Wanderlust World Wanderlust World No, Illinois is not in the Middle East. It's a state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana (with Lake Michigan to the northeast).
"Midwest" and "Middle East" sound somewhat similar but refer to completely different regions:
| Midwest (U.S.) | Middle East |
|---|---|
| Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota | Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, Yemen |
| Central North America | Western Asia / Northeast Africa |
| Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Minneapolis | Riyadh, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Cairo, Baghdad |
The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia; Illinois is firmly in the heart of North America. About 6,000 miles (9,600 km) separate them.