As the official self-proclaimed "Geographer of the World," I have divided the 193 countries of the world into eight convenient regions. These eight regions provide a clear division of the world's countries. There will be no further need to argue about within which region a country belongs as my list solves everything. Enjoy the list and if, however, you wish to challenge this list, please post them as a comment below.
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Hi Matt, I think your geography website is great and I often go to it.
I have my BA(1967) in Geography and all but thesis for Masters. After returning from an extended stay in Israel, in 1996, I began to study the disipline on my own. It slowed to a stall while I was doing a genealogy, but I am restarting again now. I have organized the countries in a different manner than you do. I am not challenging, but
want to give my opinion of what I believe to be improvement. The most important of which is to list the countries of each region by location and not alphabetical. This way, the student of geography learns location.Also, if you want to hire me
to make up questions for your quiz, I
would gladly submit a daily quiz, similar to your own. Mondays would be
an easy quiz and Fridays not so difficult. I would send you a months quizzes in advance. Keep up the great work. Ron
I dont know how you put Brunei into MENA when Malaysia & Indonesia (also muslim countries and its neighbour) is in Asia.
Also how does Pakistan & Iran come in MENA when Afghanistan is in Asia.
And why Mauritania, Mali and Sudan in Africa when their culture is more Arabic than African.
Your list is more a politico-social division rather than geograhical. If it was purely geographical, Europe wouldn’t be a continent at all, just a peninsula of Asia, like India (which has as much if not more diversity, ethnic types, languages, etc as Europe).
I’m sure the people of Vladivostok would be intrigued to know they live in Europe!
Don’t see the Turks and Caicos on your Caribbean list?
So we’re back to the myth that the UK is one country, typically American!
There are hundreds of reasons for separating out England, Wales and Scotland as individual countries – cultural, social, sporting etc.
But why bother trying to explain it again?
Best wishes from and Englishman!
Hi Matt,
I’m not sure what you mean by, “*Israel may be located in the Middle East but it is certainly an outsider and perhaps better belongs attached to Europe, like its seaward neighbor and European Union member state, Cyprus.” I can’t think of why Israel wouldn’t be a Middle Eastern nation, both plate-wise and sociopolitically.
Russia is so vast that it should comprise a realm all its own.
I also think that placing Pakistan and Afghanistan in different groups is hard to defend geographically.
Guyana and Suriname face the Atlantic Ocean and are clearly in South America.
Matt,
Morocco is missing from the Africa list!
Your website is wonderful. Thanks for making geography enjoyable for all of us!
Regards,
Shri
************
Matt:
Un grato saludo desde Valparaíso en Chile.
Excelente sitio que veo cada mañana.
Greating from Chile
Matt:
While I agree with some of the above comments concerning, Israel, Sudan, Mali etc, I also have a question on Armenia which is not geographically nor culturally European, other than Orthodox Christian and a remote connection to Indo-European languages? Afterall, Hindi, Bengali, Farsi, Urdu etc are also Indo-European languages. I salute your attempt but regions are in fact constructs and there will always be arguments as to why a state is included in this or that region. Keep challenging us.
Wonderful to see how many bright lights are fans of your site Matt. Any comments re: the comments/corrections??
PEACE regardless of REGION
Hey Matt
It would be interesting to see this list actually displayed as a map (unless I missed this somewhere on the site) why not make a GIS map out of your new region list?
To my surprise Puerto Rico was not included in the list of countries of the Caribbean.
We are the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and a territory of the United States. We have our own Constitution and government. Please check
Hey Matt, Good Job, but I disagree a little with the assignation. Why do you have Suriname and Guyana not included in South American list? (I do understand why the French Guyana is not there).
But if you say “countries occupy this continent that stretches from the equator to nearly the Antarctic Circle”, so you should not include Venezuela (not touching Equator Line)and put it also in the Caribbean, we can say almost the same for Colombia.
