Asia–Pacific

Geopolitical region

Not to be confused with AIPAC, APEC, Indo-Pacific, or Pacific Asia.

Member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

The Asia–Pacific (APAC) is the region of the world adjoining the western Pacific Ocean. The region's precise boundaries vary depending on context, but countries and territories in Australasia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia are often included. In a wider context, Central Asia, North Asia, the Pacific Islands, South Asia, West Asia (including the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant), and even Pacific-adjoining countries in the Americas can be included. For example, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) includes five economies (Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and the United States) in the New World (more standardly referred to as the Western Hemisphere). The term has become popular since the late 1980s in commerce, finance, and politics. Despite the heterogeneity of the regions' economies, most individual nations within the zone are emerging markets experiencing significant growth. Sometimes, the notion of "Asia–Pacific excluding Japan" (APEJ) is considered useful.^[1]^[2]

Related regions

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Central and Eastern Asia (CEA)
Eastern Asia – some companies separate their Eastern Asian business from the rest of Asia, and refer to the Oriental region separately from the Western/Central Asia region
Pacific Asia - specifically the Pacific-bordering regions of Asia
Oceania
South-eastern Asia
Southern Asia
Western Asia

List of countries and territories by subregion

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Asia and the Pacific region, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

In accordance with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asia–Pacific region includes a total of 51 countries and seven territories grouped into five subregions:^[3]

East and North East Asia (ENEA)
- China, People's Republic of
  - Hong Kong, China
  - Macao, China
- Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea)
- Japan
- Mongolia
- Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
- China, Republic of (Taiwan)

North and Central Asia (NCA)

South and South West Asia (SSWA)

South East Asia (SEA) – ASEAN
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos)
- Malaysia
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste (East Timor)
- Viet Nam (Vietnam)

The Pacific (PACIFIC)
- American Samoa (United States)
- Australia
- Bougainville
- Cook Islands
- Fiji
- French Polynesia (France)
- Guam (United States)
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia, Federated States of
- Nauru
- New Caledonia (France)
- New Zealand
- Niue
- Northern Mariana Islands (United States)
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu

In a wider context, the following countries and territories can also be included in the Asia–Pacific region:

Asia
- Bahrain
- British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom)
- Cyprus
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Palestine
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen

North America
- Canada
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- United States

Oceania
- Baker Island (United States)
- Christmas Island (Australia)
- Clipperton Island (France)
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
- Coral Sea Islands (Australia)
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia)
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Australia)
- Howland Island (United States)
- Jarvis Island (United States)
- Johnston Atoll (United States)
- Kingman Reef (United States)
- Midway Atoll (United States)
- Norfolk Island (Australia)
- Palmyra Atoll (United States)
- Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom)
- Tokelau (New Zealand)
- Torres Strait Islands (Australia)
- Wake Island (United States)
- Wallis and Futuna (France)
- Chuuk State (Micronesia)
- Easter Island (Chile)
- Isla Salas y Gómez (Chile)

South America
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Peru

Economic overview

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The World Bank's April 2024 update indicates that the growth rate for the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, is expected to slightly increase to 4.6% in 2024, up from 4.4% in 2023. This underscores a diverse economic resilience against global pressures. Meanwhile, global trade growth, which was minimal at 0.2% in 2023, is projected to improve to 2.3% in 2024, crucial for the region's export-oriented economies. However, private investment remains below pre-pandemic levels due to higher debt levels and rising interest rates, signaling a cautious investment climate. The region faces significant challenges from both external factors, such as high core inflation and modest global trade recovery, and domestic issues like increased debt and political uncertainties, potentially hindering economic growth. Additionally, a hypothetical 1% decline in GDP growth in the US or China could reduce GDP growth in other developing Asia-Pacific economies by approximately 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. The increase in trade-distorting measures, which have tripled since 2019 among G-20 countries, reflects a trend towards protective industrial policies, although other East Asia-Pacific countries, except for China and Indonesia, have been less involved in these measures.^[4]^[5]

