Southwest Asia

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Southwest Asia (PDF)

Southwest 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. Unlike the Middle East, which is a vaguely-defined region generally meant to include the African state 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 name "the Middle East". 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/or Pakistan are also variously affiliated with the region. The UN, however, assigns Iran and Afghanistan to Southern Asia; it also includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Western Asia, although they are arguably partly located in Europe and have sociopolitical ties to Europe. The Asian part of the Arab world (including Arabia proper) is called the Mashreq.

See continent and transcontinental country for further definitions

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Territories

Southwest Asia is in most contexts meant to encompass:

In addition, its limits are sometimes widened to include:

Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
Georgia
all of Egypt
adjacent parts of Central and South Asia

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

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Other subregions of Asia

East Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia (Indian subcontinent)
Central Asia
North Asia (Siberia)
Northern Eurasia (extends into [[Europe]fff])
Central Eurasia (extends into Europe)

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Regions of the World
Africa:	Central Africa \| East Africa \| Great Lakes \| Guinea \| Horn of Africa \| North Africa \| Maghreb \| Northwest Africa \| Sahel \| Southern Africa \| Sub-Saharan Africa \| Sudan \| West Africa
Americas:	Andean states \| Caribbean \| Central America \| Great Lakes \| Great Plains \| Guianas \| Latin America \| North America \| Northern America \| Pacific Northwest \| Patagonia \| South America \| Southern Cone
Eurasia:	Anatolia \| Arabia \| Asia \| Balkans \| Baltic region \| Benelux \| British Isles \| Caucasus \| Central Asia \| Central Europe \| East Asia \| Eastern Europe \| East Indies \| Europe \| Far East \| Kurdistan \| Levant \| Mediterranean \| Mesopotamia \| Middle East \| Near East \| North Asia \| Northern Europe \| Scandinavia \| South Asia \| Southeast Asia \| Southern Europe \| Southwest Asia \| Western Europe
Oceania:	Australasia \| Melanesia \| Micronesia \| Polynesia \| Pacific Rim
Polar:	Arctic \| Antarctic