Transcontinental nation
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A transcontinental nation is a country belonging to more than one continent. The definitions used may vary according to which criteria are used (whether purely geographical or, on the other hand, political, economic or cultural criteria). The best example is probably Russia, which has its historical core as well as most of its population (75%), economic activity and political institutions (such as its capital city) in Europe, yet geographically most of the territory (75%) is actually in Asia. By most definitions, Russia straddles both in Eurasia.
- 1 Definitions of the continents
- 1.1 Islands
- 1.2 Europe and Asia
- 1.3 Africa
- 1.4 Americas
- 1.5 Asia and Oceania
- 2 Definitions of transcontinental nation
- 3 List of geographically transcontinental states
Definitions of the continents
Islands
Continents are so called because they are continuous bodies of land. Thus, an island is not strictly part of any continent, but many islands can be associated with one by geographical proximity (or also by historical convention, political ties or similar "human" criteria). For example, Rhodes, Cyprus, Sumatra, Singapore and Hainan are not literally "in" Asia; nevertheless, they are closer to Asia than to any other continent, and also are most closely associated with Asia, so this article will consider them Asiatic islands, and Indonesia and Greece transcontinental countries (likewise for other continents and their adjacent islands). Alternate associations would be defensible in some cases.
Using this definition, the following countries could all be considered transcontinental, solely by virtue of the fact that an integral part of their national territory consists of islands that are situated within the continental shelf of another continent or are otherwise geographically closer to another continent than the mainland (mainland continent shown below in bold text):
- Colombia (South America and North America)
- France (if one includes the 4 politically integral overseas departments, France is split between four different continents: Europe, South America, Africa and North America)
- Greece (Europe and Asia)
- Iceland (Europe or North America, depending on defining criteria)
- Italy (Europe and Africa)
- Portugal (Europe and Africa)
- Spain (Europe and Africa)
- Venezuela (South America and North America)
- Yemen (Asia and Africa)
Europe and Asia
The nature and boundaries of Europe are as much sociopolitical questions as geographical. Many geologists and geographers agree that Europe and Asia share many common geographical features and they are sometimes referred to as the single continent Eurasia. Europe is nevertheless a distinct geographical entity, a peninsula off the mainland of Asia.The eastern boundary of Europe has been variously defined since antiquity. Herodotus regarded Europe as extending all the way to the Eastern Ocean, and therefore being as long as (and much larger than) Africa and Asia together. The modern world is in consensus that Europe ends at the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Ural Mountains, but the boundaries between these later two features are uncertain; that leading from the Urals to the Black Sea, for example, has been drawn by different authorities as at the Don, the Kuma-Manych Depression, the Caucasus, the Russian frontier or the Phasis.
Numerous sources (e.g. the National Geographic Society) state that the Europe-Asia boundary follows the watershed of the Ural Mountains from near Kara, Russia on the Kara Sea to the source of the Ural River, then follows that river to the Caspian Sea, the watershed of the Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea. These sources focus mostly on state borders, political affiliation and cultural affiliation.
This article instead discusses the following, more geographically-focused, path: from Baydaratskaya Guba on the Kara Sea, the border follows the eastern side of the Ural mountains, then the Ural River until the Mugodzhar Hills, then the Emba River to the Caspian Sea. The Caspian section of the border goes through the deepest parts of the sea, then on the Kura River (in Azerbaijan and Georgia), through the Surami passage, and on the Qvirila river in the Kolkhida lowland to the coastal city of Poti. The Black Sea section of the border again follows the deepest troughs, then through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, then the deepest parts of the Mediterranean Sea (see the "Islands" section of this article) and on to the Strait of Gibraltar.
By this definition, Europe includes all the Ural Mountains and the Greater Caucasus (not least Mount Elbrus, which would be the highest point in Europe), while the Lesser Caucasus are located entirely in Asia. Russia and Kazakhstan have both European (western) and Asian (eastern) parts (and Russia even had a North American part, before Alaska was sold to the United States in 1867). The Turkish city Istanbul lies in both Europe and Asia; effectively making it a . Georgia's capital Tbilisi is located exactly on the border by this definition, while its south-eastern city Rustavi and Azerbaijan's capital Baku are both in Europe. By this definition, the Georgian republics South Ossetia and Abkhazia lie entirely in Europe, but Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan is located entirely in Asia.