I would keep on checking if I have more comments.
Anyway I am still a big fan of your site!!!!
Thanks.
Love you site and appreciate all the hard work involved. I would love to hear your rationale for the population of each grouping.
Hi Matt, I have been a subscriber to your site for a couple years and enjoy it very much (I wrote to you once before), and also found this list to be very informative. However, I’m at a loss, as I assume a previous writer was, as to why you called Israel “..certainly an outsider..”. The purpose of the list was to put countries in geographical categories, which you did, including Israel. Was the “outsider” remark an indication that Israel is not accepted by most of it’s Arab neighbors? Certainly no argument there, but the list, I thought, was simply about location.
However, I do enjoy your column very much! Thanks!
the Virgin Islands, Aruba, and Puerto Rico are missing from the list.
Matt–valiant effort –but I must agree with the last sentence of #2..Anil Koshy.. and the entire view of #7 Steve Pierce-The United Nations already has a very workable system—please see the link below— The only change I would consider making is that the Russian Federation should count as a region all to itself .http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm
Hello Matt,
I’m a newbie, so if these islands are considered in others mentioned on your list…I apologize. I was wondering where the Tahitian Islands and Canary Islands belong?
Thanks for all of your hard work and for keeping it interesting and thought provoking.
Brandy
People, people,
Please don’t bother Matt with stupid comments or question about the new list. Please verify your comments before sending it!!!!!!
Puerto Rico, Aruba, Virgin Islands?????? Be aware of the facts of the worlds. GOD!!!!!
G’day Matt, keep up the good work , you can’t please everybody. With Oceania , you forgot New Caledonia , French Polynesia ( Tahiti) , Easter Island
and the fact that Samoa is divided into Western and
American Samoa. Also the Romans named their North African provinces AFRICA roughly 2000 years ago. Keep going dude.
Hmmm, why would you put Armenia in the European group? Is it because they are basically Christian?…..because Turkey is closer to Europe and does a lot of trading with Europe. I see Azerbaijan is in the Middle Eastern group. Azerbaijan and Armenia are next door to each other. Armenia’s culture is much closer to Middle Eastern countries than to European countries. I used to be married to an Armenian so I know a little bit about Armenia.
Hi Matt,
Your site is really wonderful. As well as your country regions classification. But why you put Armenia and Georgia in Europe? They should be where Iran and Turkey are! I was born in Bulgaria and I do believe that if some of these countries have to be in Europe it’s Turkey. The Caucas people have nothing in common with europeans!
On November 27, 1953, shortly after establishment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the General Assembly of the UN approved Resolution 748, removing Puerto Rico’s classification as a non-self-governing territory under article 73(e) of the Charter of the United Nations. This resolution has not been revoked by the UN.
Puerto Rico has its own representatives in international beauty pageants including Miss World and Miss Universe. Puerto Rican beauty queens have won the Miss Universe pageant five times (1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006), second only to Miss USA.
Puerto Rico has an Olympic team in the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics, as well as international representation in many other sporting events including the Pan-American Games, the Central American and Caribbean Games, and the Caribbean World Series.
PUERTO RICO IS A COUNTRY SO IT SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS SUCH
Pitcairn Islands anybody?
Gibralter?
Great idea.
Oh, and England is not an independent country, it is the UK which is ! I am British, not English and Never will be, nor will the millions of Scots or Welsh!
being 74 years old my first question is how many will there be tomorrow?
#2 – Agreed on Brunei – definately not in MENA!
#3 – Russia should best listed in both Asia and Europe with an asterisk since it is the largest nation on both continents
– What you have listed as Middle East and North Africa is better listed as “Southwest Asia and North Africa” – “Middle east” is colonial and out dated
#4 – because Turks and Caicos and #13 on Puerto Rico- colonies or territories, neither are countries -#17 ditto Aruba
#5 – because the country is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” with 4 regions in a unique relationship
#6 agreed absolutely
#8 – because it is in North Africa – where it belongs physically and culturally
#20 – I want to agree on his ‘please verify your facts before posting’ – however, it could have been done MUCH more nicely!
