GULF countries
| Sr.No | Gulf countries |
| 1 | The United Arab Emirates |
| 2 | The State of Bahrain |
| 3 | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| 4 | The Sultanate of Oman |
| 5 | The State of Qatar |
| 6 | The State of Kuwait |
Persian Gulf countries
| Sr.No | Persian Gulf countries |
| 1 | The United Arab Emirates |
| 2 | The State of Bahrain |
| 3 | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| 4 | The Sultanate of Oman |
| 5 | The State of Qatar |
| 6 | The State of Kuwait |
| 7 | Iran |
| 8 | Iraq |
GULF countries mean those countries surrounding Persian gulf ( is mediterranean sea part ). So total of eight countries (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Oman) who share a common boundary with Persian gulf. But commonly Gulf means Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and out of Eight, Six countries member of GCC.
Currently, six GULF countries which are as follows:
The United Arab Emirates, The States of Bahrain, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, The Sultanate of Oman, The State of Qatar, The State of Kuwait.
However, Iran & Iraq were excluded from GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) from the beginning.
References- http://www.gcc-sg.org