Southwest Asia
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Southwest Asia or
Southwestern Asia (often confused with the
Middle East) is the southwestern
portion of
Asia. The term
Western Asia is commonly used in writings about the archaeology and late prehistory of the region, and in the U.S.
subregion geoschem.. Unlike the
Middle East, which is a vaguely-defined region generally meant to include the African country of
Egypt, Western Asia is a purely
geographical term that 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) and also in African and Asian countries, such as
India, 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. For similar reasons,
Afghanistan,
Central Asia, and
Pakistan are also variously affiliated with the region.
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The definition of cultural-geographical regions in use by the United Nations. |
The UN includes
Turkey and the South Caucasus States (
Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and
Georgia) in its Western Asian
subregion, as they are almost entirely located there. However, these countries also lie in regions that straddle both Asia and
Europe, and have sociopolitical ties to the latter. Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan are partially located in Europe whereas Armenia is located wholly in Asia. On the other hand, the UN assigns
Iran and
Egypt to
Southern Asia and
Northern Africa, respectively.
The
Asian part of the
Arab world (including
Arabia proper) is called the
Mashreq in Arabic.
See continent and transcontinental country for further definitionsSouthwest Asia is in most contexts meant to encompass:
*
Bahrain*
Sinai (eastern
Egypt)
*
Gaza Strip*
Iran*
Iraq*
Israel*
Jordan*
Kuwait*
Lebanon*
Oman*
Qatar*
Saudi Arabia*
Syria*
Turkey*
United Arab Emirates*
West Bank*
YemenIn addition, its limits are sometimes widened to include:
*
Afghanistan *
Armenia *
Azerbaijan*
Georgia*all of
Egypt*adjacent parts of
Central Asia Anatolia,
Arabia,
Caucasia,
Levant, and
Mesopotamia are subregions of Southwest Asia.
*
East Asia*
Southeast Asia *
South Asia (
Indian subcontinent)
*
Central Asia *
North Asia (
Siberia)
*
Northern Eurasia (extends into
Europe)
*
Central Eurasia (extends into
Europe)
*
population and area figures for countries of Asia*
Middle East*
Near East*
Mashreq
