Transcontinental_country

This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent. The definitions of what continent(s) a particular country covers may vary according to which criteria are used (whether purely geographical or geological or, on the other hand, political, economic or cultural criteria). An example is Russia, which has its historical core as well as most of its population (72%), economic activity and political institutions (such as its capital city) in Europe, yet geographically most of the territory (71%) is actually in Asia. By most definitions, Russia straddles Eurasia.

This list includes transcontinental states, which are countries whose contiguous continental territory or, (in the case of an island state, its different islands) lie in two (or more) different continents, or which has nearby outlying islands associated with a continent other than where it is based.^{[citation needed]} Non-contiguous parts of countries are not considered (i.e. distant integral parts, extraterritorial possessions, dependencies and the like – examples include Bermuda, French Guiana, Greenland, and Hawaii) when deciding whether a nation is a transcontinental state, although such examples may still be considered portions of transcontinental countries. This list includes transcontinental states as well as nations with distant island possessions associated with a continent other than where they are based. These classifications are dependent on the borders of the continents under various definitions.

Contents 1 Countries in both Asia and Europe 1.1 Azerbaijan 1.2 Georgia 1.3 Greece 1.4 Kazakhstan 1.5 Russia 1.6 Turkey 2 Countries in both Asia and Africa 2.1 Egypt 2.2 Yemen 3 Countries in both North America and South America 3.1 Panama 4 Non-contigous 4.1 North and South America 4.2 Africa and Europe 4.3 Asia and Oceania 4.4 Antarctic claims 4.5 Other examples 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

Countries in both Asia and Europe

See Europe and Asia for more details about the geographical border between Europe and Asia.

See also Geographic criteria for EU membership.

• Armenia - physiographically in Asia, with extensive sociopolitical ties to Europe
• Azerbaijan - situated in both Western Asia and Eastern Europe.
• Georgia - situated in both Western Asia and Eastern Europe.
• Greece - situated in both Southeastern Europe and Western Asia (see below and this map.)
• Kazakhstan - situated in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
• Russia - situated in both Northern Asia and Eastern Europe.
• Turkey - situated in both Western Asia and Southeastern Europe.

Azerbaijan

The northeastern Azerbaijan district borders run mostly along the main Caucasus watershed. Five districts are entirely within Europe, and the transcontinental Khizi district is almost equally divided on the two sides of the watershed.

Georgia

Borders according to Council of Europe

Borders according to another widely accepted definition

Georgia is considered a transcontinental country that lies in both, Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The UN definition places it entirely in western asia ( The UN definition of Regions is for statistical and administrative functioning of the UN only) while sources such as Council of Europe and OSCE place the country entirely in EuropeAs a transcontinental country, Georgia may be considered to be in Asia and/or Europe. The UN classification of world regions places Georgia in Western Asia; Conversely, numerous sources place Georgia in Europe such as the Council of Europe [1], BBC [2], Oxford Reference Online [3], Merriam-Webster\'s Collegiate Dictionary, and www.worldatlas.com.

Greece

Mainland Greece and most of its islands are associated with Europe, but the Dodecanese Prefecture of the transcontinental South Aegean Periphery and most of the transcontinental North Aegean Periphery are along Asia\'s continental shelf and may thus be associated with Asia. The intercontinental boundary, if recognized as running between these eastern Greek islands and the remainder of the nation, mostly follows prefecture and periphery boundaries. The Lesbos Prefecture of the North Aegean Periphery would consist of the Asian Lesbos Island and the European Lemnos and Agios Efstratios islands. North Aegean\'s other two prefectures would be entirely in Asia. The South Aegean Periphery would consist of the Dodecanese and the European Cyclades Prefecture. Many geographers and residents of Greece continue to consider all of its islands associated with Europe.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan\'s provincial borders don\'t follow the Ural River, although some of its western district borders do so. Two of the provinces are transcontinental, Atyrau Province and West Kazakhstan Province. The capital of the former, Atyrau, is split by the mouth of the Ural and is a transcontinental city. Almost all of it is in Asia with a small portion in Europe. Two of Atyrau Province\'s districts are entirely in Europe, three of its districts are entirely in Asia, and its Inderskiy and Makhambetskiy districts are transcontinental.www.brif.kz Five of West Kazakhstan\'s districts and the province\'s capital city of Oral are entirely in Europe, five of its districts are entirely in Asia, and its Akzhaikskiy district is transcontinental. www.brif.kz

Russia

Russian regions\' borders follow the Ural Mountains and Ural River closely enough. There is a very small area (less than 300 km²) of Russian territory south of the main Caucasus watershed in Asia. Orenburg on the Ural River is a transcontinental city. More detail on the political divisions through which the intercontinental boundary runs can be found here.

