Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation explained

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an international alliance that consists of 9 member states and 4 observers from Eurasia. It was established on 26 April 1996 as the Shanghai Five.In addition to the 10 member states and 1 observer, the SCO currently has 14 dialogue partners and 4 guest attendance entries.

Member states

Flag	Country	Capital	Largest city	Area (km^2)	Population (2016)	Density (/km^2)	GDP per cap. (PPP)^[1]	HDI^[2]	Currency		Leaders	Accession
	China People's Republic of China	Beijing	Shanghai (metropolitan area) Chongqing (city proper)	9,640,011	a1,374,820,000	139.6			Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥) (CNY)	Standard Chinese^[3] written in simplified characters see also languages of China	Head of State Xi Jinping Head of Government: Li Qiang	1996-04-26
	Kazakhstan Republic of Kazakhstan	Astana	Almaty	2,724,900	d17,670,900	5.94			Kazakhstani tenge (₸) (KZT)	Kazakh (National) Russian	Head of State and Government Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (Prime Minister: Alihan Smaiylov)	1996-04-26
	Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Republic	Bishkek		199,900	f6,008,600	27.4			Kyrgyzstani som (som) (KGS)	Kyrgyz (National) Russian	Head of State and Government Sadyr Japarov (Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers: Akylbek Japarov)	1996-04-26
	Russia Russian Federation	Moscow		17,075,400	b146,519,759	8.3			Russian rouble (₽) (RUB)	Russian also see Languages of Russia	Head of State Vladimir Putin Head of Government: Mikhail Mishustin	1996-04-26
	Tajikistan Republic of Tajikistan	Dushanbe		143,100	e8,352,000	48.6			Tajikistani somoni (SM) (TJS)	Tajik Persian	Head of State and Government Emomali Rahmon (Prime Minister: Kokhir Rasulzoda)	1996-04-26
	Uzbekistan Republic of Uzbekistan	Tashkent		447,400	c31,022,500	61.4			Uzbekistani soum (soum) (UZS)	Uzbek	Head of State and Government Shavkat Mirziyoyev (Prime Minister: Abdulla Aripov)	2001-06-15
	India Republic of India	New Delhi	Mumbai	3,287,240	a1,284,480,000	364.4			Indian rupee (₹) (INR)	Hindi (Devanagari script)&, English . Also see Languages of India	Head of State Droupadi Murmu Head of Government: Narendra Modi	2017-06-09^[4]
	Pakistan Islamic Republic of Pakistan	Islamabad	Karachi	796,095	b192,779,818	214.3			Pakistani rupee (Rs) (PKR)	Urdu (National) English	Head of State Arif Alvi Head of Government: Shehbaz Sharif	2017-06-09
	Iran Islamic Republic of Iran	Tehran		1,648,195	c79,011,700	48.0			Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR)	Persian	Head of State Ali Khamenei Head of Government Mohammad Mokhber (acting)	2023-07-04^[5]
	Belarus Republic of Belarus	Minsk		207,595	c9,498,700	45.8			Belarusian rubel (Rbl) (BYR)	Belarusian Russian	Head of State and Government Alexander Lukashenko (Prime Minister: Roman Golovchenko)	2024-07-04

Military personnel

The following list is sourced from the 2018 edition of "The Military Balance" published annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

data-sort-type = "number"	Flag	Country	data-sort-type = "number"	Active military	data-sort-type = "number"	Reserve military	data-sort-type = "number"	Paramilitary	data-sort-type = "number"	Total	data-sort-type = "number"	Per 1000 capita (total)	data-sort-type = "number"	Per 1000 capita (active)

