islam (Sunni)
Language	Turkmenian
History	Russian occupation ended 1991
Intl Oval	TM

Umm al-Quwain أمّ القيوين‎

Umm al Qaiwain is an emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)
الإمارات العربية المتحدة (Trucial Oman)
al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīyah al-Muttaḥhidah

Location	Arabia
Capital	Abu Dhabi
Religion	Islam (85% Sunni, 15% Shia)
Language	Arabic
History	Federation of absolute monarchies: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujeirah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjahi, Umm al Qaiwain.
Intl Oval	UAE

UZBEKISTAN Oʻzbekiston

Location	Central Asia
Capital	Tashkent
Religions	Islam (15% Sunni, 1% Shia, 84% non-denominational), Christianity
Languages	Uzbek, Russian
History	Russian occupation ended 1991
Intl Oval	UZ

VIETNAM Việt Nam

Location	South East Asia
Capital	Hanoi
Religions	15% Buddhism, 45% indiginous
Language	Vietnamese
History	French occupation ended 1945, US intervention 1963 - 1976. Partitioned into North and South Vietnam 1961, reunited 1976.
Intl Oval	VN

YEMEN اليَمَن‎ al-Yaman
(North Yemen + South Yeman)

Location	Arabia
Capital	Sana'a
Religion	Islam (60% Sunni, 40% Shia)
Language	Arabic
History	Turkish occupation ended 1918, British ended 1967. North and South Yemen became unified Yemen 1990. Civil war 2008 - present and Saudi intervention 2014 - present.
Intl Oval	YE

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
لدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)

This is not a country but an extremist Sunni Muslim group that controls territory in Iraq and Syria and also has terrorist-style operations in eastern Libya, Sinai Peninsula, and other areas of the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. As a Caliphate, it claims religious, political, and military authority over all
Muslims worldwide. Not accepted by most Muslims.