The three additional lines on the map show common interpretations about the border that are mostly non-geographicaly grounded:
- The line labelled A on the map follows the peaks of the Urals, and then the Ural River (some non-geographic sources instead choose the frontier of Kazakhstan, although a natural feature is the only possible geographical boundary as opposed to a political boundary)
- Line B passes through the Kuma-Manych Depression (this path was proposed in 1730 by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg and was adopted then by Tsarina Anna I of Russia #redirect ). This path would exclude from Europe not only the Caucasus, but also regions traditionally in European Russia such as Krasnodar, with its port on the Black Sea at Novorossiysk)
- Line C follows the Caucasus watershed
By this definition, the majority of Georgia's and Azerbaijan's populations live in Europe, and two-thirds of the Georgian territory and a little less than half of Azerbaijan's territory are in Europe. However, they are often excluded today from lists of European states (unlike Russia and Turkey, with proportionally less European territory and population). This may be due in part to the popular Western understanding that, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, three kinds of state emerged: Russia itself; the "European" states (i.e. the Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova); and "other, Asian" states. Recent maps, therefore, often fail to distinguish between the South Caucasus states and those of Central Asia.
Culturally European states
Other nations have strong cultural ties with Europe, such as the north African states Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. However, the clear boundary of the Mediterranean Sea excludes these nations geographically. Israel also has European ties, due in part to its unique history; thus, perhaps confusingly, a Middle Eastern state geographically in Asia is represented in the UEFA European football league (Australia similarly has joined the Asian Football Confederation), and the Eurovision Song Contest. Some in Israel, as in Morocco and Tunisia, have shown ambition to become a state of the European Union, but currently full membership is disallowed (Morocco has actually applied to join, but was rejected on geographical grounds). Of course, many other countries outside Europe have cultural and historical ties to Europe as a consequence of colonization and migration.Politically European states
- See also Geographic criteria for EU membership
Africa
The natural geographical boundaries of Africa are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The boundary between them has been drawn either up the Gulf of Suez or up the Gulf of Aqaba. On purely geological grounds, the boundary could be drawn along the faultline into the Jordan river valley (which would make Israel an African country).The usual line today is at the Isthmus of Suez along the path of the Suez Canal. This makes the Sinai Peninsula geographically Asian, and Egypt a transcontinental country. Nevertheless Egypt is commonly referred to as an African state, because most of its population and territory is there.
In historical geography, several of the larger Mediterranean islands have often been more akin to Africa than to Europe or Asia. Egypt often ruled Cyprus, and sometimes Rhodes. The Roman Empire grouped Crete with Cyrenaica. The Balearic Islands and half of Sicily were ruled from Carthage.
Americas
The border between North America and South America has been drawn variously, generally somewhere along the Isthmus of Panama.One common demarcation follows the Darien Mountains watershed divide along the Colombia-Panama boundary where the isthmus meets the South American continent. Another reckons the continental divide at the Panama Canal, whereby Panama has territory on either side in both continents. Geopolitically (i.e., not strictly geophysical), Panama is usually included with the other Central American countries in North America. The border between North and South America has also been drawn (infrequently) between Costa Rica and Panama, or at one of several other lines across the Isthmus of Panama.
In some cultures, America (singular usage) is thought of as one continent or supercontinent encompassing the entire landmass between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. In this context, North and South America (and sometimes, Central America) are thought of as regions of the greater landmass, rather than continents of their own.
This collectivity of lands and regions in the Western hemisphere is referred to as the Americas. From a sociopolitical and cultural perspective, the Americas are generally divided into Anglo-America (namely the U.S. and Canada, where English prevails) and Latin America (the rest of the Americas, where Romance languages generally predominate). Latin America – particularly Hispanic America – is generally considered a transcontinental region straddling two continents, much like the Middle East. Moreover, the Guyanas are sometimes grouped with the Caribbean along with Belize.