Great publication -I have read from it with great interest and appreciation for a long time- Thank you for your work!
Hi folks! Many are suggesting that non-countries be added to the list (such as Puerto Rico). For a listing of the 193 countries of the world, see my list of the countries of the world.
Matt
If Puerto Rico is not a country then
your criteria is different than the one used by the United Nations. As you know the United Nations is an international organization which is the global association of governments.
The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) states that the criteria for statehood are that an entity should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states. Therefore, dependencies and colonies, such as Pitcairn and New Caledonia, should not be included.
G’day Matt,
Brunei as part of Middle East & North Africa !?!?! How can you even contemplate such a thing?!
Turkey not in Europe ?
Might be a popular thought for a few European Union’s inhabitants but you won’t make too many friends in Turkey !
If Armenia is in Europe, so must be Turkey.
Sorry Matt but this list is just too…
challenging for my taste!
Cheers
X
Hi Matt,
Great site – but it’s for geography not politics – right? So Israel is in the Middle East – if it weren’t what would happen to the great Middle East Conflict?
Writing from Jerusalem, which I believe is still in the Middle East.
Just one query: Somalia? Not a part of sub-Saharan Africa? Are you sure it is more culturally tied to North Africa than to the sub-Saharan region?
This goes against most classifications of the country.
Matt
Regardless of how other lists and organization categorizes Israel I think it should firmly remain Middle East-ern in your list (and whether they are considered outsiders by some due to some criteria). What if outsider Quebec secede from Canada? Would it be considered European?
It’s really appreciable that you have tried incorporating almost all countries.But Sri Lanka is never found on the list.
Hi Preetam! Sri Lanka has always been listed under Asia.
Hi nice work matt
1) Assuming this is primarily a geographic grouping, with historical/culural rationales as a secondary consideration, i would put the 6 African countries back into Africa.
2) East Timor seems to me to be clearly a part of Asia, both geographically and culturally
3) Pakistan belongs in Asia, again, both geographically, and culturally. After all it was once part of India.
4) Debatable, but i would p[ut Turkey in Europe (it might one day be part of the EU). along with Russia, it needs an asterisk to denote that the bulk of its territory is in Asia
5) Armenia and Azerbaijan are the trickiest, but i would have them both in Asia.
Reult:
Asia
Besides religion Pakistan is no way culturally connected to the other Middle Eastern countries and Middle Easterners shun them just as much as they shun “Israelis.”
In fact, the people from Pakistan are Indians with a culture identical to the Indian culture. You have no idea what you are talking about.
Pakistan is South East Asian – you’re ridiculous
Who said Pakistan is in South-East Asia? Can’t see anywhere.
Anyway…
The listing is not really “geographic” based. It is more of cultural and historical based.
For one, if it is geographically based, then Russia should have been referred to by two groups – (1) The European part of the Russia “Country” is in Europe; (2) The Asian Part of Russia “Country” which is commonly called as “Serbia” is in Asia.
As an Asian, it is taught to us that the largest land mass of Russia (USSR or modern Russia) is “Serbia” and is part of Asia. So for us, “North Asia” refers to Serbia (fyi: Mongolia is considered as Central Asia).
Regardless, all these groupings will soon be cleared out once supra-groupings and regional groupings become a daily life knowledge.
For example, East Asia Community or EAC. It was formerly called ASEAN+3+3 = 10-member ASEAN states +3 (China, Japan, Korea) +3 (Australia, New Zealand, India).
Pakistan, Mongolia, and Russia (yes Russia) are now observers, and seeking membership with the EAC grouping, with backing from other EAC members. Sooner or later, it will become ASEAN+3+3+3 (simply EAC).
