Determining the South Asian country most similar to the Middle East and North Africa requires considering various social, cultural, economic, and political factors.
One way to answer this complex question is by analyzing the data from the Country Similarity Index. The Index attempts to quantify how similar countries are to each other relative to other countries, using a variety of statistics from five broad categories: demographics, culture, politics, infrastructure, and geography.
Pakistan has a unique blend of both Middle Eastern and South Asian traits. However, according to the Index, it has slightly more characteristics of a Middle Eastern country than a South Asian country. The majority of its people are Muslim. It is mostly desert. Furthermore, Urdu uses the Arabic script, not Indic scripts like in South Asian countries. Therefore, the data shows that Pakistan is the most similar South Asian country to the Middle East. In contrast, Nepal has the least amount of traits in common with the Middle East.
(Middle Eastern countries are defined as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen)
Let’s analyze Pakistan with respect to these five categories: demographics, culture, politics, infrastructure, and geography to show why it is easily the most similar country in South Asia to the Middle East.
Demographics
The genetic makeup of Pakistan’s population has some similarities with several ethnic groups in India. Before the partition of British India in 1947, the movement of people across this region was fluid. Ethnic and religious communities intermixed, contributing to their shared ancestry. Furthermore, most of the people in the South Asian region speak Indo-European languages, while the majority of people in the Middle East and North Africa region speak Afro-Asiatic languages.
Culture
Due to British colonization, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka use English as one of their official languages. As a result, English-language media, including newspapers, television channels, and films, have a significant presence in South Asia. Furthermore, cricket is an especially popular pastime in South Asian countries, since the British introduced the sport to the region. Pakistani cuisine shares many similarities with cuisine in South Asia. Dishes such as biryani, kebabs, and roti are common to both Pakistan and South Asian countries.
Government
With the exception of Sri Lanka, Pakistan and countries in South Asia have a parliamentary form of government. The Middle East has a greater diversity of forms of government. Pakistan and most South Asian countries follow a legal system that has been influenced by British common law. The highest appellate court in these countries is the Supreme Court. Furthermore, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and all South Asian countries are part of the South Asian Free Trade Area. It eliminates tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade
Infrastructure
Since Pakistan and India were once colonized by Great Britain, all countries in South Asia drive on the left side of the road. Type D electrical outlets are common in this region as well. They used to be the standard in Great Britain, before the introduction of Type G outlets. Furthermore, most railroads in these countries have broad gauge tracks. It is considered suitable for transporting large volumes of goods and passengers efficiently. Middle Eastern countries generally drive on the right side of the road and use the standard railroad gauge.
Geography
Pakistan borders India. It is further to the east than other Middle Eastern countries. In fact, Pakistan’s time zone is at most only a one hour difference from South Asian countries. Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan all border the Himalayas as well. In addition, Pakistan straddles between the Eurasian plate and the Indian plate. Still, Pakistan’s climate is quite dry so it also has many similarities with most Middle Eastern countries.
