West Asia
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Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. The term Western Asia is sometimes used in writings about the archeology and the late prehistory of the region, and in the United Nations subregion geoscheme. Unlike the Middle East, which is a vaguely-defined region generally meant to include the North African country of Egypt, Western Asia is a purely geographical term, which includes the southwestern extreme of Asia.
Southwest Asia is partly coterminous with the traditional European names the Middle East and the Near East, both of which describe the regions' geographical position in relation to Europe rather than their location within Asia. The term Western Asia has become the preferred term of use for the Middle East by international organizations (most notably the United Nations[1]) and also in countries to the east of the region, such as India and Australia, because of the perceived Eurocentrism of the historical term Middle East. In terms of cultural and political geography, the Middle East sometimes includes North African countries, particularly Egypt.
The United Nations includes Turkey and Armenia. However, these countries also lie in regions that straddle both Asia and Europe, and have sociopolitical ties to the latter. Turkey is located in Europe and in Asia. The Asian part of the Arab world (including Arabia proper) is called the Mashreq in Arabic.
- See continent and transcontinental country for further definitions
Territories
Some of the countries classified as southwest Asian are sometimes classified differently. Afghanistan, for example, is sometimes considered a Central Asian country, and sometimes as a South Asian country. Cyprus meanwhile politically aligns itself with Europe, and is generally considered a part of Southeastern Europe despite its geographic location. Southwest Asia is in most contexts meant to encompass:
Afghanistan[2][3]
Armenia
Bahrain
Cyprus
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian Territories (Gaza Strip and West Bank)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Yemen- The Asian portion of
- The Asian portion of
Use in ethnicity statistics
The Canadian government uses "West Asian" in its statistics; however people from the Arab countries are counted in a separate "Arab" category. [4] [5]
Other subregions of Asia
- East Asia
- Southeast Asia
- South Asia (Indian subcontinent)
- Central Asia
- North Asia (Siberia)
- Northern Eurasia (extends into Europe)
- Central Eurasia (extends into Europe)