Once the lastest “3″ are accepted, and other supra-regions like the South American Union (SAU) are all well established, daily life grouping will be based on those, much like how we refer to EU and NA (North America) groupings.
Anyway… that’s just my PoV.
And I really wish EAC accepts Russia…
It’s Asian’s time… EAC’s time 
I meant “Siberia” not “Serbia”.
Apologies for not reading everything but
1. I agree about Puerto Rico
2. Where or what is Greenland then?
3. I’m English but I’m perfectly happy about being in both the UK and GB (nice to see you made the distinction between UK and GB … many don’t). England, Scotland and Wales are separate countries, yes but we’re all British and those that say we aren’t need to go and live somewhere else … live together, die alone [name that quote for bonus points]
I’m curious that you placed Pakistan in the Middle East, but not Afghanistan. Culturally, Afghanistan is much more a Middle Eastern country than is Pakistan. I realize that they are both Muslim countries, which is probably the driving factor for your classification, but if you are going to include Pakistan in your listing, you may want to consider including Afghanistan as well.
Great resources, BTW. I’m learning a lot about the world!
Matt,I believe that Puerto Rico should be also included with the caribbean list it is a caribbean island and everyone who travels to the caribbean considers it a caribbean Island. One of the most beautiful wonders of the world.
We are debating Greenland as part of Europe or North America, I don’t see it on either list?
Indeed, Greenland is not a country, it is a territory of Denmark and thus is not on the list. -Matt
hi there..
you forgot Singapore under Asia list of coutries….
Combining North Africa with the Middle East has a historical precedent also: Phoenician anthropomorphic maps of Hermes in west Asia and Aphrodite in north Africa.
Like the author of a prior comment, the Phoenicians also included Sudan in this group.
Here’s an ancient definition of North Africa (with footnotes):
Aphrodite as an Anthropomorphic Map
The goddess we call Aphrodite
Is not just an old Grecian deity.
The Phoenicians did make
Her a map. It’s not fake.
Her body is cartograffiti.
The Punic war destroyed her face, (1)
The Romans left nary a trace.
But her hair is still there,
In Sahara, that’s where. (2)
And her chin’s a Tunisian place. (3)
Mt. Atlas is her first verTebra. (4)
Her backbone is now Gulf of Sidra. (5)
Her heart is in Libya, (6)
Her left leg, Somalia. (7)
Her breast is in Chad wearing no bra. (8)
The Greeks called her liver Egypt, an’ (9)
Her kidney was Biblical Goshen. (10)
She’s bent at her waist,
Now Misr-ably placed. (11)
The Red Sea was her menstruation. (12)
As a kid I did think the Red Sea
Was an English map typo: lost E,
From Reed Sea in Hebrew.
But that could not be true,
Mare Rubrum ’twas Latin, B.C.
Aphrodite with Hermes did sin,
We know this is true ’cause within
Her “snatch” we call Sinai (13)
His “zaiyin” does still lie. (14)
It’s known as the desert of Zin.
Footnotes:
(1) The Romans destroyed Carthage during the 3rd Punic War. In Hebrew,
“face” is PaNim.
(2) In Hebrew, “hair” is Sa3aR (using 3 for the letter aiyin).
(3) Tunis is a reversal of SaNTir, the Hebrew word for chin.
(4) The Atlas is the first cervical vertebra that supports the skull.
(5) In Hebrew, SHiDRa is spine, backbone.
(6) The Semitic term for “heart” is LeB.
(7) In Hebrew, “left” is S’MoL.
(8) In Hebrew, “breast” is SHaD.
(9) As in ancient Greek hepato- “liver”.
(10) The ancient shin had a T-sound, e.g., SHoR = ox was ToR as in Taurus.
The gimel often has a K-sound in other languages, e.g., GaMaL = camel. So,
GoSHeN sounded like QTN, as in QiTNiot = beans. Goshen was her bean-shaped
kidney. Ashkenazi Jews do not eat beans on Passover. Cotton was exported
from QTN / Goshen. The Latin genus for cotton is Gossypium. Compare English
gossamer.