References

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^ "Digital creativity and innovation lacking in kids in APAC: report". May 10, 2019. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
^ Pan, Hui, ed. (October 2004). "Vonage and Cisco to sell phone equipment". VoIP Monthly Newsletter. 2 (10). Information Gatekeepers Inc: 3. Retrieved 2011年12月15日. APEJ (Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan) and EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa) will grow their combined share of this figure from 17 percent to 22 percent during the same period, as North America's share adjusts from 53 percent to 46 percent.
^ "List of countries in the Asia-Pacific region and subregions". www.unescap.org. Archived from the original on 2023年04月02日. Retrieved 2023年09月29日.
^ "Firm Foundations of Growth: East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, April 2024". World Bank. Retrieved 2024年04月11日.
^ World Bank. (2024). Firm Foundations of Growth: East Asia and the Pacific Economic Update April 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-2102-8

External links

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APEC official website
The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network (APIYN)
BBC Asia-Pacific Archived 2010年05月07日 at the Wayback Machine

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Countries and dependencies of Asia

Sovereign states

States with limited
recognition

Dependent
territories

Australia	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Greece	Kastellorizo
United Kingdom	Akrotiri and Dhekelia ² (Sovereign Base Areas) British Indian Ocean Territory (British Overseas Territory)

Special administrative
regions of China

¹ Spans the conventional boundary between Asia and another continent.
² Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in West Asia.

Category
Asia portal

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Countries and territories of Oceania

Sovereign states

Entire	Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
In part	Chile Easter Island Juan Fernández Islands Ecuador Galápagos Islands Indonesia Central Papua Highland Papua Papua South Papua Southwest Papua West Papua United States Hawaii Palmyra Atoll

Associated states

Dependencies and
other territories

Australia	Ashmore and Cartier Islands Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Norfolk Island
France	Clipperton Island French Polynesia New Caledonia Wallis and Futuna
New Zealand	Tokelau
United Kingdom	Pitcairn Islands
United States	American Samoa Baker Island Guam Howland Island Jarvis Island Johnston Atoll Kingman Reef Midway Atoll Northern Mariana Islands Wake Island

