Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America,and South America, with many systems (like the UN geoscheme) further dividing them into detailed subregions.
Below is a clear, structured list of globally recognized world regions, combining the United Nations geoscheme and other authoritative regional frameworks.
🌍 Primary World Regions (UN & global statistical use)
These are the six major continental regions widely used for global reporting.
- Africa
- Asia
- Europe
- Latin America & the Caribbean
- Northern America
- Oceania
🌐 UN Subregions (22 total)
The UN geoscheme divides the world into 22 subregions for statistical consistency.
Africa
- Northern Africa
- Western Africa
- Middle Africa
- Eastern Africa
- Southern Africa
Asia
- Central Asia
- Eastern Asia
- South-Eastern Asia
- Southern Asia
- Western Asia
Europe
- Eastern Europe
- Northern Europe
- Southern Europe
- Western Europe
Americas
- Caribbean
- Central America
- South America
- Northern America
Oceania
- Australia & New Zealand
- Melanesia
- Micronesia
- Polynesia
🌎 Alternative Region Groupings (World Bank)
The World Bank uses analytical regions for economic reporting:
- East Asia & Pacific
- Europe & Central Asia
- Latin America & the Caribbean
- Middle East & North Africa
- North America
- South Asia
- Sub‑Saharan Africa
🌏 U.S. Homeland Security Regional Grouping
Another widely referenced classification includes:
- Africa
- Asia
- Caribbean
- Central America
- Europe
- North America
- Oceania
- South America
🧭 UN Regional Groups (used for diplomacy)
These are political—not geographic—groupings used in the UN General Assembly:
- African States
- Asia‑Pacific States
- Eastern European States
- Latin American & Caribbean States
- Western European & Other States
