Southwest 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 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) 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 and western South Asian countries, particularly Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Egypt.

The United Nations 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 is located in Europe and in Asia. The Asian part of the Arab world (including Arabia proper) is called the Mashreq in Arabic.

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See continent and transcontinental country for further definitions

Contents 1 Territories 2 Use in ethnic statistics 3 Other subregions of Asia 4 References

[edit] Territories

Southwest Asia is in most contexts meant to encompass:

• Image:Flag of Afghanistan.svg Afghanistan^[1][2]
• Image:Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia
• Image:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan
• Image:Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain
• Image:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus
• Image:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia
• Image:Flag of Iran.svg Iran
• Image:Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq
• Image:Flag of Israel.svg Israel
• Image:Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan
• Image:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait
• Image:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon
• Image:Flag of Oman.svg Oman
• Image:Flag of Palestine.svg Palestinian Territories (Gaza Strip and West Bank)
• Image:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar
• Image:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia
• Image:Flag of Syria.svg Syria
• Image:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates
• Image:Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen
• The Asian portions of
  • Image:Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt (Sinai Peninsula)
  • Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey (Asia Minor or Anatolia)

Anatolia, Arabia, Transcaucasia, Levant, and Mesopotamia are subregions of Southwest Asia.

[edit] Use in ethnic statistics

The Canadian government uses "West Asian" in its statistics; however people from the Arab countries are counted in a separate "Arab" category. ^{[3] [4]}

[edit] 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)

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See also Continents of the world

[edit] References

ar:جنوب غرب آسيا

zh-min-nan:Sai-lâm-a bs:Jugozapadna Azija bg:Югозападна Азия de:Vorderasien eo:Sud-Okcidenta Azio fr:Moyen-Orient ko:서아시아 hr:Jugozapadna Azija id:Asia Barat Daya is:Suðvestur-Asía it:Asia occidentale ka:დასავლეთი აზია sw:Asia ya Magharibi ms:Asia Barat nl:Zuidwest-Azië ja:西南アジア ro:Asia de Sud-Vest ru:Передняя Азия simple:Southwest Asia sk:Juhozápadná Ázia sr:Југозападна Азија sh:Jugozapadna Azija fi:Etu-Aasia sv:Sydvästasien tl:Timog-kanlurang Asya th:เอเชียตะวันตกเฉียงใต้ vi:Tây Nam Á uk:Передня Азія zh:西亚