Distinctly Defined Regions
Since the 18th century Asia has been divided into several subregions independently defined from Asia as a whole. There has been no historical consensus and there is not now any universal consensus on the use of these terms, just as there is none for the word "Asia." The areas defined by the United Nations Statistics Division are useful approximations made more fixed by arbitrary assessments of political circumstances, but they are not and cannot be presented as any sort of authority, past or present, on the exact meaning of either Asia or any of its subregions. The major subregions are as follows.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Asia
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