The term West Asia is used pragmatically and has no "correct" or generally agreed-

upon definition. Its typical definitions overlap substantially, but not entirely,
with definitions of the terms Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, and Near East
(which is historically familiar but is widely deprecated today). The National
Geographic Style Manual as well as Maddison's The World Economy: Historical
Statistics (2003) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) only includes 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.[5][6] In contrast to this
definition, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in its
2015 yearbook also includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, and excludes Israel (as Other)
and Turkey (as Europe).[7]

Unlike the UNIDO, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) excludes Iran from
Western Asia and includes Turkey, Georgia, and Cyprus in the region.[8] In the
United Nations 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 (UNESCO).

National members of Western Asian sports governing bodies are limited to Bahrain,
Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.[9][10][11] 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.

History
See also: History of the Middle East, Ancient Near East, History of the Ottoman
Empire, Treaty of Gulistan, Treaty of Turkmenchay, and Partitioning of the Ottoman
Empire
"Western Asia" was in use as a geographical term in the early 19th century, before
"Near East" became current as a geopolitical concept.[12] In the context of the
history of classical 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. Transoxania and India.[13][14][15] In the 20th century, "Western
Asia" was used to denote a rough geographical era in the fields of archaeology and
ancient history, especially as a shorthand for "the Fertile Crescent excluding
Ancient Egypt" for the purposes of comparing the early civilizations of Egypt and
the former.[16]

Use of the term in the context of contemporary geopolitics or world economy appears
to date from at least the mid-1960s.[17]

Geography
See also: Geography of Asia
The region is surrounded by eight major seas; the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the
Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and
the Mediterranean Sea.

To the northwest and north, the region is delimited from Europe by the Turkish
Straits and drainage divide of the Greater Caucasus, to the southwest, it is
delimited from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez, while to the northeast and east, the
region adjoins Central Asia and South Asia. The region is located east of Southern
Europe and south of Eastern Europe.

The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran naturally delimit the
region from Balochistan and South Asia.