Asia and Oceania
Indonesia is a multi-island, transcontinental state belonging both to Asia and to Oceania. The geological and zoological border follows the Wallace line. Alternatively it may be divided according to the Melanesia definition – accounting for human language, genetics, history and crafts – placing more territory in Asia (shown by the line labelled M on the map). Indonesia is today more commonly referred to as one of the Southeast Asian countries, and thus simply Asian. East Timor, an independent state that was formerly a territory of Indonesia, is sometimes considered part of Oceania, but is classified by the United Nations as part of the "South-Eastern Asia" block.
Oceania
Oceania is not a continent; however, Australia by itself is usually considered one. Therefore the admission of Hawaii to the United States in 1959 did not make the U.S. a transcontinental nation (whether the U.S. was transcontinental from 1898 to 1946, by its possession of the Philippines, is a historical question).If Oceania were a continent, rather than the part of the Earth furthest from any of them, the following countries might be considered transcontinental, as occupying both Oceania and a continent:
Definitions of transcontinental nation
A nation divided between two (or more) nationalities may also be termed a transcontinental nation, for several reasons: immigration (e.g. Chinese in the U.S.); historical reasons (colonization, especially of extraterritorial possessions and dependencies of European states – for example Spain's Ceuta and Melilla); islands belonging to the more distant state in a sea shared between continents (such as Yemen's islands of Socotra, east of the Horn of Africa). Sometimes these overseas territories are regarded as an integral part of the main state (e.g. French Guiana, part of France), in which case the state (here, France) could be regarded as a transcontinental nation.List of geographically transcontinental states
A transcontinental state is a country whose contiguous continental territory (or in the case of an island state, its different islands) lies in two (or more) different continents. Non-contiguous parts of countries are not considered (i.e. distant integral parts, extraterritorial possessions, dependencies and the like – examples include French Guiana, Hawaii, Socotra, and Ceuta and Melilla). This list includes the countries meeting that definition and presents tables showing the calculated area and population of the country on each continent.Methodology of calculation
There are two main methods for non-scientific calculation of parts of the state area:- The smaller part of the territory is divided into rectangles, which area can be easily calculated using simple distance tools. This method gives results with moderate errors and can be used only for area, but not for population.
- If the administrative divisions (sub-regions) of the state are going along the continents geographical border (or near it) then much more correct data (widely available area and population data for the regions) can be added up together.
Countries in both Asia and Europe
- See "Europe and Asia" section of this article for more details about the geographical border between Europe and Asia.
- See also Geographic criteria for EU membership.
- Azerbaijan - situated in both Western Asia and Eastern Europe.
- Georgia - situated in both Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
- Kazakhstan - situated in both Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
- Russia - situated in both Northern Asia and Eastern Europe.
- Turkey - situated in both Western Asia and Eastern Europe.
- Armenia and Cyprus are geographically in Western Asia, but are considered by some as part of Europe for cultural and historical reasons.
Statistics
| State | Total Area km² | Area in Asia km² | Area in Asia % of total | Area in Europe km² | Area in Europe % of total |
| Georgia | 69,700 | 20,460 | 29.35 | 49,240 | 70.65 |
| Azerbaijan | 86,600 | 46,870 | 54.12 | 39,730 | 45.88 |
| Russia | 17,075,200 | 13,115,200 | 76.81 | 3,960,000 | 23.19 |
| Kazakhstan | 2,717,300 | 2,346,927 | 86.37 | 370,373 | 13.63 |
| Turkey | 780,580 | 756,768 | 96.95 | 23,812 | 3.05 |
| Armenia | 29800 | 29800 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyprus | 9251 | 9251 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
Source: World Gazetteer, Statistics of administrative units, towns and cities [link]
For methodologies of calculation see below.
| State | Total Population | Population in Asia | Population in Asia % of total | Population in Europe | Population in Europe % of total |
| Russia | 143,780,000 | 37,742,857 | 26.25 | 106,037,143 | 73.75 |
| Georgia | 4,479,180 | 2,032,004 | 45.37 | 2,447,176 | 54.63 |
| Azerbaijan | 8,327,618 | 4,129,127 | 49.58 | 4,198,491 | 50.42 |
| Turkey | 68,900,000 | 57,855,068 | 83.97 | 11,044,932 1 | 16.03 1 |
| Kazakhstan | 14,757,767 | 13,472,593 | 91.29 | 1,285,174 | 8.71 |
| Armenia | 3,326,448 | 3,326,448 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyprus | 775,927 | 775,927 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
Countries are sorted according to percentage of European population.
