Subregion

A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme, which is a changing, constantly updated, UN tool based on specific political geography and demography considerations relevant in UN statistics.

United Nations subregions

The Statistics Division of the United Nations (UN) is in charge of the collection, processing, and dissemination of statistical information for the UN.^[1] In 1999, it developed a system of macro-geographical (continental) regions, subregions, and other selected economic groups to report advances towards achieving numerous millennial development goals worldwide. These statistical divisions were devised for statistical purposes and is used for carrying out statistical analysis.^[2] The division's first publication was the book World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics in 2000.

According to the UN, the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories.^[3]

Subregions by continent

The following is a non-exhaustive list of subregions, arranged alphabetically by region (i.e., by continent); in the UN geoscheme, higher-level, macro-geographical regions are arranged to the extent possible according to continents.

Sequence used in the list (not all criteria are applied to each continent):

by the UN Statistics Division's geoscheme
by geography
by physiography
by geopolitics
by human geography
by economics
by culture
by language
by religion
by biogeography
by historical division
by geology

Afro-Eurasia

Afro-Eurasia is a continental landmass comprising the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Africa

by the United Nations Statistics Division's geoscheme (see also: UN geoscheme for Africa):
- Northern Africa
- Sub-Saharan Africa

by geography:
- North Africa (Also known as Saharan Africa)
  - Maghreb (AKA Northwest Africa, also including Mauritania, which most geographers consider as a part of West Africa; some geographers consider Libya as a part of Northeast Africa and Western Sahara as a part of West Africa)
  - Northeast Africa (including Egypt, the Horn of Africa, and the Sudans; some geographers consider Egypt, Libya, and the Sudan as Northeast Africa instead)
- Sub-Saharan Africa (AKA Tropical Africa)
  - Central Africa (AKA Congo, Equatorial Africa or Middle Africa)
  - East Africa (AKA Nile)
    - Northeast Africa (including Egypt, the Horn of Africa, and the Sudans; some geographers consider Egypt, Libya, and the Sudan as Northeast Africa instead)
      - Horn of Africa
    - Southeast Africa (also including Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho, which most geographers consider as part of Southern Africa)
  - Southern Africa (AKA Kalahari)
  - West Africa (AKA Niger)
    - Guinea (region)
    - Sudan (region)

by physiography:

by economics:
- African Monetary Union (AMU)
- Arab League (including some West Asian countries)
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
- Common Monetary Area (CMA)
- Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
- Council of Arab Economic Unity (GAFTA) – including some West Asian countries
- Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- EMEA (including Europe and the Middle East)
- Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- (including most Southern European countries and some West Asian countries)

by biogeography:
- Macaronesia

by historical division:
- Negroland

by geology:
- Kaapvaal Craton
- Zimbabwe Craton

Eurasia

Eurasia is a continental mainland comprising the continents of Asia and Europe.

Asia

by the United Nations Statistics Division's geoscheme (see also: UN geoscheme for Asia):
- Central Asia
- Eastern Asia
- South-eastern Asia
- Southern Asia – the UN geoscheme includes Afghanistan and Iran in this subregion
- Western Asia – the UN geoscheme includes Cyprus, the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), and Turkey in this subregion

by geography:
- Central Asia
- East Asia
  - Greater China
    - China
      - Hong Kong (some geographers consider it as a part of Northeast Asia)
      - Macau (some geographers consider it as a part of Northeast Asia)
      - Mainland China (some geographers consider it as a part of Northeast Asia)
        North China (Eastern Inner Mongolia is also a part of Northeast China)
        
        Northeast China (AKA Manchuria) – also a part of Northeast Asia
        
        Southeast China (excluding Central China)
        East China (some geographers include Taiwan Island, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu Islands, Socotra Rock, Parangcho, and the Senkaku Islands in this subregion)
        
        South Central China
        Central China
        
        South China (including Hainan Island and the South China Sea Islands, some geographers also include Hong Kong and Macau in this subregion)
        
        Western China
        Northwest China (some geographers consider Qinghai and Xinjiang as part of Central Asia)
        
        Southwest China (some geographers consider Tibet as a part of Central Asia)
    - South China Sea Islands (some geographers consider them as part of Northeast Asia)
      - Paracel Islands
      - Pratas Island
      - Spratly Islands
        James Shoal (undersea feature)
        
