Charities and NGOs in the Middle East: the Middle East Charity Database
GiveRadar's Middle East charity database lists 44,276 charities and NGOs across 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, from Israel and Palestine to the Gulf states and the Maghreb. Israeli organizations come from the country's official register of nonprofits (via GuideStar Israel) and make up most of the regional total. For the other 19 countries most governments publish no accessible charity register, so those organizations are listed on GiveRadar from vetted public directories such as arab.org rather than pulled from an official registry: official registries where they exist, vetted directories elsewhere, and never a sourcing claim we cannot back.
Browse Middle East charities by country
GiveRadar lists charities and NGOs in 20 Middle East and North Africa countries, and each country has its own page with the organizations we hold for it. Pick a country below to see its charities, how they are sourced, and when the data was last refreshed. Israel is the only country in the set whose full national register we import in full; Turkiye's entries are a curated subset of its published public-benefit associations list, and every other country page states plainly that its organizations are directory-listed.
Israel
40,243 records
Sourced from GuideStar Israel + data.gov.il Amutot registry.
Registry
Tunisia
969 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Lebanon
766 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory, with a small set of internationally vetted profiles.
Directory
Türkiye
403 records
Listed from the Department of Associations' public-benefit associations list, a curated subset rather than the full national register, with additional internationally vetted profiles.
Government List
Palestine
399 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Egypt
240 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Jordan
230 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Algeria
145 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Yemen
108 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
UAE
103 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Sudan
99 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Mauritania
94 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Bahrain
73 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Iraq
72 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Saudi Arabia
68 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Morocco
63 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Kuwait
60 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Syria
50 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Oman
48 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
Directory
Qatar
43 records
Listed via the arab.org NGO directory.
DirectoryNot yet covered: Iran and Libya. That is 20 of the 22 countries we count across the Middle East and North Africa: neither Iran nor Libya has a register or a vetted directory we can import today, and we would rather show you an honest gap than a padded map. Counts update as we refresh each country, and every country page carries its own last-updated date.
Look up a Middle East charity in seconds
Search 44,276 organizations by name, or run one through the checker to see whether its record is registry-verified or directory-listed, and what its source publishes.
Which register or source does each Middle East country publish?
One row per covered country: where the records come from, how many we hold, and how much of that set carries financial figures and named officers. The percentages describe what the source publishes, not how transparent any single charity is.
| Country | Register or source | Records | With financials | With officers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel |
GuideStar Israel + data.gov.il Amutot registry | 40,243 | 67% | none |
| Tunisia |
The arab.org NGO directory | 969 | none | none |
| Lebanon |
The arab.org NGO directory | 766 | none | 16% |
| Türkiye |
The Department of Associations' public-benefit associations list | 403 | none | none |
| Palestine |
The arab.org NGO directory | 399 | none | none |
| Egypt |
The arab.org NGO directory | 240 | none | none |
| Jordan |
The arab.org NGO directory | 230 | none | none |
| Algeria |
The arab.org NGO directory | 145 | none | none |
| Yemen |
The arab.org NGO directory | 108 | none | none |
| UAE |
The arab.org NGO directory | 103 | none | none |
| Sudan |
The arab.org NGO directory | 99 | none | none |
| Mauritania |
The arab.org NGO directory | 94 | none | none |
| Bahrain |
The arab.org NGO directory | 73 | none | none |
| Iraq |
The arab.org NGO directory | 72 | none | none |
| Saudi Arabia |
The arab.org NGO directory | 68 | none | none |
| Morocco |
The arab.org NGO directory | 63 | none | none |
| Kuwait |
The arab.org NGO directory | 60 | none | none |
| Syria |
The arab.org NGO directory | 50 | none | none |
| Oman |
The arab.org NGO directory | 48 | none | none |
| Qatar |
The arab.org NGO directory | 43 | none | none |
"None" means the source publishes nothing we can import for that field, not that the charities withhold it. Israel is the only country here whose register publishes filed financials; the directory-listed countries carry names, contacts and categories instead.
How are charities and NGOs regulated in the Middle East?
NGOs in the Middle East are regulated country by country, and most governments in the region publish no open, machine-readable charity register. That single fact shapes everything about this database: what you see here reflects how open each government's data is, not how large or active each country's charitable sector is.
How many NGOs are there in the Middle East?
No single number covers the region, and anyone quoting one is guessing. Most MENA governments publish no open register at all, so the only honest count is what the sources publish: 44,276 organizations across 20 countries here, of which Israel alone accounts for the large majority because it is the one country whose full register is open. Treat every regional total you see, including this one, as a measure of data openness rather than of civil society.
Which Middle East countries have an open charity register?
Israel is the only one whose full national register is published openly enough for GiveRadar to import in full: its nonprofits (amutot) register with a national regulator, file annually, and are published openly, which is why Israeli records here are the region's deepest, with financial filings for tens of thousands of organizations. Turkiye publishes a public-benefit associations list through its Department of Associations, from which we carry a curated subset rather than a full national registry, so its card is badged as a government list rather than a register.
