The 26th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. A section of the border between Western Sahara and Mauritania is defined by the parallel. It is the most populous parallel on Earth, being home to between 247.2 million and 248.0 million people as of 2019. At this latitude the sun is visible for 13 hours, 46 minutes during the summer solstice and 10 hours, 31 minutes during the winter solstice. The sun is at 40.17 degrees in the sky during the winter solstice and 87.83 degrees in the sky during the summer solstice.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 26° north passes through: ! scope="col" width="125" | Coordinates ! scope="col" | Country, territory or sea ! scope="col" | Notes ! scope="row" | 🇩🇿 ! scope="row" | 🇱🇾 ! scope="row" | 🇪🇬 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Red Sea ! scope="row" | 🇸🇦 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Persian Gulf ! scope="row" | 🇧🇭 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Persian Gulf ! scope="row" | 🇶🇦 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Persian Gulf ! scope="row" | 🇦🇪 ! scope="row" | 🇴🇲 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Indian Ocean ! scope="row" | 🇮🇷 ! scope="row" | 🇵🇰 ! scope="row" | 🇮🇳 ! scope="row" | 🇧🇩 ! scope="row" | 🇮🇳 ! scope="row" | 🇧🇩 ! scope="row" | 🇮🇳 ! scope="row" | 🇲🇲 (Burma) ! scope="row" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | East China Sea ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Pacific Ocean ! scope="row" | 🇲🇽 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Gulf of California ! scope="row" | 🇲🇽 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Gulf of California ! scope="row" | 🇲🇽 ! scope="row" | 🇺🇸 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Gulf of Mexico ! scope="row" | 🇺🇸 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Atlantic Ocean ! scope="row" | 🇧🇸 ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Atlantic Ocean ! scope="row" | Western Sahara ! scope="row" | Western Sahara / undefined border ! scope="row" | undefined ! scope="row" | 🇩🇿