        Taiping Island
        
        Zhongzhou Reef
      - Zhongsha Islands
        Macclesfield Bank
        Walker Shoal
        
        Scarborough Shoal
    - Taiwan (some geographers consider it as a part of Northeast Asia)
  - Mongolia (some geographers consider it as a part of Central Asia or Northeast Asia)
  - Northeast Asia
    - China
      - Eastern Inner Mongolia
      - Northeast China (AKA Manchuria)
    - Japan
    - Korea
      - North Korea
      - South Korea
    - Russian Far East (also a part of North Asia, but not a part of East Asia)
      - Outer Manchuria
- North Asia (AKA Siberia)
  - Russian Far East (also a part of Northeast Asia)
    - Outer Manchuria
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
  - Mainland Southeast Asia
    - Malay Peninsula
  - Maritime Southeast Asia
    - Borneo (including Labuan)
      - Brunei
      - East Malaysia
        Labuan
        
        Sabah
        
        Sarawak
      - Kalimantan
- West Asia (AKA Southwest Asia)
  - Anatolia (AKA Asia Minor)
  - Arabia
    - Eastern Arabia
    - Hejaz (AKA Western Arabia)
    - Najd (AKA Central Arabia)
    - South Arabia
  - Levant
    - Southern Levant
  - Mesopotamia
  - South Caucasus (AKA Transcaucasia)

by physiography:

by geopolitics:
- Asia-Pacific (APAC) – including Oceania
  - Far East/Pacific Asia
- Greater Middle East – including some African countries
  - Middle East and North Africa (AKA MENA) – including North African countries
    - Middle East (AKA the Near East) – including Egypt
      - Arab League (AKA the Arab states) – including some African countries
        Mashriq – including Egypt and the Sudan
        Arabian Peninsula
        
        Levant – including Ash-Shām and Cyprus
        
        Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
      - Asia Minor
      - South Caucasus (AKA Transcaucasia)
  - The 'stans
- Indian subcontinent
  - Himalayan states – including China
    - Eastern Himalaya
    - Western Himalaya
  - Kashmir

by economics:
- Arab League – including some African countries
- ASEAN Free Trade Area
- Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) – including Russia
- Asian Clearing Union (ACU)
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) – including Oceania
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- Bamboo network
- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Initiative (BBIN)
- Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
- Council of Arab Economic Unity (GAFTA) – including some African countries
- EMEA (including Africa and Europe)
- Eurasian Customs Union (ECU) – including Belarus
- Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) – including Belarus
- Greater Mekong Subregion
- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)
- South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)
- (including most Southern European countries and North African countries)

by culture:
- Eastern world
  - East Asian cultural sphere
  - Greater Mongolia
    - Inner Mongolia
    - Mongolia (Outer Mongolia)
- Muslim world (AKA the Islamic world)
  - Arab world
    - Mashriq
      - Arabia
        Al-Bahrain
        
        Al-Yamama
        
        Hadhramaut
        
        Tihamah
  - Malay world
    - Greater Indonesia
      - Nusantara
  - Turkic world
    - Azerbaijan
    - Soviet Central Asia (excluding Tajikistan)
    - Turkey
    - Xinjiang
      - Dzungaria (northern half of Xinjiang)
      - Southern Xinjiang
  - Greater Iran
    - Greater Khorasan

by religion:
- Abrahamic religions (West Asian religions or Western religions)
- Eastern religions
  - Dharmic religions (Indian religions)
  - Taoic religions (East Asian religions or Far Eastern religions)

by biogeography:
- Eastern Asia
- Malesia

by historical division:
- East Indies (AKA the Indies)
  - Farther India (AKA Ultraindia)
    - Indochina
    - Insulindia

by geology:

