Which one of the following countries of South-West Asia does not open out to the Mediterranean Sea?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Jordan
Jordan has no Mediterranean coast. Its only sea outlet is the short Gulf of Aqaba shoreline in the south, on the Red Sea. Syria, Lebanon and Israel all lie on the eastern Mediterranean coast.
- ✗ (a) Syria has a western coastline on the Mediterranean, with ports such as Latakia and Tartus. It is a party to the Barcelona Convention for protecting the Mediterranean.
- ✓ (b) Jordan's only coast is about 26.5 km along the Gulf of Aqaba, where its only port is located. The Gulf is an arm of the Red Sea, and Jordan is not a Mediterranean state.
- ✗ (c) Lebanon lies along the eastern Mediterranean shore, with Beirut and Tripoli as ports. It is a Barcelona Convention party.
- ✗ (d) Israel has a Mediterranean coast, with coastal cities such as Haifa, Ashdod and Tel Aviv. It also has a small outlet at Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba, but it does open out to the Mediterranean. It is a Barcelona Convention party.
Remember · Jordan is the only one of the four with no Mediterranean coast. Its sole outlet is Aqaba on the Red Sea. Syria, Lebanon and Israel front the eastern Mediterranean.
Sources
- UNEP – Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) – Barcelona Convention ↗ “The 22 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Türkiye, and the European Union.”
- PERSGA submission to the CBD (UN) EBSA workshop, 2015 – Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan ↗ “The Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba coastline is 26.5 km long. Within this small area are the country’s only port, industrial facilities vital to the national economy, and a growing tourism industry.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
