MENAT stands for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and MENAP stands for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both are wider versions of MENA. Companies use MENAT when one team manages Turkey together with the Arab world, and MENAP when Pakistan and Afghanistan are part of the same region. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also uses MENAP in its economic reports. This page explains both terms and lists their countries.
What Does MENAT Mean?
MENAT is MENA plus Turkey (Türkiye). Turkey is usually left out of MENA, because it is not an Arab country and part of it is in Europe. Many companies still manage Turkey from their Middle East team, and they call that region MENAT. With the 19 core countries from our MENA countries list, MENAT has 20 countries.
MENAT Countries List (20)
| Country | Sub-region | Official language(s) |
|---|---|---|
 Algeria | North Africa | Arabic, Tamazight |
 Bahrain | Gulf (GCC) | Arabic |
 Egypt | North Africa | Arabic |
 Iran | Other Middle East | Persian |
 Iraq | Other Middle East | Arabic, Kurdish |
 Israel | Levant | Hebrew |
 Jordan | Levant | Arabic |
 Kuwait | Gulf (GCC) | Arabic |
 Lebanon | Levant | Arabic |
 Libya | North Africa | Arabic |
 Morocco | North Africa | Arabic, Tamazight |
 Oman | Gulf (GCC) | Arabic |
 Palestine | Levant | Arabic |
 Qatar | Gulf (GCC) | Arabic |
 Saudi Arabia | Gulf (GCC) | Arabic |
 Syria | Levant | Arabic |
 Tunisia | North Africa | Arabic |
 Turkey (Türkiye) | Other Middle East | Turkish |
 United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Gulf (GCC) | Arabic |
 Yemen | Other Middle East | Arabic |
What Does MENAP Mean?
MENAP is MENA plus Afghanistan and Pakistan. In business, the term usually means a company manages Pakistan, and sometimes Afghanistan, from its Middle East team. The IMF also uses MENAP: its Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia has used MENAP as one of its country groups.
MENAP in Business Use (21)
In business, MENAP usually means the 19 core MENA countries plus Afghanistan and Pakistan, 21 countries in total. Pakistan is the main addition. It is a large market, and some companies manage it from their Gulf office.
MENAP in the IMF Grouping (23)
The IMF's list is different from the business list. In its 2016 country groupings, MENAP had 23 countries, split into oil exporters and oil importers. It did not include Israel, and it did include Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan. The IMF revises its groupings, so check its latest report if you need the current list.
| Country | IMF group |
|---|---|
| Algeria | Oil exporter |
| Bahrain | Oil exporter |
| Iran | Oil exporter |
| Iraq | Oil exporter |
| Kuwait | Oil exporter |
| Libya | Oil exporter |
| Oman | Oil exporter |
| Qatar | Oil exporter |
| Saudi Arabia | Oil exporter |
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Oil exporter |
| Yemen | Oil exporter |
 Afghanistan | Oil importer |
 Djibouti | Oil importer |
| Egypt | Oil importer |
| Jordan | Oil importer |
| Lebanon | Oil importer |
 Mauritania | Oil importer |
| Morocco | Oil importer |
 Pakistan | Oil importer |
 Somalia | Oil importer |
 Sudan | Oil importer |
| Syria | Oil importer |
| Tunisia | Oil importer |
MENAT, MENAP, MENA and Other Region Acronyms
| Acronym | Stands for | Compared with MENA |
|---|---|---|
| MENA | Middle East and North Africa | The base region, about 19 countries |
| MENAT | Middle East, North Africa and Turkey | Adds Turkey |
| MENAP | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan | Adds Afghanistan and Pakistan |
| MENASA | Middle East, North Africa and South Asia | Adds South Asian countries such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh |
| GCC | Gulf Cooperation Council | Six Gulf countries inside MENA |
| MEA | Middle East and Africa | Adds all of sub-Saharan Africa |
Which Region Term Should You Use?
Use the term that matches how your team is organised and who will read the plan:
- MENA, when your plan covers the Arab world and its neighbours, and Turkey or Pakistan are managed by another team.
- MENAT, when the same team, budget and agency manage Turkey together with the Arab markets.
- MENAP, when Pakistan is part of your Middle East region, for example because your Gulf office serves it.
- In every case, write the country list into the plan. None of these acronyms has an official definition, so a list avoids confusion between teams.
For marketing, the languages matter more than the acronym. Arabic covers most of MENA, but Turkey needs Turkish, Pakistan needs Urdu and English, Afghanistan needs Dari and Pashto, and Iran needs Persian. Budget for each language you add.
How to Set Up Campaigns for MENAT or MENAP
A wider region adds countries with different languages, currencies and rules, so the campaign setup has to reflect them:
- Create separate campaigns or ad sets for each country, so budgets, bids and results stay clear.
- Build language versions for each market: Arabic for the Arab countries, Turkish for Turkey, and Urdu and English for Pakistan.
- Use the local currency and local payment options on your landing pages.
- Check advertising, data privacy and influencer rules in each country before launch.
- Report results by country and by sub-region, because one regional total hides large differences.
The Arabic-speaking markets are usually the core of a MENAT or MENAP plan. Our guide to how digital marketing in the Middle East differs from other regions explains what changes in those markets.
Conclusion
MENAT is MENA plus Turkey, and MENAP is MENA plus Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a different list again in the IMF's reports. GOTOMENA works on the Arabic-speaking markets at the centre of all these regions, with Arabic SEO and Arabic social media marketing. To discuss your plans, contact our team.