Notes

Dialogue partner entries

Flag	Country	Capital	Area (km^2)	Population (2016)	Density (/km^2)			Currency		Leaders	Status gained
	Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Administrative) Colombo (Commercial)	65,610	c20,966,000	309.0			Sri Lankan rupee (Rs) (LKR)	Sinhalese Tamil	Head of State and Government Ranil Wickremesinghe(Prime Minister: Dinesh Gunawardena)	2009-06-16
	Turkey Republic of Turkey		783,562	c78,741,053	102.0			Turkish lira (₺) (TRY)		Head of State and Government	2012-06-07
	Armenia Republic of Armenia	Yerevan	29,743	c2,998,600	102.0			Armenian dram (֏) (AMD)	Armenian	Head of State Vahagn Khachaturyan Head of Government: Nikol Pashinyan	2015-07-10
	Azerbaijan Republic of Azerbaijan	Baku	86,600	c9,696,800	109.0			Azerbaijani manat (₼) (AZN)	Azeri	Head of State Ilham Aliyev Head of Government: Ali Asadov	2015-07-10
	Cambodia Kingdom of Cambodia	Phnom Penh	181,035	c15,626,444	84.0			Cambodian riel (CR) (KHR)	Khmer	Head of State Norodom Sihamoni Head of Government: Hun Manet	2015-07-10
	Nepal Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal	Kathmandu	147,181	c28,431,500	180.0			Nepalese rupee (Rs) (NPR)	Nepali	Head of State Ram Chandra Poudel Head of Government: KP Sharma Oli	2015-07-10
	Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt	Cairo	1,010,408	c94,798,827	103.56			Egyptian pound (LE) (EGP)	Arabic	Head of State Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Head of Government: Moustafa Madbouly	2022-09-14
	Qatar State of Qatar	Doha	11,581	c1,699,435	176			Qatari riyal (QAR)	Arabic	Head of State Tamim bin Hamad Head of Government: Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani	2022-09-14
	Saudi Arabia Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	2,149,690	c38,401,000	15			Saudi riyal (SR) (SAR)	Arabic	Head of State Salman Head of Government: Mohammed bin Salman	2022-09-14
	Kuwait State of Kuwait	Kuwait City	17,818	c4,294,621	200.2			Kuwaiti dinar	Arabic	Head of State Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Head of Government: Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah	2023-05-06
	Maldives Republic of Maldives	Malé	300	c515,122	1,102.5			Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)	Maldivian	Head of State and Government Ibrahim Mohamed Solih	2023-05-06
	Myanmar Republic of the Union of Myanmar	Naypyidaw	261,227	c57,526,449	196.8			Myanmar Kyat (K) (MMK)	Burmese	Head of State Myint Swe (acting) Head of Government: Min Aung Hlaing	2023-05-06
	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	83,600	4,106,427	121			UAE dirham (AED)	Arabic	Head of State Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Head of Government: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum	2023-05-06
	Bahrain Kingdom of Bahrain	Manama	780	1,504,365	1,864			Bahraini dinar (BHD)	Arabic	Head of State Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Head of Government: Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa	2023-07-15^[6] ^[7]

Future participation

The following countries have applied for a position in the organization:

Flag	Country	Capital	Area (km^2)	Population (2016)	Density (/km^2)			Currency		Leaders	Status applied for	Year applied
	Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh		148,460	c169,828,911	1,305			Bangladeshi taka (BDT)	Bengali	Head of State Mohammed ShahabuddinHead of Government Sheikh Hasina	Observer	2012	url=https://arab.news/5c83v
	Syria Syrian Arab Republic		185,180	c22,933,531	118.3			Syrian pound (SYP)	Arabic	Head of State and Government Bashar al-Assad(Prime Minister: Hussein Arnous)	Dialogue Partner	2015^[8]
	Israel State of Israel		20,770	c9,766,400	442			Israeli new shekel (ILS)	Hebrew	Head of State Isaac HerzogHead of Government Benjamin Netanyahu	Dialogue Partner	2016
	Iraq Republic of Iraq		438,317	c43,500,000	82.7			Iraqi dinar (IQD)	Arabic	Head of State Abdul Latif Rashid Head of Government: Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani	Dialogue Partner	2019^[9]
	Algeria People's Democratic Republic of Algeria		2,381,741	c44,700,000	17.7			Algerian dinar (DZD)	Arabic	Head of State Abdelmadjid Tebboune Head of Government: Aymen Benabderrahmane	Observer	2023^[10] ^[11]
	Laos Lao People’s Democratic Republic		236,800	7,749,595	26.7			Lao kip (LAK)	Lao	Head of State	Dialogue Partner	2024^[12]

