Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an international alliance that consists of 10 member states and 2 observers from Eurasia. It was established on 26 April 1996 as the Shanghai Five. In addition to the 10 member states and 2 observers, the SCO currently has 14 dialogue partners and 4 guest attendance entries.

Tables

· Member states

Flag	Country	Capital	Largest city	Area(km2)	Population(2024)	Density(/km2)	GDP per cap.(PPP)	HDI	Currency	Official languages	Leaders	Accession
	ChinaPeople's Republic of China	Beijing	Shanghai (metropolitan area)Chongqing (city proper)	9,640,011	a1,374,820,000	139.6	26,310	0.788	Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥)(CNY)	Standard Chinese written in simplified characterssee also languages of China	Paramount Leader and Head of State: Xi Jinping Head of Government: Li Qiang	1996-04-26
	KazakhstanRepublic of Kazakhstan	Astana	Almaty	2,724,900	d17,670,900	5.94	41,366	0.802	Kazakhstani tenge (₸) (KZT)	Kazakh (National)Russian	Head of State: Kassym Jomart Tokayev Head of Government: Ojlas Bektenov	1996-04-26
	KyrgyzstanKyrgyz Republic	Bishkek		199,900	f6,008,600	27.4	7,773	0.701	Kyrgyzstani som (som)(KGS)	Kyrgyz (National)Russian	Head of State and Government: Sadyr Japarov	1996-04-26
	RussiaRussian Federation	Moscow		17,075,400	b146,519,759	8.3	47,299	0.821	Russian rouble (₽) (RUB)	Russian also see Languages of Russia	Head of State: Vladimir Putin Head of Government: Mikhail Mishustin	1996-04-26
	TajikistanRepublic of Tajikistan	Dushanbe		143,100	e8,352,000	48.6	5,533	0.679	Tajikistani somoni (SM)(TJS)	Tajik Persian	Head of State: Emomali Rahmon Prime Minister: Kokhir Rasulzoda	1996-04-26
	UzbekistanRepublic of Uzbekistan	Tashkent		447,400	c31,022,500	61.4	11,596	0.727	Uzbekistani soum (soum)(UZS)	Uzbek	Head of State: Shavkat Mirziyoyev Head of Government: Abdulla Aripov	2001-06-15
	IndiaRepublic of India	New Delhi	Mumbai	3,287,263	1,450,936,000	488	11,158	0.685	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
	PakistanIslamic Republic of Pakistan	Islamabad	Karachi	881,913	b 241,499,431	273.8	$6,715	0.540	Pakistani rupee (Rs)(PKR)	Urdu (National)English	Head of State: Asif Ali Zardari Head of Government: Shehbaz Sharif	2017-06-09
	IranIslamic Republic of Iran	Tehran		1,648,195	c79,011,700	48.0	19,607	0.780	Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR)	Persian	Supreme Leader and Head of State:Ali Khamenei Head of Government: Masoud Pezeshkian	2023-07-04
	BelarusRepublic of Belarus	Minsk		207,595	c9,498,700	45.8	32,098	0.801	Belarusian rubel (Rbl) (BYR)	BelarusianRussian	Head of State and Government: Alexander Lukashenko Prime Minister: Roman Golovchenko	2024-07-04

· Member states › Military personnel

China

Country

China

Active military

2,035,000

Reserve military

510,000

Paramilitary

1,500,000

Total

4,045,000

Per 1000 capita(total)

2.9

Per 1000 capita(active)

1.5

India

Country

India

Active military

1,440,000

Reserve military

2,096,000

Paramilitary

1,585,950

Total

5,121,950

Per 1000 capita(total)

Per 1000 capita(active)

1.1

Iran

Country

Iran

Active military

610,000

Reserve military

350,000

Paramilitary

40,000

Total

1,000,000

Per 1000 capita(total)

11.4

Per 1000 capita(active)

Kazakhstan

Country

Kazakhstan

Active military

39,000

Reserve military

Paramilitary

31,500

Total

70,500

Per 1000 capita(total)

3.8

Per 1000 capita(active)

2.1

Kyrgyzstan

Country

Kyrgyzstan

Active military

10,900

Reserve military

Paramilitary

9,500

Total

20,400

Per 1000 capita(total)

3.5

Per 1000 capita(active)

1.9

Pakistan

Country

Pakistan

Active military

653,000

Reserve military

Paramilitary

Total

653,000

Per 1000 capita(total)

3.1

Per 1000 capita(active)

3.1

Russian Federation

Country

Russian Federation

Active military

1,013,628

Reserve military

2,572,500

Paramilitary

2,310,859

Total

5,896,987

Per 1000 capita(total)

41.5

Per 1000 capita(active)

7.1

Tajikistan

Country

Tajikistan

Active military

8,800

Reserve military

Paramilitary

7,500

Total

16,300

Per 1000 capita(total)

1.9

Per 1000 capita(active)

Uzbekistan

Country

Uzbekistan

Active military

48,000

Reserve military

Paramilitary

20,000

Total

68,000

Per 1000 capita(total)

