The term “Middle East” is far from clear-cut: though Islam is the predominant religion and Arabic the most common language, no single factor can determine which countries qualify as belonging to the region. With that in mind, we are providing an expansive feature on the area, featuring cities from Rabat to Islamabad, Ankara to Khartoum. With information on the capital, year of independence, and political structure of each country, the map below presents the vast Middle East.

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