How are charities listed in countries with no open register?
Through vetted directories, and we say so on every profile. The legal forms themselves vary widely: associations and foundations under civil-law codes in the Levant and North Africa, licensed charitable societies overseen by social affairs ministries in the Gulf. Arab charities in these countries are licensed by their home ministries, but that registration data is not published in any form we can import, so we list them from vetted public directories such as arab.org and label them accordingly. Their profiles say "listed on GiveRadar", never "registered".
What does a Middle East charity record on GiveRadar contain?
Directory-sourced records in the region typically carry names, categories, websites, and contact details, but not financial statements: no non-Israeli country in our Middle East set currently has financial data, and their integrity assessments reflect that limited disclosure rather than any judgment about the organizations themselves. Israeli records are the exception, carrying registration identifiers and filed financials. Most of these country sets were individually enriched and independently audited, so the smaller counts are thin in volume, not in quality.
How to verify a charity in the Middle East
To verify a charity in the Middle East, start with its GiveRadar profile, then confirm the essentials the organization publishes itself. The routine:
Look the organization up. Search it on GiveRadar or run it through the charity checker. Check the profile's source line first: an Israeli record traces to the official register, while a directory-listed record means we found it in a vetted public directory, not a government registry.
Read the integrity assessment in context. The 0 to 100 score measures disclosure: registration evidence, financial transparency, governance, contact availability, and data recency. It is not a rating of impact and cannot be bought. In this region, a low score usually reflects a country where no registry data is published, not a problem with the charity.
Confirm the organization directly. Most directory-listed Middle East charities on GiveRadar have a working website. Check that the site, email, and phone on the profile match what the organization publishes, and ask the charity itself for its registration or license number from its home ministry.
Know what we do not check. GiveRadar does not perform sanctions, AML, or watchlist screening. If you need that, use a dedicated screening provider.
Our guide for donors walks through the full check-before-you-give routine.
Can I access Middle East charity data through an API?
Yes. Every Middle East record on this page is available through the GiveRadar REST API and MCP server, with a free tier and paid tiers for volume. See the charity data API page for endpoints, fields, and pricing. To query one country, use /api/v1/search/?q={name}&country=IL and swap the country code for any of the 20 covered here (the q parameter is required; there is no collection-listing endpoint). Each record carries its source, so an agent can tell registry-verified rows from directory-listed ones without scraping the pages.
Frequently asked questions about Middle East charities
How many charities are there in the Middle East?
GiveRadar lists 44,276 charities and NGOs across 20 Middle East and North Africa countries. Israel accounts for the large majority, because it is the one country in the set whose national register is fully open.
No regional number exists, and any total you see reflects how open each government's data is rather than the size of the sector. Most MENA governments publish no importable register, so the organizations in those countries are listed here from vetted directories and labelled as such.
Is there a single Middle East charity register?
No. There is no regional register, and no Middle East regulator that charities register with.
Charities are licensed country by country, usually by a social affairs ministry, and in most of the region that licensing data is never published in a form anyone can import. Israel is the exception: its nonprofits (amutot) register with a national regulator, file annually, and are published openly. Turkiye publishes a public-benefit associations list, from which we carry a curated subset.
Which Middle East countries have public charity registers?
One: Israel. The other 20 minus one are listed from vetted directories, and their profiles say so rather than claiming registry sourcing.
- Israel: the national Amutot register, via GuideStar Israel and data.gov.il
- Turkiye: the Department of Associations public-benefit list, a curated subset, badged as a government list
- Everywhere else: the arab.org NGO directory and other vetted public sources
That single fact shapes the whole page. It is also why financial data is almost entirely absent outside Israel, and why an integrity score for a directory-listed organization reflects a thin source rather than a secretive charity.
How do I verify a charity in the Middle East?
Start with the GiveRadar profile, then confirm the essentials the organization publishes itself. Four steps:
- Search the name on GiveRadar or in the charity checker, and read the source line first
- For an Israeli record, match the amuta registration number against the national register
- For a directory-listed country, ask the organization for its registration or license number from its home ministry
- Read the integrity assessment as a disclosure measure, not a verdict on the charity
Where no open register exists, a direct reply confirming registration, bank details and current programs is your strongest check. GiveRadar does not perform sanctions, AML or watchlist screening, so pair the profile with a dedicated provider if you need that.
How do I find the largest charities in the Middle East?
Search by country and sort by revenue. In practice that means Israel: it is the only country in the region whose register publishes filed financials, so it is the only one where a revenue ranking is meaningful.
For every other country the records carry names, contacts and categories rather than accounts, so sorting by revenue returns nothing useful. "Largest" also means reported income, not impact. GiveRadar publishes no paid or editorial rankings, and no charity can pay to appear higher.
Related pages
Search 44.2K+ charities and nonprofits in the Middle East
Open a country page to see the organizations we hold for it and how they are sourced, or search the whole database by name.