Claim: Iraq is a Republic in the Middle East.

Western Asia , West Asia , Southwestern Asia or Southwest Asia is the westernmost subregion of Asia . The concept is in limited use , as it significantly overlaps with the Middle East -LRB- or the Near East -RRB- , the main difference usually being the exclusion of Egypt -LRB- which would be counted as part of North Africa -RRB- . The term is sometimes used for the purposes of grouping countries in statistics . The total population of Western Asia is an estimated 300 million as of 2015 .   In an unrelated context , the term is also used in ancient history and archaeology to divide the Fertile Crescent into the `` Asiatic '' or `` Western Asian '' cultures as opposed to ancient Egypt . As a geographic concept , Western Asia includes the Levant , Mesopotamia , Anatolia , Iran , the Armenian Highlands , the South Caucasus , the Arabian peninsula as well as the Sinai Peninsula , making Egypt a transcontinental country . Although the term `` Western Asia '' is mostly used as a convenient division of contemporary sovereign states into a manageable number of world regions for statistical purposes , it is sometimes used instead of the more geopolitical term `` Middle East '' , for example by the Government of Canada .   The term is used pragmatically and has no `` correct '' or generally agreed-upon definition . The National Geographic Style Manual as well as Maddison 's The World Economy : Historical Statistics -LRB- 2003 -RRB- by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development -LRB- OECD -RRB- only includes Bahrain , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Jordan , Kuwait , Lebanon , Oman , Qatar , Palestinian territories -LRB- called West Bank and Gaza in the latter -RRB- , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Turkey , UAE , and Yemen as West Asian countries . In contrast to this definition , the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation -LRB- UNIDO -RRB- in its 2015 yearbook also includes Armenia and Azerbaijan , and excludes Israel -LRB- as Other -RRB- and Turkey -LRB- as Europe -RRB- .  Unlike the UNIDO , the United Nations Statistics Division -LRB- UNSD -RRB- excludes Iran from Western Asia and include Turkey , Georgia , and Cyprus in the region . In the United Nation 's geopolitical Eastern 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 the United Nations Educational , Scientific , and Cultural Organisation -LRB- UNESCO -RRB- .   National members of West Asian sports governing bodies are limited to Bahrain , Iran , Iraq , Jordan , Kuwait , Lebanon , Syria , Oman , Palestine , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , Syria , United Arab Emirates , and Yemen . The Olympic Council of Asia 's multi-sport event West Asian Games are contested by athletes representing these thirteen countries . Among the region 's sports organisations are the West Asia Basketball Association , West Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation , West Asian Football Federation , and the West Asian Tennis Federation .