(11) Both Arabic Misr and Hebrew MiTZRaim are derived from the Semitic term
for narrow, TZaR. The waist is (or should be) the narrow part of the body.
(12) In Latin, the Red Sea was called Mare Rubrum. In Hebrew, the Red Sea is
called “Yam SooF” = Sea of Reeds. SooF is a reversal of the sounds in
peh-sof PoS, Hebrew for the female pudenda.
(13) In Hebrew, Sinai is spelled SINi without an aleph. But it is pronounced
as if had an aleph after the nun. It seems that the ancient sound of aleph
changed from CHS/GHT => T => a glottal stop. Treating aleph as CHS, Sinai
sounded like SNCHs, a reversal of K’NiSah = entrance (to her body).
(14) Zaiyin means “weapon” in Hebrew. It is also a euphemism for the male
member.
ciao,
Israel “izzy” Cohen
cohen.izzy@gmail.com
where is Puerto Rico
Boy, you really stuck your finger in a wasp nest with this one. Love it. But being from the old school it is hard to accept a lot of these “social-cultural” seemingly arbitrary or at best artificial regionalisations. Why not just stick with the world map and call Africa Africa etc. Middle East is a problem granted- but I too agree the UN has a system so why buck the establishment. But Matt it is good food for thought and your Website is awesome and entertaining and revolutionary. Good job- well done.
How come Pakistan in Middle east???
How come india nad pakistan be in two different regions? I wish if it was so… all these tensions between those countries wouldnt have been there.
Matt,
I think you have not considered Hawaii and Greenland in your listing
If the Marshall Islands is considered a country, then so should the Cook Islands and Niue.
Hey Matt,
Nice and quite helpful mapping! However, your approaches and explanations in mapping are not so valid..
However, Pakistan is not Middle East & North Africa. Pakistan, India & Bangladesh are always Asian countries. So with Afghanistan. Didn’t you read from history book that Pakistan used to be West India?
It’s wishful thinking that Israel will be better off as part of Europe, yet put Turkey as Middle East. While in reality, Turkey is soon to be part of EU, not Israel! Using your approaches – location and culture – Israel belongs to Middle East regardless it’s a loner or not.
I would not call MENA (Middle East & North Africa) as region except for economic term. Don’t you think the whole Africa should be devided into Francophone and Anglophone regions?
I disagree that East Timor is part of Australia & Oceania. And totally disagree with your explanation as someone who used to lived there. East Timor will be forever part of Asia, just like some part of Indonesia that border with Papua New Guinea, which is further east than East Timor.
That just about sums it up. I agree with you, especially on the Pakistan point.
Hey the same map has been also used by Nokia.. Like u can see Afghanistan and Pakistan in middle east, however they have put India and Bangladesh into asia Pacific.. U can see in their Website.
Hey Matt: I’m willing to try this. ( Geography is always interesting, though certainly not one of my best subjects, so
regions are a reasonable stab at organization. It’s been difficult to talk about “Russia” since the end of the USSR, and
it seems sensible to include it with Europe.) How about a colour-coded map? Easier to learn, eh what?
Matt,
Glad to see you doing this. Interesting when people say things like “Hawaii” is a country. Saw the question about why Armenia and Georgia are in Europe. Here is a another reference to “Other Countries in Europe” by the Europa website of the EU. http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/others/index_en.htm
Keep educating!
hello matt, sir..
can i know , how can u diveded country in several area.and what is the main thing, criteria which you divided them.. i want to know sir , what is your basic rule of divison of country and its border area, cultural area or phisical area…..
plz reply sir ..
hello matt, sir..
can i know , how can u diveded country in several area.and what is the main thing, criteria which you divided them.. i want to know sir , what is your basic rule of divison of country and its border area, cultural area or phisical area…..
and next question
Q-can i divide any rision which is similar relatedwith thir geomorphic structure??
plz reply sir.
israel a neighbour of europe? thats funny.
