West Asia

West Asia(also calledWestern AsiaorSouthwest Asia) is the westernmost region ofAsia. As defined by most academics,UNbodies and other institutions, the subregion consists ofAnatolia, theArabian Peninsula,Iran,Mesopotamia, theArmenian highlands, theLevant, theisland of Cyprus, theSinai Peninsulaand theSouth Caucasus.The region is separated fromAfricaby theIsthmus of SuezinEgypt, and separated fromEuropeby the waterways of theTurkish Straitsand the watershed of theGreater Caucasus.Central Asialies to its northeast, whileSouth Asialies to its east. Twelve seas surround the region (clockwise): theAegean Sea, theSea of Marmara, theBlack Sea, theCaspian Sea, thePersian Gulf, theGulf of Oman, theArabian Sea, theGulf of Aden, theRed Sea, theGulf of Aqaba, theGulf of Suez, and theMediterranean Sea. West Asia contains the majority of the similarly definedMiddle East. The Middle East is a political term that has changed many times depending on political and historical context while West Asia is a geographical term with more consistency. It excludes most of Egypt and the northwestern part ofTurkey, and includes thesouthern part of the Caucasus.
West Asia covers an area of 5,994,935 km(2,314,657 sq mi), with a population of about 313 million.Of the 20 UN member countries fully or partly within the region, 13 are part of theArab world. The most populous countries in West Asia areIran,Turkey,Iraq,Saudi ArabiaandYemen.
In theWorld Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions(WGSRPD), West Asia excludes the Arabian Peninsula and includesAfghanistan.TheFood and Agriculture Organization(FAO) excludes Egypt and includes Afghanistan.TheUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeexcludesCyprus,Israel,Turkey, andIranfrom West Asia.
The termWest Asiais used pragmatically and has no "correct" or generally accepted definition. Its typical definitions overlap substantially, but not entirely, with definitions of the termsMiddle East,Eastern Mediterranean, andNear East(which is historically familiar but widely deprecated today).TheNational GeographicStyle Manualas well asMaddison'sThe World Economy: Historical Statistics(2003) by theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) include only Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Palestine (called West Bank and Gaza in the latter), Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, and Yemen as West Asian countries.By contrast, theUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO) in its 2015 yearbook includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, and excludes Israel (as Other) and Turkey (as Europe).
Unlike the UNIDO, theUnited Nations Statistics Division(UNSD) excludes Iran from West Asia and includes Turkey, Georgia, and Cyprus in the region.In the United Nations geopoliticalEastern European Group, Armenia and Georgia are included in Eastern Europe, whereas Cyprus and East Thracian Turkey are in Southern Europe. These three nations are listed in the European category of theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO).
National members of West Asian sports governing bodies are limited to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.TheOlympic Council of Asia's multi-sport eventWest Asian Gamesare contested by athletes representing these 13 countries. Among the region's sports organisations are theWest Asia Basketball Association,West Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation,West Asian Football Federation, and theWest Asian Tennis Federation.
"Western Asia" was in use as a geographical term in the early 19th century, before "Near East" became current as a geopolitical concept.In the context of the history ofclassical antiquity, "Western Asia" could mean the part of Asia known in classical antiquity, as opposed to the reaches of "interior Asia", i.e.Scythia, and "Eastern Asia" the easternmost reaches of geographical knowledge in classical authors, i.e.TransoxaniaandIndia.In the 20th century, "Western Asia" was used to denote a rough geographical era in the fields ofarchaeologyandancient history, especially as a shorthand for "theFertile CrescentexcludingAncient Egypt" for the purposes of comparing the early civilizations of Egypt and the former.
Use of the term in the context of contemporarygeopoliticsorworld economyappears to date from at least the mid-1960s.
The region is surrounded by eight major seas; theAegean Sea, theBlack Sea, theCaspian Sea, thePersian Gulf, theArabian Sea, theGulf of Aden, theRed Sea, and theMediterranean Sea.
To the northwest and north, the region is delimited fromEuropeby theTurkish Straitsand drainage divide of theGreater Caucasus, to the southwest, it is delimited fromAfricaby theIsthmus of Suez, while to the northeast and east, the region adjoinsCentral AsiaandSouth Asia. The region is located east ofSouthern Europeand south ofEastern Europe.
TheDasht-e KavirandDasht-e Lutdeserts in easternIrannaturally delimit the region fromBalochistanand South Asia.
Three majortectonic platesconverge on West Asia, including theAfrican,Eurasian, andArabianplates. The boundaries between the tectonic plates make up theAzores-Gibraltar Ridge, extending acrossNorth Africa, theRed Sea, and into Iran.The Arabian Plate is moving northward into theAnatolian plate(Turkey) at theEast Anatolian Fault,and the boundary between theAegeanand Anatolian plate in easternTurkeyis alsoseismicallyactive.
Several majoraquifersprovidewaterto large portions of West Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers ofPalaeozoicandTriassicorigins are located beneath theJabal Tuwayqmountains and areas west to the Red Sea.CretaceousandEocene-origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia and Biyadh which contain amounts of bothfresh waterandsaline water.Flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used forirrigation, covering nearly 90,000 km(35,000 sq mi) across West Asia for agriculture.Also, theTigrisandEuphratesrivers contribute very well.