Source: World Gazetteer, Statistics of administrative units, towns and cities [link]
For methodologies of calculation see below.
Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijan territory is more finely granulated into regions than the territory of the other states in this list. The consequence is that the area and population calculations should be more accurate. Of the regions that touch the border five lie entierly in Europe by this defintion (best accuracy), one lies almost entierly in Asia, eight lie in both Europe and Asia. Another twenty regions lie entierly in Europe, the rest - in Asia.- Accuracy of area calculation: high-to-medium
- Accuracy of population calculation: high-to-medium
Georgia
Georgia regions' borders in most cases follow the geographical Europe/Asia border. The exclusions are two regions that are divided in half, one region that stretches by this definition a little into Asia and one region that has a quarter of it in Europe.- Accuracy of area calculation: high (but better is possible)
- Accuracy of population calculation: high (but better is possible)
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan regions' borders don't follow the Emba river. There is one region entirely in Europe and two regions that are lying in both Europe and Asia by this definition.- Accuracy of area calculation: medium
- Accuracy of population calculation: medium
Russia
Most of Russia regions' borders follow closely enough the Europe/Asia border. The deviations of the borders are such that if one mainly European region has a small part of its territory in Asia, then another mainly Asian region has a small part of its territory in Europe. Such cases are rare and nearly compensating one-another, so for such a rough calculation above medium accuracy can be claimed (Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Yamal-Nenets AD and Orenburg borders does not follow exactly the Europe/Asia border).- Accuracy of area calculation: medium-to-high
- Accuracy of population calculation: medium-to-high
Turkey
Turkey regions' are helpful for the calculation, but one should note some things. The area that the mainly Asian region of Çanakkale occupies in Europe is compensating the Asian territory of the Istanbul region. The population calculation is more problematic, because it is not sure if the population density (inhabitants/sq. km.) of these two parts are equal and then there is the case with the city of Istanbul, which is lying on both Europe and Asia. Should the city be looked as one big 'dot', located in Europe, or should the population figures be divided? Currently the whole population of the city is added to the table as European. Also, precise data about the particular districts of Istanbul is missing.- Accuracy of area calculation: high (but better is possible)
- Accuracy of population calculation: high-to-medium 1
Cyprus
Geographically entirely in Asia, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Armenia
Geographically entirely in Asia, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Countries in both Asia and Africa
- See Geography of Africa and Asia pages for more details about the geographical border between Africa and Asia.
- The border between the two continents is considered to go along the Isthmus of Suez and the Suez Canal. This border lies in Egypt, so it is considered both North African and Southwest Asian.
Statistics
| State | Total Area km² | Area in Africa km² | Area in Africa % of total | Area in Asia km² | Area in Asia % of total |
| Egypt | 1,001,450 | 937,894 | 93.65 | 63,556 | 6.35 |
For methodologies of calculation see below.
| State | Total Population | Population in Africa | Population in Africa % of total | Population in Asia | Population in Asia % of total |
| Egypt | 74,718,797 | 73,340,638 | 98.16 | 1,378,159 | 1.84 |
For methodologies of calculation see below.
Egypt
Three of Egypt's regions lie entirely in Asia. One of the regions is nearly equally divided by the Suez Canal and another has a small portion east of the Suez Canal.- Accuracy of area calculation: high (but better is possible)
- Accuracy of population calculation: high-to-medium
Countries in both Asia and Oceania
- See Wallace line and the Oceania and Asia pages for more details about the grouping of the islands between Oceania and Asia.