Europe

by the United Nations Statistics Division's geoscheme (see also: UN geoscheme for Europe):
- Eastern Europe – the UN geoscheme includes parts of Central Europe (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia), parts of South-eastern Europe (Bulgaria and Romania), and Northern Asia (Siberia) in this subregion
- Northern Europe – the UN geoscheme includes the Baltic states, the British Isles, and the Channel Islands in this subregion
- Southern Europe – the UN geoscheme includes Slovenia in this subregion
- Western Europe – the UN geoscheme includes parts of Central Europe (the DACH countries and Liechtenstein) in this subregion

by geography:
- Central and Eastern Europe
  - Central Europe
  - Eastern Europe
    - Caucasus
      - North Caucasus (aka Ciscaucasia)
      - South Caucasus (aka Transcaucasia) – a subregion of West Asia
- Northern Europe
- Southern Europe
  - South-central Europe
    - Apennine Peninsula (aka the Italian Peninsula)
    - Malta
  - South-eastern Europe
    - Balkan Peninsula (aka the Balkans)
    - Romania
  - South-western Europe
    - Balearic Islands
    - Iberian Peninsula (aka Iberia)
    - Southern France
- Western Europe

by physiography:
- Apennine Peninsula (aka the Italian Peninsula)
- Balkan Peninsula
- British Isles
- Caucasus Mountains
  - Greater Caucasus
  - Lesser Caucasus – A part of West Asia
- Channel Islands
  - Guernsey
  - Jersey
- Eurasian Steppe
- Fennoscandian Peninsula
  - Kola Peninsula
  - Scandinavian Peninsula
- Great European Plain
  - East European Plain
- Iberian Peninsula

by geopolitics:
- East-Central Europe
- Eastern Europe
  - Post-Soviet states
- West-Central Europe (in German)
- Western Europe
  - European Union (EU)
  - NATO
  - North Sea Commission (NSC)

by economics:
- Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)
- Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) – including Armenia and most Central Asian countries
- Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – including Canada
- EMEA (including Africa and the Middle East)
- Eurasian Customs Union (EACU) – including Armenia and Kyrgyzstan
- Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – including Armenia and Kyrgyzstan
- European Economic Area (EEA) – including Cyprus
- European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
- European Single Market (including Cyprus)
- European Union Customs Union (EUCU) – including Cyprus and Turkey
- European Union–Turkey Customs Union (including Cyprus and Turkey)
- Eurozone (including Cyprus)
- North Sea Region (NSR)
- (UfM) – including some West Asian countries and most North African countries
- Union State

by culture:
- Balkans
  - Eastern Balkans
  - Western Balkans
- Baltic states
- Benelux
- Nordic countries and Karelia
- North Sea Region
- Sápmi, since 1809 divided between Finland and Sweden
- Scandinavia
- Visegrád Group

by language:

by religion:
- Eastern religions
  - Indian religions
    - Buddhism in Europe (Kalmykia)
- Western religions (Abrahamic religions or West Asian religions)
  - Christianity in Europe
  - Islam in Europe

by biogeography:

by historical division:

by geology:
- Alpine orogeny
- East European craton
  - Baltic Shield
  - Ukrainian Shield

Americas

The Americas is a continental landmass comprising the continents of North America and South America.

by the United Nations Statistics Division's geoscheme (see also: UN geoscheme for the Americas):
- Latin America and the Caribbean
  - Caribbean^[4] – the UN includes the Lucayan Archipelago in this subregion
  - Central America^[4] – the UN geoscheme includes Mexico in this subregion
  - South America
- Northern America^[4]

by culture:
- Anglo-America
- Latin America
  - French America
  - Ibero-America
    - Hispanic America
    - Portuguese America

by economics:
- Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)

North America

by geography:
- Middle America
  - Caribbean (Insular America)
- Northern America
  - Bermuda
  - Canada
  - Greenland
  - Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  - United States (excluding Hawaii)
    - Alaska
    - Contiguous United States
      - Central United States
        Middle America (United States)
        
        Midwestern United States
      - Eastern United States
        Northeastern United States
        
        Southeastern United States
      - Northern United States
        Great Lakes region (including Ontario, Canada)
      - Southern United States
        South Central United States
      - Western United States (including Alaska and Hawaii)
        Northwestern United States
        
        Southwestern United States (some geographers include the Oklahoma Panhandle and West Texas in this subregion)

by physiography:

by geopolitics:

by economics:

by culture:

by biogeography:
- Aridoamerica

by geology:

South America

by geography:
- Eastern South America: Federative Republic of Brazil
- Northern South America – the part of South America located in the Northern Hemisphere
  - North-eastern South America: The Guianas
  - North-western South America: Caribbean South America
- Southern South America: Southern Cone
- Western South America: Andean States