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 (km²)	Population (2024)	Density (/km²)	GDP per cap. (PPP)^[1]	HDI^[2]	Currency	Official languages	Leaders	Accession
China^[a] People's Republic of China	Beijing	Shanghai (metropolitan area) Chongqing (city proper)	9,640,011^[b]	a1,374,820,000	139.6	26,310	0.788	Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥) (CNY)	Standard Chinese^[3] written in simplified characters^[3] 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		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		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		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		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^[4]
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^[4]
Iran Islamic Republic of Iran	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^[5]
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.

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	^[6]
India	1,440,000	2,096,000	1,585,950	5,121,950	4	1.1	^[7]
Iran	610,000	350,000	40,000	1,000,000	11.4	7	^[7]
Kazakhstan	39,000	0	31,500	70,500	3.8	2.1	^[8]
Kyrgyzstan	10,900	0	9,500	20,400	3.5	1.9	^[9]
Pakistan	653,000	0	0	653,000	3.1	3.1	^[10]
Russian Federation	1,013,628	2,572,500	2,310,859	5,896,987	41.5	7.1	^[11]^{[Note 1]}
Tajikistan	8,800	0	7,500	16,300	1.9	1	^[12]
Uzbekistan	48,000	0	20,000	68,000	2.3	1.6	^[13]

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 (km²)	Population (2024)	Density (/km²)	GDP per cap. (PPP)^[1]	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 (km²)	Population (2016)	Density (/km²)	GDP per cap. (PPP)^[1]	HDI^[2]	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^[14]^[15]

Future participation

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

Country	Capital	Area (km²)	Population (2016)	Density (/km²)	GDP per cap. (PPP)^[1]	HDI^[2]	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^[16]
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^[c]^[17]
Israel State of Israel	Jerusalem^[d]	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^[17]
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^[18]
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^[19]^[20]
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^[21]

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.^[22]^[23]

In 2011, Vietnam expressed interest in obtaining observer or dialogue partner status. However, it is unknown whether or not, Vietnam has submitted an application.^[24]

Guest attendance entries

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

Inactive

Flag	Country	Capital	Area (km²)	Population (2024)	Density (/km²)	GDP per cap. (PPP)^[1]	HDI^[2]	Currency	Official languages	Leaders	Status gained
	Afghanistan^[25]	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.^[26]

Notes

^ The sovereignty of China is disputed. Since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China (ROC), which was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which succeeded the former Qing dynasty's territories on mainland China, while the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were under Japanese rule at the time. The ROC gained control over the latter after the surrender of Japan in 1945, but soon lost its control of mainland to the communists due to the Chinese Civil War. The ROC government was relocated to Taipei in 7th December 1949 as its provisional capital and retains actual rule over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu, and other minor islands, all of which are collectively known as "Free Area" or Taiwan Area in contrast to Mainland China being under communist rule, thus making it a de facto island nation, and has become known colloquially as simply "Taiwan" due to the island of Taiwan forming the majority of the ROC-controlled territories; nonetheless, the ROC has not officially renounced its constitutional-defined territories which include areas effectively controlled by the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic) etc. If claimed territories were taken into account, the ROC would not be a borderless country, nor a country centred around a major island. The ROC-controlled territories are also claimed by the People's Republic of China. Constitutionally, the ROC on Taiwan still views itself as the continuation of former Chinese republic, with legitimate sovereignty over mainland China despite no actual control. See: Political status of Taiwan, Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China, Two Chinas, One-China policy, and Cross-strait relations.
^ 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 become a dialogue partner of the organization". The status is unclear after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024.^[17]
^ Jerusalem is the capital under Israeli law with a number of governmental institutions located there and is only recognized by the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala and Honduras. While Israel has sovereignty of West Jerusalem, the international community considers East Jerusalem as part of the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation since 1967. Consequently, most of the foreign embassies reside in Tel Aviv. See the status of Jerusalem for further details.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: October 2024". imf.org. International Monetary Fund.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)". Archived from the original on 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
^ ^a ^b Bhattacherjee, Kallol (9 June 2017). "India, Pakistan become full members of SCO". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
^ "Iran joins SCO, the China-founded regional security grouping". Al Arabiya English. 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
^ IISS 2018, pp. 249-250
^ ^a ^b 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".
^ "The SCO signs a memorandum on granting the Kingdom of Bahrain the status of dialogue partner". Archived from the original on 2023-08-16.
^ Ishtiaq Ahmad (2022-08-21). "Why the Shanghai Cooperation Organization matters". www.arabnews.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Syria, Israel, Egypt willing to join SCO's activity – president's special envoy". Interfax. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
^ "'SCO family' widening? Many candidates share 'Shanghai spirit', but expansion not a goal". TASS. 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Algeria Submits an Application to Join the SCO". Echorouk. 21 June 2023.
^ "L'Algérie veut intégrer le capital de la banque des BRICS et l'organisation de Shanghai". L'Algérie Audjourd'hui. 21 June 2023.
^ "African state applies to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization". May 2024.
^ "Yanukovych Tells Putin Kyiv Wants SCO Observer Status". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ Grigoryan, Gurgen (8 October 2012). "Why Ukraine wants to become SCO's partner". InfoSCO. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ Radyuhin, Vladimir (2 December 2011). "Vietnam bids to join SCO". The Hindu. Moscow. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ Seiwert, Eva (30 September 2021). "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Will Not Fill Any Vacuum in Afghanistan". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Hiro, Dilip (16 June 2006). "Shanghai surprise: The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation reveals how power is shifting in the world". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2019.