In 2012, Ukraine expressed interest in obtaining observer status. However, since the deposition of President Viktor Yanukovych and increased tensions with Russia, no application has been submitted and there are no current plans to incorporate Ukraine into the organization.^{[13] [14]}

In 2011, Vietnam expressed interest in obtaining observer or dialogue partner status. However, it is unknown whether or not, Vietnam has submitted an application.^[15]

Guest attendance entries

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
• Turkmenistan
• United Nations

Membership declined

The United States applied for observer status in the SCO, but was rejected in 2005.^[17]

See also

• Member states of BRICS
• Member states of the Eurasian Economic Union

Bibliography

• Book: The Military Balance 2010. International Institute for Strategic Studies. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 3 February 2010. Routledge. London. 978-1857435573. IISS2010.
• Book: The Military Balance 2011. International Institute for Strategic Studies. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 2 March 2011. Routledge. London. 978-1857436068. IISS2011.
• Book: The Military Balance 2012. International Institute for Strategic Studies. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 7 March 2012. Routledge. London. 978-1857436426. IISS2012.
• Book: The Military Balance 2013. International Institute for Strategic Studies. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 14 March 2013. Routledge. London. 978-1857436808. IISS2013.
• Book: The Military Balance 2014. International Institute for Strategic Studies. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 3 February 2014. Routledge. London. 9781857437225. IISS2014.
• Book: The Military Balance 2018. International Institute for Strategic Studies. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 14 February 2018. Routledge. London. 9781857439557. IISS2018.

Notes and References

1. at purchasing power parity, per capita, in international dollars (rounded IMF 2012)
2. at Human Development Index (New 2013 Estimates for 2012)
3. http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-09/19/content_64906.htm Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)
4. News: Bhattacherjee . Kallol . India, Pakistan become full members of SCO . 19 September 2021 . The Hindu . 9 June 2017 . en-IN.
5. Web site: 2023-07-04 . Iran joins SCO, the China-founded regional security grouping . 2023-07-04 . Al Arabiya English . en.
6. https://www.bna.bh/en/BahraingrantedthestatusofSCOdialoguepartner.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDlDCMEcGKMPY4rKOqGpdTL4%3D#:~:text=Shanghai%2C%20July%2015%20(BNA)%3A,People's%20Republic%20of%20China%20Dr.
7. http://eng.sectsco.org/politics/20230718/951659/The-SCO-signs-a-memorandum-on-granting-the-Kingdom-of-Bahrain-the-status-of-dialogue-partner.html
8. News: 23 June 2016 . Syria, Israel, Egypt willing to join SCO's activity – president's special envoy . . 23 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160816144553/http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=683491 . 16 August 2016.
9. News: 5 September 2019 . 'SCO family' widening? Many candidates share 'Shanghai spirit', but expansion not a goal . . 6 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190906165359/https://tass.com/world/1076750 . 6 September 2019 . live.
10. News: 21 June 2023 . Algeria Submits an Application to Join the SCO . Echorouk .
11. News: 21 June 2023 . L'Algérie veut intégrer le capital de la banque des BRICS et l'organisation de Shanghai . L'Algérie Audjourd'hui .
12. News: May 2024 . African state applies to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization .
13. News: 25 August 2012 . Yanukovych Tells Putin Kyiv Wants SCO Observer Status . Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . 6 August 2022.
14. Web site: Why Ukraine wants to become SCO's partner . Grigoryan . Gurgen . 8 October 2012 . InfoSCO . 6 August 2022.
15. News: Radyuhin . Vladimir . 2 December 2011 . Vietnam bids to join SCO . . Moscow . 6 August 2022.
16. Web site: Seiwert . Eva . The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Will Not Fill Any Vacuum in Afghanistan . . 24 July 2022 . 30 September 2021.
17. News: Shanghai surprise: The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation reveals how power is shifting in the world . Dilip . Hiro . 16 June 2006 . The Guardian . 19 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140923025607/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jun/16/shanghaisurprise . 23 September 2014 . live .