Turkey

Three of Turkey\'s provinces are entirely in Europe while Çanakkale and Istanbul are transcontinental provinces. Three of Çanakkale\'s districts are entirely in Europe and its other nine districts are entirely in Asia. 19 of Istanbul\'s districts are entirely in Europe and its other 12 districts are entirely in Asia.

Countries in both Asia and Africa

green - Asia, pink/grey - Africa

See Geography of Africa and Asia pages for more details about the geographical border between Africa and Asia.

• Egypt - situated in both Northeastern Africa and Southwestern Asia.
• Yemen - situated in both Southwestern Asia and Eastern Africa.

The border between the two continents is considered to go along the Isthmus of Suez and the Suez Canal in Egypt. The border continues through the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. International arbitration of the Hanish islands crisis in 1998 split control of the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea between Yemen and Eritrea along this border.

Egypt

Three of Egypt\'s governorates lie entirely in Asia and two are transcontinental. Ismailia Governorate is nearly equally divided by the Suez Canal and Suez Governorate, which is coterminous with the transcontinental city of Suez, has a small portion east of the Suez Canal.

Yemen

Although mainland Yemen is in the southern Arabian Peninsula and thus part of Asia, and its Hanish Islands and Perim in the Red Sea are associated with Asia, Yemen controls the archipelago of Socotra, which lies east of the horn of Somalia and is much closer to Africa than Asia. Socotra and the mainland city of Aden constitute the transcontinental \'Adan Governorate.

Countries in both North America and South America

green - South America, pink/grey - North America

See North America and South America pages for more details about the geographical border between the two Americas.

• Panama - situated in both southern North America and northwestern South America (if the below boundary between the two is used.)

Panama

Most authorities and most Panamanians consider Panama to be North America\'s southernmost nation, entirely within both Central America and North America. An alternative view is that the man-made Panama Canal, being a concrete line to demarcate the Isthmus of Panama, divides the continents. That would place Darién Province and four comarcas indígenas entirely in South America. Panamá Province and Colón Province would both be transcontinental, with Colón nearly equally divided between both Americas and Panamá Province unequally divided, with nearly a 1:4 ratio in South America\'s favour. A map of the locations of the districts of these two provinces and their area and population numbers is needed. The Pearl Islands and Taboga Island in the Gulf of Panama are part of Panamá Province and would be associated with South America and North America, respectively. Six other provinces and the comarca indígena of Ngöbe-Buglé would be entirely in North America.

Non-contigous

North and South America

• Most geographic authorities delineate the land border dividing the Americas somewhere along the Isthmus of Panama. The most common demarcation follows the Darien watershed along the Colombia-Panama boundary. A less common dividing line (but used herein) is the Panama Canal transecting the isthmus; by that definition, Panama would be reckoned to have territory in both continents. Panama City, Panama\'s capital, sits on the Pacific (southern) coast near the Panama Canal in the eastern (South American) portion of the country. Panama lies almost entirely on the Caribbean Plate, with a small portion on the South American Plate. Geopolitically and geographically, all of Panama is generally considered a part of North America alone and among the countries of North America.
• The sea islands division is more complicated. All Caribbean islands are often labeled as North American. The Dutch dependency Aruba, some parts of the Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire and Curaçao islands), and the state of Trinidad and Tobago lie on the continental shelf of South America, and are considered South American. Venezuela\'s Isla Aves and the Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia are geographically North American. Isla Aves is one of the Federal dependencies of Venezuela under the administration of the transcontinental city of Caracas.

North American Caribbean islands belonging to South American countries:

San Andrés and Providencia

Isla Aves [4]

South American Caribbean islands:

Aruba

Curaçao

Bonaire

Trinidad and Tobago

• Aruba: Lies on the continental shelf of South America, and is thus considered to lie entirely in South America, but all Caribbean islands are often labelled as North American, and the language and cultural links are not to South America.
• Colombia: Mainland Colombia is in northwestern South America and Malpelo Island in the Pacific Ocean is also associated with South America, but the nation also controls the San Andrés and Providencia archipelago, 400 miles WNW of Colombia\'s Caribbean coast, near the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. This archipelago is coterminous with the department of the same name.
• Netherlands Antilles: Bonaire and Curaçao lie entirely in South America because of the position of the continental shelf, while Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten lie entirely in North America. Similarly to Aruba, its historical connections are with the other Caribbean islands that are often labelled as North American, and the language and cultural links are not to South America but increasingly because of tourism and the financial industry to other English speaking Caribbean nations.
• Trinidad and Tobago: Lies on the continental shelf of South America, and is thus considered to lie entirely in South America, but all Caribbean islands are often labelled as North American, and the language and cultural links are not to South America but to the rest of the English speaking Caribbean nations.