West Asia is primarilyaridandsemi-arid, and can be subject todrought, but it also contains vast expanses of forest and fertile valleys. The region consists ofgrasslands,rangelands,deserts, andmountains.Water shortagesare a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growingpopulationsincreasing demands for water, whilesalinizationandpollutionthreaten water supplies.Major rivers, including theTigrisandEuphrates, provide sources forirrigationwater to supportagriculture.
There are two wind phenomena in West Asia: thesharqiand theshamal. Thesharqi(orsharki) is awindthat comes from the south and southeast. It is seasonal, lasting from April to early June, and comes again between late September and November. The winds are dry and dusty, with occasional gusts up to 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour) and often kick up violent sand and dust storms that can carry sand a few thousand meters high, and can close down airports for short periods of time. These winds can last for a full day at the beginning and end of the season, and for several days during the middle of the season. Theshamalis a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year.
West Asia contains large areas of mountainous terrain. TheAnatolian Plateauis sandwiched between thePontus MountainsandTaurus MountainsinTurkey.Mount Araratin Turkey rises to 5,137 m (16,854 ft). TheZagros Mountainsare located in Iran, in areas along its border with Iraq. The Central Plateau of Iran is divided into twodrainage basins. The northern basin isDasht-e Kavir(Great Salt Desert), andDasht-e-Lutis the southern basin.
InYemen, elevations exceed 3,700 m (12,100 ft) in many areas, andhighlandareas extend north along theRed Seacoast and north intoLebanon. Afaultzone also exists along the Red Sea, with continentalriftingcreatingtrough-liketopographywith areas located well belowsea level.TheDead Sea, located on the border between theWest Bank,Israel, andJordan, is situated at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level, making it thelowest pointon the surface of theEarth.
Rub' al Khali, one of the world's largest sand deserts, spans the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, parts of Oman, theUnited Arab Emiratesand Yemen.Jebel al Akhdaris a small range of mountains located in northeastern Oman, bordering theGulf of Oman.
The population of West Asia was estimated at 272 million as of 2008, projected to reach 370 million by 2030 by Maddison (2007; the estimate excludes the Caucasus and Cyprus).
This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 1.4% (or adoubling timeof 50 years), well above theworld averageof 0.9% (doubling time 75 years).
The population of West Asia is estimated at 4% ofworld population, up from about 39 million at the beginning of the 20th century, or about 2% of world population at the time.
The most populous countries in the region areTurkeyandIran, each with around 79 million people, followed byIraqandSaudi Arabiawith around 33 million people each, andYemenwith around 29 million people.
Numerically, West Asia is predominantlyArab,Persian,Turkish, and the dominating languages are correspondinglyArabic,PersianandTurkish, each with of the order of 70 million speakers, followed by smaller communities ofKurdish,Azerbaijani,Hebrew,ArmenianandNeo-Aramaic. The dominance of Arabic and Turkish is the result of the medievalArabandTurkicinvasions beginning with the Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD, which displaced the formerly dominantAramaicin theregion of Syria, andGreekin Anatolia, althoughHebrewbecame the dominant language inIsraelin the second half of the 20th century, andNeo-Aramaic(spoken by modernArameansandAssyrians) andGreekboth remain present in their respective territories as minority languages.
Significant native minorities include, in alphabetical order:Arameans,Assyrians,Druze,Jews,Lurs,Mandeans,Maronites,ShabaksandYezidis.
Fourmajor religious groups(i.e. the two largest religions in the world:Christianity and Islam, plusJudaismandDruze faith) originated in West Asia.Islamis the largest religion in West Asia, but other faiths that originated there, such asJudaismandChristianity,are also well represented.
InArmeniaandGeorgia,Oriental OrthodoxyandEastern Orthodoxyrespectively are the predominant religions.Eastern Orthodoxy is also the majority religion inCyprus. There are still large ancient communities ofEastern Christians(such asAssyrians,Middle Eastern ChristiansandArab Christians) inLebanon,Iraq,Iran,Turkey,Azerbaijan,Syria,Jordan,IsraelandPalestinenumbering more than 3 million in West Asia.There are also large populations of expatriate workers which include sizeable Christian communities living in theArabian Peninsulanumbering more than 3 million.Christian communitieshaveplayed a vital rolein West Asia.
Judaismis the predominant religion inIsrael, and there are small ancient Jewish communities in West Asia such as inTurkey(14,300),Azerbaijan(9,100),andIran(8,756).
TheDruzeFaith or Druzism originated in West Asia. It is a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of figures likeHamza ibn-'Ali ibn-AhmadandAl-Hakim bi-Amr Allahand Greekphilosopherssuch asPlatoandAristotle. The number ofDruzepeople worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% living inSyria, 35% to 40% living inLebanon, and less than 10% living inIsrael; recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.
There are also important minority religions like theBaháʼí Faith,Yarsanism,Yazidism,Zoroastrianism,Mandaeism, andShabakism.
Theeconomyof West Asia is diverse and the region experiences high economic growth. Turkey has the largest economy in the region, followed bySaudi Arabiaand Iran.Petroleumis the majorindustryin the regional economy, as more than half of the world'soil reservesand around 40 percent of the world'snatural gasreservesare located in the region.
Notes:Ramallah is the actual location of the government, whereas the proclaimed capital of Palestine isJerusalem, which isdisputed.Jerusalemis theproclaimed capital of Israeland the actual location of theKnesset,Israeli Supreme Court, etc. Due to itsdisputedstatus, most embassies are inTel Aviv.British Overseas Territory