“There will be no further need to argue about within which region a country belongs as my list solves everything.”
That makes me laugh
You need to acually have Maps. This is such a retarded site.
There is no way Pakistan can be included in MENA. It is more appropriately a part of the Indian Subcontinent. It shares the same history as other subcontinent countries, such as, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, similar culture and even same/similar languages (no one speaks Arabic in Pakistan).
Moreover, with its large rivers, arable land, high mountains (such as Himalayas and the Karakorams) and overcrowded cities, there is no way Pakistan’s geography is similar to that of the Middle East. It should have been part of ‘Asia’.
You have left French Guiana out of South America.
My list would look a little different from yours, Matt, probably because it’s driven by even more of a geocultural rationale, and though it sometimes also resembles the list given by the UN Statistical Division, it departs from that in some ways as well. I’ve also identified eight divisions, and here they are:
1-East Asia (E, C, N Asia)
2-South Asia (Indian Subcontinent, Mainland SE Asia)
3-West Asia-North Africa
4-Subsaharan Africa
5-Europe
6-Northern America (U.S., Canada, Greenland)
7-Southern America (Middle and S America)
8-The Pacific (Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australasia, Maritime SE Asia)
This arrangement hangs together better for me right now, but the subject is complex and, who knows, maybe next month things will look different to me. I’m working on a larger scheme right now which calls for a reliable geoscheme, which is how I found your very thought-provoking site, Matt. Excellent work! and thanks for all the great comments, everybody.
for those of you who think they know about Armenia, Georgia and the Caucasus and they think they’re not related to Europe are greatly mistaken! Both Armenia and Georgia are going to be Associate members of European Union pretty soon (they’re finishing negotiating stage) Also culturally both countries are indeed very European, and the people of both countries feel themselves more European rather than Asian or Middle Eastern. Armenia and Georgia are clearly in Europe.
Hi, I really Like your Website, but I notice that these places do not showup on any of your lists, can you perhaps help us find these?
Thanks – see Below
Anguilla
Aruba
Aaland Islands
Bouvet Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cook Islands
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Gibraltar
Guadeloupe
Guam
Heard and Mc Donald Islands
British Indian Ocean Territory
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Cayman Islands
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Moldova, Republic of
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macau
Northern Mariana Islands
Martinique
Montserrat
New Caledonia
Norfolk Island
Niue
French Polynesia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Pitcairn
Palestinian Territory, Occupied
Reunion
Saint Helena
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Syrian Araba Republic
Turks and Caicos Islands
French Southern Territories
Tokelau
Timor-Leste
Turkmenistan
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Mayotte
How can Pakistan be in No. Africa if it was a part of India until 1945 and India is on the continent of Asia. Also, Somalia was once a part of Ethiopia which is the eastern part of Africa,
None of the following countries are on your list?
FRENCH GUIANA
GUADELOUPE
HONG KONG
JERSEY
MARTINIQUE
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
NEW CALEDONIA
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
PUERTO RICO
Hi Matt, just so you know
you listed Kosovo like independent country, but it’s not
read UN resolution 1244 and you will see that Kosovo is garanted that it is Serbian!!!
Hope you will remove it from your list and not look stupid…
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). I wonder how they can be considered under MENA. In my opinion, both these countries belong to Asia.
The most excellent site ever !!
Matt
I could read from the comments in which commentators have repeatedly questioned about placement of Pakistan out of Asia but neither you have changed your listing nor responded as what is the criteria of your consideration to keep Pakistan out of Asia.
Are you anticipating some tectonic plates’ catastrophic shift?
Thank you for your post Zakaria! I have renamed the region of the Middle East to better encompass its regionality. As I state in my introduction, my regions are not necessarily based on physical location.
