Region Type groups the atlas supra-national regions (transcontinental and transnational groupings such as The Sahel, Scandinavia and The Caribbean) by the kind of grouping that defines them: a shared culture or history, a shared physical or climatic character, a shared sea or coastline, a lasting historical-only designation, or a formal geopolitical bloc of states. The set replaced an earlier sub-national vocabulary (state or province and similar) that did not describe any of the 208 region entities, per an owner decision on 2026-09-25.
Facts
Comparison
Classification AuthorityUN M49 Standard Country or Area Codes 1 Region Type
Sources
1. United Nations M49 Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (Geoscheme)
United Nations Statistics DivisionOverview page, Regions category rowQuote, Overview page, Regions category row
The United Nations Statistics Division's M49 standard, the geoscheme used to classify countries and areas into continental regions, subregions and intermediary regions for statistical reporting.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- Contains: East Asia, East Asia
- Contains: South Asia, South Asia
- Contains: North Africa, North Africa
- Contains: Southern Africa, Southern Africa
- Contains: Central America, Central America
- Contains: Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe
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