v t e Regions of Asia
Central (The 'stans )	Roof of the World Greater Middle East Aral Sea Aralkum Desert Caspian Sea Dead Sea Sea of Galilee Tartary Transoxiana Turan Greater Khorasan Ariana Arachosia Khwarazm Sistan Kazakhstania Kazakh Steppe Betpak-Dala Eurasian Steppe Kazakh Steppe Mongolian–Manchurian grassland Iranian plateau Altai Mountains Pamir Mountains Tian Shan Badakhshan Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Mount Imeon Mongolian Plateau Western Regions Taklamakan Desert Karakoram Trans-Karakoram Tract Siachen Glacier Tibetan Plateau
East (Northeast)	Orient Japanese Archipelago Northeastern Japan Arc Sakhalin Island Arc Korea Gobi Desert Taklamakan Desert Greater Khingan Mongolian Plateau Inner Asia Greater Central Asia Inner Mongolia Outer Mongolia China proper Manchuria Northeast China Northeast China Plain Outer Manchuria Mongolian–Manchurian grassland North China Plain Yan Mountains Liaodong Peninsula High-mountain Asia Himalayas Tibetan Plateau Karakoram Kunlun Mountains Qilian Mountains Hengduan Mountains Tarim Basin Qinling Mountains Sichuan Basin Northern Silk Road Hexi Corridor Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau Lingnan Liangguang Jiangnan Jianghuai Guanzhong Huizhou Wu Jiaozhou Zhongyuan Shaannan Ordos Loop Loess Plateau Shaanbei Hamgyong Mountains Central Mountain Range Japanese Alps Suzuka Mountains Leizhou Peninsula Gulf of Tonkin Yangtze Yangtze Delta Yellow River Pearl River Delta Yenisey Basin Altai Mountains Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Far East/Pacific Asia Ring of Fire Asia–Pacific Tropical Asia
North (Siberia)	Arctic Arctic Circle Inner Asia Northeast Ural Ural Mountains Far East/Pacific Asia Russian Far East Okhotsk–Manchurian taiga Beringia Chukchi Peninsula Kamchatka Peninsula Extreme North Tartary Siberia Baikalia (Lake Baikal) Baraba steppe Khatanga Gulf Transbaikal West Amur Basin Yenisey Gulf Yenisey Basin Sikhote-Alin Kolyma Bering Strait Ring of Fire Outer Manchuria Asia–Pacific
Southeast (East Indies)	Orient Sundaland Mainland/Indochina Northern Triangle temperate forests Maritime/Malay Archipelago Peninsular Malaysia Sunda Islands Greater Sunda Islands Lesser Sunda Islands Indonesian Archipelago/Nusantara Wallacea Timor Philippine Archipelago Luzon Mindanao Visayas Leyte Gulf Gulf of Thailand East Indies Nanyang Alpide belt Far East/Pacific Asia Ring of Fire Asia–Pacific Tropical Asia
South (Indian Subcontinent)	Subregions Eastern Northern Northwestern Southern Orient Greater India Indian subcontinent Himalayas Kangchenjunga Nanda Devi Hindu Kush Bactria Carnatic region Tamilakam Western Ghats Eastern Ghats Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Guzgan Pashtunistan Punjab Balochistan Gedrosia Makran Marathwada Kashmir Kashmir Valley Pir Panjal Range Thar Desert Indus Valley Indus River Delta Indus Valley Desert Indo-Gangetic Plain Eastern Coastal Plains Kalinga Western Coastal Plains Meghalaya subtropical forests Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Doab Bagar tract Great Rann of Kutch Little Rann of Kutch Deccan Plateau Coromandel Coast Konkan False Divi Point Hindi Belt Ladakh Aksai Chin Gilgit-Baltistan Baltistan Shigar Valley High-mountain Asia Karakoram Saltoro Mountains Siachen Glacier Bengal Bay of Bengal Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Halar Gulf of Mannar Palk Strait Trans-Karakoram Tract Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Lakshadweep Laccadive Islands Aminidivi Paropamisadae Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andaman Islands Nicobar Islands Maldives Alpide belt Asia–Pacific Tropical Asia Tibetan Plateau
West (Middle East and South Caucasus)	Red Sea Hanish Islands Caspian Sea Mediterranean Sea Zagros Mountains Elam Persian Gulf Pirate Coast Strait of Hormuz Greater and Lesser Tunbs Al-Faw Peninsula Gulf of Oman Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Aden Balochistan Arabian Peninsula Najd Al-Yamama Hejaz Tihamah Eastern Arabia South Arabia Hadhramaut Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert Al-Sharat Tigris–Euphrates Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia Lower Mesopotamia Sawad Nineveh Plains Akkad (region) Babylonia Suhum Eastern Mediterranean Mashriq Eber-Nari Kurdistan Levant (Syria region) Palestine region Transjordan Jordan Rift Valley Philistia Golan Heights Hula Valley Galilee Canaan Gilead Syrian Desert Judea Samaria Arabah Aram Aram-Naharaim Negev Phoenicia Retjenu Anti-Lebanon Mountains Bekaa valley Levantine Sea Sinai Peninsula Arabian Desert Fertile Crescent Iranian Azerbaijan Hauran Iranian plateau Dasht-e Kavir Armenian Highlands Caucasus Caucasus Mountains Greater Caucasus Lesser Caucasus South Caucasus Shirvan Kur-Araz Lowland Lankaran Lowland Alborz Absheron Peninsula Kartli Anatolia Taurus Mountains Aeolis Paphlagonia Phasiane Isauria Ionia Bithynia Cilicia Cappadocia Caria Corduene Chaldia Doris Lycaonia Lycia Lydia Galatia Pisidia Pontus Mysia Arzawa Speri Sophene Biga Peninsula Troad Tuwana Alpide belt