-Matt
Matt, where is Netherland Antilles. It’s near Central America so just put that on
I went to Wales today. They all said it was a country. At least 10 people. And then they shook their heads giving me the ignorant American look. And later with research, I find out Scotland isn’t one either. All part of the UK???? Am I an ignorant American? Thanks!
Dear Mr. Rosenberg,
The middle east is at best a colonial geopolitical term used originally to delineate the intrests of the British empire, and more recently the intrests of the United States and western Europe. At its worst, it is an attempt to separate certain countries from the rest of the world in order to promote racism against their population. Countries in the middle east are either in Asia, Africa, or partly in Asia and partly in Europe.
If the term middle east does not have a negative connotation then why would a Jewish geographer try to exclude Israel from the middle east through clever use of asterisks? If the term middle east does not have a negative connotation, then why not call Korea, Japan, vietnam, etc. the far east, and revert to calling their populations orientals instead of Asians?
I urge you and all good people to refrain from the use of terms such as the middle east which in my opinion serve only the racists of this world.
Interesting comments above.
I am not arguing with the list…just curious on why Morocco, Kashmir, Palestine, Aruba, Western Sahara are not listed.
Just need clarification from anybody. Thanks !
My only suggestion is to separate them by location/geography and not political / religious affiliations since that could always change.
I love all the comments above.
I am not questioning the list..just wondering why Morocco, Palestine, Aruba, Western Sahara and Kashmir are not listed. I would like the list to be divided by physical location/region (north, east, south or west Africa, Asia or Europe as cultural/religious affiliations change in time.
where’s Philippines
I don’t see Bermuda on your list of countries (?)
John: Bermuda is an overseas territory of the UK and therefore not an independent country.
I have allway’s russia from west to ural in east to europe, and the rest to asia. that what i learnd in school almost 60 years ago, and have never heard of anything else.
greetings from umAicha in Sweden
What a bunch of ANAL idiots….
Give us all a break!
Keep it simple!
Great job Matt!
Jeeem
I was looking at how they were listing the countries of the world. It obviously was done by some racist——-. They took all of the countries of North Africa and called it the middle east. Then they list 48 countries call sub sahara Africa. Liers. Years ago the middle east was call North East Africa. Most students of the world believe Egypt is not part of Africa.
We must wait until these racist men die before truth can prevail./ WOW.
Should East Timor be included now? That would make 197 countries.
Hi Cath Kay,
It’s there (under Australia & Oceania.)
-Matt
Is this updated for the current year today? 2012? I used this for our assignment. I hope this is right
What’s the difference of a state and regions and a sub-region? Enlighten me. Thanks by the way. Such a big help.
Great list. However, these countries should be listed, too.
Anguilla
Aruba
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Congo
Cook Islands
Gambia
Hong Kong
Macao
Micronesia, Federated States of
Montserrat
New Caledonia
Palistine
Puerto Rico
Zanzibar
i litsen somewhere that there are 200plus countries in the world but your list is showing only 196, is it true that there are 200plus countries in the world? pls clear my confusion about the no. of countries in the world.pls tell me exactly how many countries in the world?
What is it about the cultures of the countries you list as Middle Eastern that they share? It cannot be language. It cannot be religion, it cannot be ethnicity or race. So please tell me. I am very confused.
I’m guessing Mr Rosenberg is Jewish as his name implies. He is obviously disappointed in having to place Israel in the Middle East and he claims it belongs in Europe (like Cyprus).. He must be basing the borders on religion, since he has Armenia and Georgia in Europe, but not Azerbaijan.
He has firmly located Turkey ,which actually has territory in Europe, and is a member of every European organization except the EU, in the Middle East, with not even an * to explain its situation. Meanwhile Israel which has nothing to do with Europe geographically is considered ‘too’ European for the Middle East.
This is like claiming Mexico belongs in the southern hemisphere since they speak Spanish. Absurd.