Stories by UN geographic subregion, and by legal designation of territory.
Africa
Northern Africa — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara, a UN Non-Self-Governing Territory under Moroccan control since 1975 (described as occupation by the African Union and Human Rights Watch).
Eastern Africa — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion stretching from Eritrea and Somalia to Zimbabwe, including Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Madagascar and other Indian Ocean islands.
Middle Africa — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Western Africa — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion stretching from Mauritania, Senegal and Cabo Verde to Nigeria and Niger, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, plus Saint Helena.
Southern Africa — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe fall in other subregions.
Americas
Northern America — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Canada, the United States, Bermuda, Greenland, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Mexico is in Central America.
Caribbean — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion of Caribbean island states and territories, including Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Central America — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Caribbean islands, including Cuba and Haiti, form a separate subregion.
South America — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, French Guiana and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
Asia
Central Asia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Eastern Asia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: China (including Hong Kong and Macao), Japan, Mongolia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea.
South-Eastern Asia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
Southern Asia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Iran is placed here, not in Western Asia.
Western Asia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Türkiye, Cyprus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Iran is in Southern Asia.
Europe
Eastern Europe — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Baltic states are Northern Europe.
Northern Europe — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, plus the Faroe, Åland and Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Southern Europe — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Andorra, San Marino, the Holy See and Gibraltar.
Western Europe — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The United Kingdom and Ireland are Northern Europe; Italy, Spain and Portugal are Southern Europe.
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Australia and New Zealand, with Australia's external territories of Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island.
Melanesia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. New Caledonia is a UN Non-Self-Governing Territory.
Micronesia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Polynesia — UN Statistics Division (M49) subregion: Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Niue, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna, and Pitcairn.
Special Designations
OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territory) — The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza: the occupied Palestinian territory. Authorities: UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 2334, and the ICJ advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, which found Israel's continued presence unlawful and that it must end as rapidly as possible. The designation rests on international humanitarian law (Hague Regulations Art. 42; Geneva IV Art. 2), not on the occupier's domestic law.
Occupied Territory — Territory under the authority of a hostile foreign army (Hague Regulations Art. 42). The occupier's duties are set by Geneva IV Arts. 47-78 and Hague Regulations Art. 43; occupation does not transfer sovereignty. HRN applies the designation only with a named authority, such as Crimea, Ukraine (UNGA 68/262); Golan Heights, Syria (UNSC 497); northern Cyprus (UNSC 541).
Annexed Territory — Used only where a state claims annexation and a UN Security Council or General Assembly resolution declares that claim without legal effect. It labels the claim, not its validity: HRN writes 'purported annexation'. Under the UN Charter and General Assembly Resolution 2625 (1970), no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force is to be recognised as legal.
Disputed Territory — Territory under competing sovereignty claims with no binding international determination, such as Kashmir. HRN names who administers each part, e.g. 'Indian-administered Kashmir', never 'Indian Kashmir'. HRN does not use 'disputed' where a designation with a named authority, such as occupied territory, applies.
Autonomous Region — Territory with formal self-governing status under the controlling state's domestic law. The label records what that law says, not how it is practised; HRN notes documented restrictions that contradict it.
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