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
(km2)
Population
(2016)
Density
(/km2)
GDP per cap.
(PPP)
[1]
HDI[2] Currency
Leaders Accession
China
People's Republic of China
BeijingShanghai (metropolitan area)
Chongqing (city proper)
9,640,011a1,374,820,000139.6 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
AstanaAlmaty2,724,900 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
Bishkek199,900 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
Moscow17,075,400 b146,519,759 8.3Russian 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
Dushanbe143,100 e8,352,000 48.6 Tajikistani somoni (SM)
(TJS)
Tajik PersianHead of State and Government

Emomali Rahmon
(Prime Minister: Kokhir Rasulzoda)

1996-04-26
Uzbekistan
Republic of Uzbekistan
Tashkent447,400 c31,022,500 61.4 Uzbekistani soum (soum)
(UZS)
UzbekHead of State and Government

Shavkat Mirziyoyev
(Prime Minister: Abdulla Aripov)

2001-06-15
India
Republic of India
New DelhiMumbai3,287,240 a1,284,480,000 364.4Indian 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
IslamabadKarachi796,095 b192,779,818 214.3Pakistani rupee (Rs)
(PKR)
Urdu (National)
English
Head of State

Arif Alvi
Head of Government: Shehbaz Sharif

2017-06-09
Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran1,648,195c79,011,70048.0Iranian rial (Rl)
(IRR)
PersianHead of State


Ali Khamenei
Head of Government

Mohammad Mokhber (acting)

2023-07-04[5]
Belarus
Republic of Belarus
Minsk207,595 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" FlagCountrydata-sort-type = "number" Active militarydata-sort-type = "number" Reserve militarydata-sort-type = "number" Paramilitarydata-sort-type = "number" Totaldata-sort-type = "number" Per 1000 capita
(total)
data-sort-type = "number" Per 1000 capita
(active)
Notes

Dialogue partner entries

Flag Country
Capital
Area
(km2)
Population
(2016)
Density
(/km2)
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 Government2012-06-07
Armenia
Republic of Armenia
Yerevan29,743 c2,998,600 102.0 Armenian dram (֏)
(AMD)
ArmenianHead of State

Vahagn Khachaturyan
Head of Government: Nikol Pashinyan

2015-07-10
Azerbaijan
Republic of Azerbaijan
Baku86,600 c9,696,800 109.0 Azerbaijani manat (₼)
(AZN)
AzeriHead of State

Ilham Aliyev
Head of Government: Ali Asadov

2015-07-10
Cambodia
Kingdom of Cambodia
Phnom Penh181,035 c15,626,444 84.0 Cambodian riel (CR)
(KHR)
KhmerHead of State

Norodom Sihamoni
Head of Government: Hun Manet

2015-07-10
Nepal
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Kathmandu147,181 c28,431,500 180.0 Nepalese rupee (Rs)
(NPR)
NepaliHead of State

Ram Chandra Poudel
Head of Government: KP Sharma Oli

2015-07-10
Egypt
Arab Republic of Egypt
Cairo1,010,408 c94,798,827 103.56 Egyptian pound (LE)
(EGP)
ArabicHead of State

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Head of Government: Moustafa Madbouly

2022-09-14
Qatar
State of Qatar
Doha11,581 c1,699,435 176 Qatari riyal (QAR)ArabicHead of State

Tamim bin Hamad
Head of Government: Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani

2022-09-14
Saudi Arabia
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Riyadh2,149,690 c38,401,000 15 Saudi riyal (SR) (SAR)ArabicHead of State

Salman
Head of Government: Mohammed bin Salman

2022-09-14
Kuwait
State of Kuwait
Kuwait City17,818 c4,294,621 200.2Kuwaiti dinarArabicHead 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
Malé300c515,1221,102.5Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)MaldivianHead of State and Government

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

2023-05-06
Myanmar
Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Naypyidaw261,227c57,526,449196.8Myanmar Kyat (K) (MMK)BurmeseHead of State

Myint Swe (acting)
Head of Government: Min Aung Hlaing

2023-05-06
United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi83,6004,106,427121UAE dirham (AED)ArabicHead of State

Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Head of Government: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

2023-05-06
Bahrain
Kingdom of Bahrain
Manama7801,504,3651,864Bahraini dinar (BHD)ArabicHead 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
(km2)
Population
(2016)
Density
(/km2)
Currency
Leaders Status applied for Year applied
Bangladesh
People's Republic of Bangladesh
148,460 c169,828,911 1,305 Bangladeshi taka (BDT) BengaliHead of State

Mohammed ShahabuddinHead of Government

Sheikh Hasina

Observer 2012url=https://arab.news/5c83v
Syria
Syrian Arab Republic
185,180 c22,933,531 118.3 Syrian pound (SYP) ArabicHead 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) HebrewHead 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) ArabicHead 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) ArabicHead 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) LaoHead of StateDialogue 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

Membership declined

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

See also

Bibliography

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 .