Subregion - Definition and Overview

A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Directional prefixes such as north or south are commonly used to define a subregion.

Here are a few examples of subregions sorted by continent:

North America

• United States, along with Canada
  • Mid-Atlantic States
  • New England
  • The South
  • West Coast
  • East Coast
• Central America
• The Caribbean
  • The Greater Antilles
  • The Lesser Antilles

South America

• Andean States
• Guyana Highlands
• Eastern South America

Europe

• Sorted by compass direction:
  • Western Europe
  • Eastern Europe
  • Northern Europe
  • Southern Europe
  • Central Europe
• Peninsulas:
  • Balkan Peninsula
  • Iberian Peninsula
  • Italian Peninsula
  • Scandinavian Peninsula
• Other groupings:
  • Baltic States
  • Benelux or the Low Countries
  • British Isles
  • Nordic States
  • Visegrad Group

Africa

• North Africa
  • Maghreb
• Sub-Saharan Africa
  • West Africa (Bulge of Africa)
  • East Africa (Horn of Africa)
  • Central Africa
  • Southern Africa

Asia

• Central Asia
• West Asia (or Middle East)
  • Gulf States
  • Near East
  • Anatolia
  • Caucasus
  • Arabian Peninsula
  • Levant
• North Asia (see Siberia)
• East Asia
• South Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent
  • Bengal
  • Himalayan States
• Southeast Asia
  • Maritime
  • Mainland
• Indochina

Oceania

• Australasia or Australia
• Melanesia
• Micronesia
• Polynesia

Note: Even these continents are considered by some to be arbitrary subregions - such as "North" and "South" America, or the division of Europe and Asia from Eurasia, a purely political arrangement. Furthermore, some speak in terms of this region to forming a super-continent with Africa called "Eurafrasia."

See also

• continent
• subcontinent
• supercontinent