2.3

Per 1000 capita(active)

1.6

Country	Active military	Reserve military	Paramilitary	Total	Per 1000 capita(total)	Per 1000 capita(active)	References
China	2,035,000	510,000	1,500,000	4,045,000	2.9	1.5
India	1,440,000	2,096,000	1,585,950	5,121,950	4	1.1
Iran	610,000	350,000	40,000	1,000,000	11.4	7
Kazakhstan	39,000	0	31,500	70,500	3.8	2.1
Kyrgyzstan	10,900	0	9,500	20,400	3.5	1.9
Pakistan	653,000	0	0	653,000	3.1	3.1
Russian Federation	1,013,628	2,572,500	2,310,859	5,896,987	41.5	7.1
Tajikistan	8,800	0	7,500	16,300	1.9	1
Uzbekistan	48,000	0	20,000	68,000	2.3	1.6

· Observer states

Flag	Country	Capital	Area(km2)	Population(2024)	Density(/km2)	GDP per cap.(PPP)	Currency	Official languages	Leaders	Status gained
	Mongolia	Ulaanbaatar	1,564,115	3,475,540	2	$16,504	Mongolian tögrög (₮) (MNT)	Mongolian	Head of State: Ukhnaagiin KhürelsükhHead of Government: Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene	2004-06-17
	Afghanistan	Kabul	652,857	41,128,771	48.08	$2,459	Afghan Afghani	Kabul	De facto Supreme Leader and Head of State: Hibatullah AkhundzadaDe facto head of government: Hasan Akhund	2012

· Dialogue partner entries

Flag	Country	Capital	Area(km2)	Population(2016)	Density(/km2)	GDP per cap.(PPP)	HDI	Currency	Official languages	Leaders	Status gained
	Sri LankaDemocratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Administrative)Colombo (Commercial)	65,610	c20,966,000	309.0	10,410	0.757	Sri Lankan rupee (Rs) (LKR)	SinhaleseTamil	Head of State and Government: Anura Kumara Dissanayake (Prime Minister: Harini Amarasuriya)	2009-06-16
	TurkeyRepublic of Turkey	Ankara	783,562	c78,741,053	102.0	19,698	0.761	Turkish lira (₺) (TRY)	Turkish	Head of State and Government: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	2012-06-07
	ArmeniaRepublic of Armenia	Yerevan	29,743	c2,998,600	102.0	8,164	0.733	Armenian dram (֏) (AMD)	Armenian	Head of State: Vahagn KhachaturyanHead of Government: Nikol Pashinyan	2015-07-10
	Azerbaijan Republic of Azerbaijan	Baku	86,600	c9,696,800	109.0	17,761	0.751	Azerbaijani manat (₼) (AZN)	Azeri	Head of State: Ilham AliyevHead of Government: Ali Asadov	2015-07-10
	Cambodia Kingdom of Cambodia	Phnom Penh	181,035	c15,626,444	84.0	3,276	0.555	Cambodian riel (CR) (KHR)	Khmer	Head of State: Norodom SihamoniHead of Government: Hun Manet	2015-07-10
	Nepal Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal	Kathmandu	147,181	c28,431,500	180.0	2,388	0.548	Nepalese rupee (Rs) (NPR)	Nepali	Head of State: Ram Chandra PoudelHead of Government: KP Sharma Oli	2015-07-10
	Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt	Cairo	1,010,408	c94,798,827	103.56	16,980	0.731	Egyptian pound (LE)(EGP)	Arabic	Head of State: Abdel Fattah el-SisiHead of Government: Moustafa Madbouly	2022-09-14
	Qatar State of Qatar	Doha	11,581	c1,699,435	176	113,675	0.855	Qatari riyal (QAR)	Arabic	Head of State: Tamim bin HamadHead 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	67,019	0.875	Saudi riyal (SR) (SAR)	Arabic	Head of State: SalmanHead of Government: Mohammed bin Salman	2022-09-14
	Kuwait State of Kuwait	Kuwait City	17,818	c4,294,621	200.2	38,123	0.831	Kuwaiti dinar	Arabic	Head of State: Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-SabahHead of Government: Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah	2023-05-06
	Maldives Republic of Maldives	Malé	300	c515,122	1,102.5	36,358	0.747	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	5,132	0.585	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	78,255	0.911	UAE dirham (AED)	Arabic	Head of State: Mohamed bin Zayed Al NahyanHead of Government: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum	2023-05-06
	Bahrain Kingdom of Bahrain	Manama	780	1,504,365	1,864	60,596	0.875	Bahraini dinar (BHD)	Arabic	Head of State: Hamad bin Isa Al KhalifaHead of Government: Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa	2023-07-15

· Future participation

Flag

Country

Capital

Area(km2)

Population(2016)

Density(/km2)

GDP per cap.(PPP)

HDI

Currency

Official languages

Leaders

Status applied for

Year applied

BangladeshPeople's Republic of Bangladesh

Dhaka

148,460

c169,828,911

1,305

2,470

0.661

Bangladeshi taka (BDT)