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Regions of Oceania

Australasia

Australia

Mainland Australia

Australian Capital Territory	Canberra
Jervis Bay Territory	Jervis Bay Village Wreck Bay Village
New South Wales	Central Coast Central Tablelands Central West Far West Greater Blue Mountains Area Hunter Illawarra Mid North Coast Monaro New England North West Slopes Northern Rivers Northern Tablelands Orana Riverina South Coast South West Slopes Southern Highlands Southern Tablelands
Northern Territory	Arnhem Land Barkly Tableland Central Australia Darwin Katherine Top End
Queensland	Central West Central Darling Downs Far North Gulf Country North South East South West Wide Bay–Burnett
South Australia	Adelaide Hills Barossa Light and Lower North Eastern Adelaide Eyre Western Far North Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island Limestone Coast Murray and Mallee Northern Adelaide Southern Adelaide Western Adelaide Yorke and Mid North
Victoria	Barwon South West Gippsland Grampians Greater Melbourne Hume Loddon Mallee
Western Australia	Gascoyne Goldfields–Esperance Great Southern Greater Perth Perth Metropolitan Area Kimberley Mid West Peel Pilbara South West Wheatbelt

Tasmania

External Territories

Australian Indian Ocean Territories	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands

New Zealand‡

North Island

South Island

Outlying Islands

NZ Subantarctic Islands	Antipodes Islands Auckland Islands Bounty Islands Campbell Islands Snares Islands

Melanesia

Island Melanesia

East Melanesian Islands

Solomon Islands Archipelago	Bougainville Bonis Peninsula Solomon Islands

New Guinea

Aru Islands

Papua New Guinea	Highlands Region Momase Region Huon Gulf Huon Peninsula Southern Region
Western New Guinea	Central Papua Highland Papua Papua South Papua Southwest Papua West Papua

Micronesia

Polynesia

Polynesian Triangle

Phoenix Islands	Canton Island Howland and Baker Islands Baker Island Howland Island

Polynesian Outliers

‡ also part of Polynesia

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Earth's primary regions and subregions

Africa	Mediterranean Saharan Northern Maghreb Mashriq Middle East Middle East and North Africa Sub-Saharan Central East Horn Great Lakes Southern Western
Antarctica	East Antarctica Antarctic Plateau Transantarctic Mountains West Antarctica Antarctic Peninsula
Asia	Asia–Pacific Central Aral Sea Aralkum Desert Caspian Sea Eastern Inner Asia Greater Central Asia Northeastern Far East Pacific Asia Russian Far East Northern Siberia Ural Southeastern Mainland Maritime Southern Himalayan states Indian subcontinent Subregions Western Arabian Peninsula Caucasus South Caucasus Greater Iran Iranian plateau Levant Dead Sea Levantine Sea Middle East Mashriq Middle East and North Africa Near East
Europe	Central Eastern Balkans Caucasus North Caucasus South Caucasus Southern Russia European Russia Southeastern Northern Baltic British Isles Nordic Northwestern Scandinavia Scandinavian Peninsula Southern Mediterranean Middle East Italy Italian Peninsula South-eastern Balkan Peninsula South-western Iberian Peninsula Western Atlantic Low Countries Northwestern Celtic Germanic Romance Slavic
North America	Aridoamerica Caribbean Central Mesoamerica Middle Northern Appalachia Bible Belt East Coast Great Lakes Mid-Atlantic Midwest Mountain states New England Northeastern United States Pacific Northwest Southern United States Southwest West Coast West South Central United States Western United States Atlantic Canada Canadian Prairies Central Canada Eastern Canada Northern Canada Western Canada Northern Mexico West Indies Anglo French Latin Ibero Hispanic Portuguese Latin America and the Caribbean
Oceania	Australasia Australia Mainland Australia New Guinea Tasmania Zealandia Melanesia Island Melanesia Micronesia Near Oceania Polynesia Remote Oceania
South America	Amazon Plain Amazon Basin Amazon Rainforest Andean States Brazilian Highlands Caribbean South America The Guianas Latin America and the Caribbean Southern Cone Patagonia

Islands

By continent	Africa America North America Caribbean Central America South America Antarctica Asia Europe by area by population Oceania Australia New Zealand
By ocean	Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Baltic Sea Black Sea Caribbean Sea Irish Sea Mediterranean Sea Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Ionian Sea Indian Ocean Persian Gulf Pacific Ocean East China Sea South China Sea Southern Ocean