A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent . Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme , which is a changing, constantly updated, UN tool based on specific political geography and demography considerations relevant in UN statistics.
10-630: Northwestern Europe , or Northwest Europe , is a loosely defined subregion of Europe , overlapping Northern and Western Europe . The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographically , Northwestern Europe is given by some sources as a region which includes Great Britain , Ireland , Belgium , the Netherlands , Luxembourg , Northern France , parts of or all of Germany , Denmark , Norway , Sweden , and Iceland . In some works, Switzerland , Finland , and Austria are also included as part of Northwestern Europe. Under
20-435: Is a large region or area of land that is in one piece and not noticeably broken up by oceans . The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea , such as a continent or a large island . In the field of geology , a landmass is a defined section of continental crust extending above sea level . Continents are often thought of as distinct landmasses and may include any islands that are part of
30-583: Is close genetic affinity among some Northwest European populations, with some of these populations descending from Bell Beaker populations carrying steppe ancestry . For example, the Beaker people of the lower Rhine overturned 90% of Great Britain's gene pools, replacing the Basque-like neolithic populations present prior. Subregion The Statistics Division of the United Nations (UN)
40-513: Is in charge of the collection, processing, and dissemination of statistical information for the UN. In 1999, it developed a system of macro-geographical (continental) regions, subregions, and other selected economic groups to report advances towards achieving numerous millennial development goals worldwide. These statistical divisions were devised for statistical purposes and is used for carrying out statistical analysis. The division's first publication
50-556: The Americas are sometimes defined as two separate continents while mainland Australia is sometimes defined as an island as well as a continent. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for the four major continental landmasses only. The artificial Panama and Suez canals are disregarded, as they are not natural waters that separate
60-805: The Interreg program, funded by the European Regional Development Fund , "North-West Europe" (NWE) is a region of European Territorial Cooperation that includes Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands and parts of France and Germany. During the Reformation , some parts of Northwestern Europe converted to Protestantism , in a manner which differentiated the region from its Roman Catholic neighbors elsewhere in Europe. A definition of Northwestern Europe
70-407: The associated continental shelf . When multiple continents form a single contiguous land connection, the connected continents may be viewed as a single landmass. Earth 's largest landmasses are (starting with largest): Continental landmasses are not usually classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water. However, because the definition of continent varies between geographers,
80-846: The extent possible according to continents. Sequence used in the list (not all criteria are applied to each continent): Afro-Eurasia is a continental landmass comprising the continents of Africa , Asia , and Europe . Eurasia is a continental mainland comprising the continents of Asia and Europe . The Americas is a continental landmass comprising the continents of North America and South America . [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania Landmass A landmass , or land mass ,
90-473: Was the book World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics in 2000. According to the UN, the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories. The following is a non-exhaustive list of subregions, arranged alphabetically by region (i.e., by continent); in the UN geoscheme, higher-level, macro-geographical regions are arranged to
100-431: Was used by some late 19th to mid-20th century anthropologists , eugenicists , and Nordicists , who used the term as a shorthand term for the part of Europe with a predominantly Nordic population. For example, Arthur de Gobineau , the 19th-century aristocrat who published works on the pseudoscience of scientific racism , included parts of Northwestern Europe in what Leon Baradat described as his "Aryan heaven". There
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