Bengali

Head of State: Mohammed Shahabuddin Chief Adviser: Muhammad Yunus

Observer

2012

SyriaSyrian Arab Republic

Damascus

185,180

c22,933,531

118.3

2,900

0.577

Syrian pound (SYP)

Arabic

Head of State: Ahmed al-Sharaa (Prime Minister: Mohammad al-Bashar)

Dialogue Partner

2015

IsraelState of Israel

Jerusalem

20,770

c9,766,400

442

54,997

0.919

Israeli new shekel (ILS)

Hebrew

Head of State: Isaac Herzog Head of Government: Benjamin Netanyahu

Dialogue Partner

2016

IraqRepublic of Iraq

Baghdad

438,317

c43,500,000

82.7

12,141

0.686

Iraqi dinar (IQD)

Arabic

Head of State: Abdul Latif RashidHead of Government: Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani

Dialogue Partner

2019

AlgeriaPeople's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Algiers

2,381,741

c44,700,000

17.7

13,324

0.745

Algerian dinar (DZD)

Arabic

Head of State: Abdelmadjid TebbouneHead of Government: Aymen Benabderrahmane

Observer

2023

LaosLao People’s Democratic Republic

Vientiane

236,800

7,749,595

26.7

9,787

0.620

Lao kip (LAK)

Lao

Supreme Leader and Head of State: Thongloun SisoulithHead of Government: Sonexay Siphandone

Dialogue Partner

2024

· Inactive

Flag	Country	Capital	Area(km2)	Population(2024)	Density(/km2)	GDP per cap.(PPP)	HDI	Currency	Official languages	Leaders	Status gained
	Afghanistan	Kabul	652,867	41,128,771	48.08	$2,459	0.462	Afghan afghani (Af) (AFN)	PashtoDari	De facto Supreme Leader: Hibatullah AkhundzadaDe facto head of government: Hasan Akhund	2012-06-07 (Observer)

References

The potential reserve personnel of Russia may be as high as 20 million, depending on how the figures are counted. Howeve
The sovereignty of China is disputed. Since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China (ROC), which
The actual area under PRC control is 9,596,960.
Ba'athist Syria had initially applied for observer status in 2015, but "it was explained that first it is necessary to b
Jerusalem is the capital under Israeli law with a number of governmental institutions located there and is only recogniz
imf.org
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=111,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2027&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1
"Human Development Report 2023/2024"
https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf
"Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)"
https://web.archive.org/web/20130724204951/http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-09/19/content_64906.htm
data.un.org
https://data.un.org/en/iso/in.html
data.un.org
https://data.un.org/en/iso/in.html
data.un.org
https://data.un.org/en/iso/in.html
World Bank Open Data
https://data.worldbank.org/
Country Insights
https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights
The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-pakistan-become-full-members-of-shanghai-cooperation-organisation-sco/article18912600.ece
Al Arabiya English
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2023/07/04/Iran-joins-SCO-the-China-founded-regional-security-grouping
IISS 2018, pp. 249-250
IISS 2018, pp. 260
IISS 2018, pp. 188
IISS 2018, pp. 190
IISS 2018, pp. 291
IISS 2018, pp. 192
IISS 2018, pp. 207
IISS 2018, pp. 214
"Bahrain News Agency"
https://www.bna.bh/en/BahraingrantedthestatusofSCOdialoguepartner.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDlDCMEcGKMPY4rKOqGpdTL4%3D#:~:text=Shanghai%2C%20July%2015%20(BNA)%3A,People%27s%20Republic%20of%20China%20Dr.
"The SCO signs a memorandum on granting the Kingdom of Bahrain the status of dialogue partner"
https://web.archive.org/web/20230816191931/http://eng.sectsco.org/politics/20230718/951659/The-SCO-signs-a-memorandum-on-granting-the-Kingdom-of-Bahrain-the-status-of-dialogue-partner.html
www.arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2147261
"Syria, Israel, Egypt willing to join SCO's activity – president's special envoy"
https://web.archive.org/web/20160816144553/http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=683491
TASS
https://tass.com/world/1076750
Echorouk
https://www.echoroukonline.com/algeria-submits-an-application-to-join-the-sco
L'Algérie Audjourd'hui
https://lalgerieaujourdhui.dz/lalgerie-veut-integrer-le-capital-de-la-banque-des-brics-et-lorganisation-de-shanghai/
"African state applies to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization"
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/274381084/african-state-applies-to-join-shanghai-cooperation-organization
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
https://www.rferl.org/a/yanukovych-tells-putin-kyiv-wants-sco-observer-status/24687868.html
InfoSCO
http://infoshos.ru/en/?idn=10558
The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/vietnam-bids-to-join-sco/article2681358.ece
Foreign Policy Research Institute
https://www.fpri.org/article/2021/09/the-shanghai-cooperation-organization-will-not-fill-any-vacuum-in-afghanistan/
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jun/16/shanghaisurprise