# 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.

## Member states

| Country | Capital | Largest city | Area (km$^2$) | Population (2024) | Density (/km$^2$) | GDP per cap. (PPP) | HDI | Currency | Official languages | Leaders | Accession |
| China People'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 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 | 41,366 | 0.802 | Kazakhstani tenge (₸) (KZT) | Kazakh (National) Russian | Head of State: Kassym Jomart Tokayev Head of Government: Ojlas Bektenov | 1996-04-26 |
| Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Republic | Bishkek | 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 |
| Russia Russian Federation | Moscow | 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 |
| Tajikistan Republic of Tajikistan | Dushanbe | 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 |
| Uzbekistan Republic of Uzbekistan | Tashkent | 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 |
| India Republic of India | New Delhi | Mumbai | 3,287,240 | a1,284,480,000 | 364.4 | 11,112 | 0.644 | 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 |
| Pakistan Islamic 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 |
| Iran Islamic Republic of Iran | Tehran | Tehran | 1,648,195 | c79,011,700 | 48.0 | 19,607 | 0.780 | Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR) | Persian | Head of State: Ali Khamenei Head of Government: Masoud Pezeshkian | 2023-07-04 |
| Belarus Republic of Belarus | Minsk | | 207,595 | c9,498,700 | 45.8 | 32,098 | 0.801 | 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.
| Flag | Country | Active military | Reserve military | Paramilitary | Total | Per 1000 capita (total) |
| 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 |

#### Notes

* ↑ The potential reserve personnel of Russia may be as high as 20 million, depending on how the figures are counted. However, an est. 2 million have seen military service within the last 5 years.

## Observer states

| Flag | Country | Capital | Area (km$^2$) | Population (2024) | Density (/km$^2$) | 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 Khürelsükh Head 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: Hibatullah Akhundzada De facto head of government: Hasan Akhund | 2012 |

## Dialogue partner entries

| Country | Capital | Area (km$^2$) | Population (2016) | Density (/km$^2$) | GDP per cap. (PPP) | HDI | Currency | Official languages | Leaders | Status gained |
| Sri Lanka Democratic 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) | Sinhalese Tamil | Head of State and Government: Ranil Wickremesinghe (Prime Minister: Dinesh Gunawardena) | 2009-06-16 |
| Turkey Republic 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 |
| Armenia Republic of Armenia | Yerevan | 29,743 | c2,998,600 | 102.0 | 8,164 | 0.733 | 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 | 17,761 | 0.751 | 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 | 3,276 | 0.555 | 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 | 2,388 | 0.548 | 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 | 16,980 | 0.731 | 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 | 113,675 | 0.855 | 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 | 67,019 | 0.875 | 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 | 38,123 | 0.831 | 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 | 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 Nahyan Head 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 Khalifa Head of Government: Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa | 2023-07-15 |

## Future participation

The following countries have applied for a position in the organization:
| Country | Capital | Area (km$^2$) | Population (2016) | Density (/km$^2$) | GDP per cap. (PPP) | HDI | Currency | Official languages | Leaders | Status applied for | Year applied |
| Bangladesh People'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 |
| Syria Syrian 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 |
| Israel State 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 |
| Iraq Republic of Iraq | Baghdad | 438,317 | c43,500,000 | 82.7 | 12,141 | 0.686 | Iraqi dinar (IQD) | Arabic | Head of State: Abdul Latif Rashid Head of Government: Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani | Dialogue Partner | 2019 |
| Algeria People'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 Tebboune Head of Government: Aymen Benabderrahmane | Observer | 2023 |
| Laos Lao People’s Democratic Republic | Vientiane | 236,800 | 7,749,595 | 26.7 | 9,787 | 0.620 | Lao kip (LAK) | Lao | Head of State: Thongloun Sisoulith | Dialogue Partner | 2024 |
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.
In 2011, Vietnam expressed interest in obtaining observer or dialogue partner status. However, it is unknown whether or not, Vietnam has submitted an application.

## Guest attendance entries

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

## Inactive

| Flag | Country | Capital | Area (km$^2$) | Population (2024) | Density (/km$^2$) | 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) | Pashto Dari | De facto Supreme Leader: Hibatullah Akhundzada De facto head of government: Hasan Akhund | 2012-06-07 (Observer) |

## Membership declined

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