Africa and Europe

See Africa and Europe for more details about the geographical border between Africa and Europe.

• Italy:Although mainland Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, the Aegadian Islands, Ustica, and the Aeolian Islands are associated with Europe, the closest land to Pantelleria and the Pelagie Islands is Tunisia on the African mainland. They belong to the transcontinental Sicilian provinces of Trapani and Agrigento, respectively, and they are coterminous with the comuni of Pantelleria and Lampedusa e Linosa, respectively.
• Malta: Malta has been geopolitically European in modern times, but may be considered geographically associated with Africa. More detail may be found here.
• Portugal : Continental Portugal is in Europe, while the Azores archipelago (also associated with Europe) and the archipelago of Madeira (geographically part of Africa) in the Atlantic Ocean constitute the Autonomous regions of Portugal. The latter autonomous region also includes Porto Santo Island, the Desertas Islands, and the Savage Islands, all of which are also African islands.
• Spain: Although its mainland is in Europe, Spain has holdings (the Canary Islands in the Atlantic and its Plazas de soberanía including Ceuta and Melilla on the African mainland) that are geographically part of Africa. They are considered Autonomous communities of Spain. The African Mediterranean island of Isla de Alborán belongs to the transcontinental city of Almería and the transcontinental province of Almería.

Asia and Oceania

• Australia: The Commonwealth of Australia consists of its namesake continent and island possessions associated with Oceania, Asia, and Antarctica. Its Indian Ocean island possessions of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are associated with Asia. The majority of the ancestry of Australia\'s Asian island residents is Asian and the majority of them are Muslim or Buddhist.
• East Timor: East Timor is classified as Asian by the United Nations,UN World Macro Regions and Components and a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum.[http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/east-timor-asean-bid/2006/07/22/1153166635002.html smh.com.au East Timor has applied for membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at which it is an observer; it is also an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

Biogeographically, East Timor lies within Wallacea, an ecological transition zone between Asia and Australasia.Severin, Tim (1997). The Spice Island Voyage: In Search of Wallace. Great Britain: Abacus Travel. ISBN 0-349-11040-9. 

The Portuguese sources, Lello Universal and Enciclopédia Luso-Brasileira, described Timor as being in Oceania. The social organization of its tribal population is extremely similar to societies in Oceania.Marcos, Artur. Timor Timorense - Com suas línguas, literatura, lusofonia. Colibri Editions, 1995. ISBN972-8288-11-5 The languages spoken in the territory are mainly Austronesian, the same group that comprises the languages of New Guinea which is usually considered as part of Melanesia.http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TL Languages of East Timor

• Japan: All of Japan consists of Asian islands except for the remote and uninhabited Minami Torishima, which is an Oceanian island and administratively part of the city of Tokyo and the subdivision of Ogasawara Village, along with other outlying Japanese islands to the south and southeast of the city.^{[citation needed]}

Antarctic claims

A number of nations claim ownership over portions of the continent of Antarctica. Some, including Argentina and Chile, consider the Antarctic land they claim to be integral parts of their national territory. Some nations also have sub-Antarctic island possessions north of 60°S latitude and thus recognized by international law under the Antarctic Treaty System, which holds in abeyance land claims south of 60°S latitude.

Other examples

• Chile is mostly on the South American mainland and includes the Oceanian islands of Easter Island and Sala y Gómez Island. They and the outlying South American Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands are part of the Valparaíso Region.
• Denmark includes the North American island of Greenland and the Faroe Islands associated with Europe. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom and home rule was granted in 1979.
• The Republic of France includes overseas departments in Africa (Réunion), North America (Guadeloupe, Martinique), and South America (French Guiana). These entities have the same legal status as the departments of Metropolitan France. There are other island possessions associated with North America, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica that are French overseas collectives or part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
• The Netherlands has the Caribbean island possessions of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. While Aruba has self-government, the Netherlands Antilles are divided into special municipalities by island group. While Aruba moves toward independence, the Netherlands Antilles move toward greater incorporation into the metropolian Netherlands.
• While the territory of the United States lies overwhelmingly in North America, it includes the state of Hawaii in Oceania, as well as other Oceanian island possessions and Alaskan islands on NE Asia\'s continental shelf.

These examples have integral parts associated with other continents. Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom may also be considered transcontinetal by virtue of distant island possessions associated with a continent other than where the country is based.

References

See also

• Borders of the continents
• Colonialism
• Dependent territory
• Imperialism
• List of countries by continent
• List of transcontinental empires and countries in history
• Thalassocracy

External links

• Transcontinental states according to World Gazetteer

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