Bibliography

International Institute for Strategic Studies (3 February 2010). The Military Balance 2010. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857435573.
International Institute for Strategic Studies (2 March 2011). The Military Balance 2011. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857436068.
International Institute for Strategic Studies (7 March 2012). The Military Balance 2012. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857436426.
International Institute for Strategic Studies (14 March 2013). The Military Balance 2013. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857436808.
International Institute for Strategic Studies (3 February 2014). The Military Balance 2014. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781857437225.
International Institute for Strategic Studies (14 February 2018). The Military Balance 2018. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781857439557.

[14] 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.

[3] The sovereignty of China is disputed. Since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China (ROC), which was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which succeeded the former Qing dynasty's territories on mainland China, while the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were under Japanese rule at the time. The ROC gained control over the latter after the surrender of Japan in 1945, but soon lost its control of mainland to the communists due to the Chinese Civil War. The ROC government was relocated to Taipei in 7th December 1949 as its provisional capital and retains actual rule over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu, and other minor islands, all of which are collectively known as "Free Area" or Taiwan Area in contrast to Mainland China being under communist rule, thus making it a de facto island nation, and has become known colloquially as simply "Taiwan" due to the island of Taiwan forming the majority of the ROC-controlled territories; nonetheless, the ROC has not officially renounced its constitutional-defined territories which include areas effectively controlled by the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic) etc. If claimed territories were taken into account, the ROC would not be a borderless country, nor a country centred around a major island. The ROC-controlled territories are also claimed by the People's Republic of China. Constitutionally, the ROC on Taiwan still views itself as the continuation of former Chinese republic, with legitimate sovereignty over mainland China despite no actual control. See: Political status of Taiwan, Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China, Two Chinas, One-China policy, and Cross-strait relations.

[4] The actual area under PRC control is 9,596,960.

[21] Ba'athist Syria had initially applied for observer status in 2015, but "it was explained that first it is necessary to become a dialogue partner of the organization". The status is unclear after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024.^[17]

[22] Jerusalem is the capital under Israeli law with a number of governmental institutions located there and is only recognized by the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala and Honduras. While Israel has sovereignty of West Jerusalem, the international community considers East Jerusalem as part of the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation since 1967. Consequently, most of the foreign embassies reside in Tel Aviv. See the status of Jerusalem for further details.

[GDP_2012-1] "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: October 2024". imf.org. International Monetary Fund.

[ReferenceA-2] "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024.

[langlaw-5] "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)". Archived from the original on 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2013-07-11.

[SCO_2017-6] Bhattacherjee, Kallol (9 June 2017). "India, Pakistan become full members of SCO". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

[7] "Iran joins SCO, the China-founded regional security grouping". Al Arabiya English. 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-07-04.

[8] IISS 2018, pp. 249-250

[auto-9] IISS 2018, pp. 260

[10] IISS 2018, pp. 188

[11] IISS 2018, pp. 190

[12] IISS 2018, pp. 291

[13] IISS 2018, pp. 192

[15] IISS 2018, pp. 207

[16] IISS 2018, pp. 214

[17] "Bahrain News Agency".

[18] "The SCO signs a memorandum on granting the Kingdom of Bahrain the status of dialogue partner". Archived from the original on 2023-08-16.

[19] Ishtiaq Ahmad (2022-08-21). "Why the Shanghai Cooperation Organization matters". www.arabnews.com.

[Interfax-20] "Syria, Israel, Egypt willing to join SCO's activity – president's special envoy". Interfax. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

[23] "'SCO family' widening? Many candidates share 'Shanghai spirit', but expansion not a goal". TASS. 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[24] "Algeria Submits an Application to Join the SCO". Echorouk. 21 June 2023.

[25] "L'Algérie veut intégrer le capital de la banque des BRICS et l'organisation de Shanghai". L'Algérie Audjourd'hui. 21 June 2023.

[26] "African state applies to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization". May 2024.

[27] "Yanukovych Tells Putin Kyiv Wants SCO Observer Status". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[28] Grigoryan, Gurgen (8 October 2012). "Why Ukraine wants to become SCO's partner". InfoSCO. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[TheHindu-29] Radyuhin, Vladimir (2 December 2011). "Vietnam bids to join SCO". The Hindu. Moscow. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[Taliban-30] Seiwert, Eva (30 September 2021). "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Will Not Fill Any Vacuum in Afghanistan". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2022.

[31] Hiro, Dilip (16 June 2006). "Shanghai surprise: The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation reveals how power is shifting in the world". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2019.

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v t e Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
Summits	Beijing 2012 Dushanbe 2014 Astana 2017 Samarkand 2022 Astana 2024 Islamabad 2024 Tianjin 2025
Member states	Belarus China India Iran Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Pakistan Russia Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Observer states	Mongolia
Dialogue partners	Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Cambodia Egypt Kuwait Maldives Myanmar Nepal Qatar Saudi Arabia Sri Lanka Turkey United Arab Emirates
Guests	ASEAN Commonwealth of Independent States Turkmenistan United Nations
Applicants	Algeria Bangladesh Iraq Israel Laos Syria
See also	Member states Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Three Evils SCO Interbank Consortium Eurasian Land Bridge Working languages Chinese Russian