What Were The Countries Along the Silk Road?

We take a look at the countries along the Silk Road, the ancient network of trade routes that connected China with the West.

Fast facts

Name: Silk Road
Length: 6,400km / 4,000mi (approx.)
Established: 138-116 BCE
Start: Xi’an, China
End: endpoints in Byzantium (Constantinople), Antioch, Damascus, and various other Middle Eastern cities

What was the Silk Road?

The historic Silk Road was a vast network of ancient trade routes or “superhighways” connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

However, its origins date back to around 300 BC when it was used to transport jade around China. By 200 BC the road had been extended and linked to the West.

By around 100 BC, it was actively being used for trade between the two civilizations.

By around the 13th century, the Silk Road, which was more like a network of roads, became even longer during the Mongol invasions. The Mongol Empire promoted trade across Eurasia. 

The routes continued to be used until 1453 AD, when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them.

Initially, Chinese merchants exported silk to Western customers. These goods expanded to include tea, porcelain, spices, perfumes, paper and gunpowder among other commodities.

Exports sent in the other direction (eastwards) included wool, gold, silver, horses and camels, furs and skins, honey, weapons and armour, and slaves.

Today, historians generally prefer the term “Silk Routes” or “Silk Roads” as it better reflects there was more than one thoroughfare.

The routes are also responsible for the exchange of intellectual and cultural ideas between civilisations.

The mixing of populations encouraged along the Silk Routes brought about widespread transmission of cultures, knowledge, ideas and beliefs.

Many academics also believe the bubonic plague was transmitted along the Silk Road, causing the Black Death pandemic during the mid-14th century.

The development of sailing technology, ship-building and the growth of ports throughout the Middle Ages, meant the Silk Routes were no longer the most practical method of trade.

Eventually, it became safer, quicker and cheaper to transport goods via sea routes as opposed to overland. As such, traffic along the Silk Road had significantly declined by the 1450s.

What were the countries along the Silk Road?

The UNESCO Silk Roads Programme lists 54 countries along the “historic land and maritime Silk Roads”. However, many of these countries were only connected via sea routes or extended road networks.

The map below shows where the original Silk Road was located. The primary route is marked in red.

These are the 54 countries along the Silk Road according to the UNESCO Silk Roads Programme.

1. Afghanistan
2. Armenia
3. Azerbaijan
4. Brunei Darussalam
5. Cambodia
6. China
7. Egypt
8. France
9. Georgia
10. Germany
11. Greece
12. India
13. Indonesia
14. Iran
15. Iraq
16. Italy
17. Japan
18. Jordan
19. Kazakhstan
20. Kenya
21. Kuwait
22. Kyrgyzstan
23. Lebanon
24. Madagascar
25. Malaysia
26. Mongolia
27. Mozambique
28. Myanmar
29. Nepal
30. North Korea
31. Oman
32. Pakistan
33. Philippines
34. Portugal
35. Qatar
36. South Korea
37. Russia
38. Saudi Arabia
39. Singapore
40. Somalia
41. Spain
42. Sri Lanka
43. Sudan
44. Syria
45. Tajikistan
46. Thailand
47. Turkey
48. Turkmenistan
49. UAE
50. UK
51. Tanzania
52. Uzbekistan
53. Vietnam
54. Yemen

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