- According to this definition some of the eastern Indonesian islands should be considered oceanian. So Indonesia is both in Southeast Asia and in Oceania.
- According to this definition the whole of the state East Timor lies only in Oceania. Culturally it is also much closer to the Pacific people than to Asians. East Timor is considered as a part of Asia only for historical reasons - the past occupation by Indonesia, which is regarded mostly a Southeast Asian state.
| State | Total Area km² | Area in Asia km² | Area in Asia % of total | Area in Oceania km² | Area in Oceania % of total |
| East Timor | 15,007 | 0 | 0 | 15,007 | 100 |
| Indonesia | 1,904,443 | 1,158,645 | 60.84 | 745,798 | 39.16 |
Source: World Gazetteer, Statistics of administrative units, towns and cities [link]
For methodologies of calculation see below.
| State | Total Population | Population in Asia | Population in Asia % of total | Population in Oceania | Population in Oceania % of total |
| East Timor | 1,019,252 | 0 | 0 | 1,019,252 | 100 |
| Indonesia | 238,452,952 | 208,176,381 | 87.3 | 28,159,300 | 12.7 |
Source: World Gazetteer, Statistics of administrative units, towns and cities [link]
For methodologies of calculation see below.
East Timor
Geographically (and even culturally) entirely in Oceania, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Indonesia
Nine of Indonesia's provinces (island groups) lie entirely in Oceania, while the others lie in Asia, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Countries in both North America and South America
- See North America and South America pages for more details about the geographical border between the two Americas.
- Most geographic authorities delineate the land border dividing the Americas somewhere along the Isthmus of Panama. One common demarcation follows the Darien watershed along the Colombia-Panama boundary. Another common dividing line (and herein) is the Panama Canal transecting the isthmus; thus, Panama is 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. Geopolitically, all of Panama is often considered a part of North America alone and among the countries of Central America.
- The sea islands division is more complicated. Culturally and historically all Caribbean islands (and even some smaller continental countries) are very close together (both similar indigenous people and similar colonial past) and all of them are often labeled as North American.
The dependency Aruba and some parts of the Netherland Antilles (Bonaire and Curaçao islands) and the islands state of Trinidad and Tobago are closer to South America but – by virtue of being in the West Indies – generally considered part of North America. Grenada state can be considered geographically North American. The North-American parts of the Netherland Antilles are Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten. Venezuela's Aves Island and other outlying islands are geographically North American, which is also true of the remote Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia.
Statistics
| State | Total Area km² | Area in North America km² | Area in North America % of total | Area in South America km² | Area in South America % of total |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 5,128 | 0 | 0 | 5,128 | 100 |
| Aruba 1 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 100 |
| Netherland Antilles 1 | 800 | 68 | 8.5 | 732 | 91.5 |
| Panama | 78,200 | 52,853 | 67.59 | 25,347 | 32.41 |
Countries are sorted according to percentage of South American area.
Source: World Gazetteer, Statistics of administrative units, towns and cities [link]
For methodologies of calculation see below.
| State | Total Population | Population in North America | Population in North America % of total | Population in South America | Population in South America % of total |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1,104,209 | 0 | 0 | 1,104,209 | 100 |
| Aruba 1 | 103,000 | 0 | 0 | 103,000 | 100 |
| Netherland Antilles 1 | 221226 | 59226 | 26.77 | 162000 | 73.23 |
| Panama | 3,000,463 | 2,498,717 | 83.28 | 299,936 | 16.72 |
Countries are sorted according to percentage of South American population.
Source: World Gazetteer, Statistics of administrative units, towns and cities [link]
For methodologies of calculation see below.
Trinidad and Tobago
Geographically entirely in South America, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Aruba
Geographically entirely in South America, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Netherland Antilles
Two of the islands groups lie entirely in South America and the other - in North America, so the accuracy of both area and population percentages is the highest possible.Panama
Five of the provinces lie entirely in South America. One of the regions is nearly equally divided between both Americas and another - unequally, nearly 1:4 ratio.- Accuracy of area calculation: high-to-medium
- Accuracy of population calculation: medium
Transcontinental empires in history
Pre-colonial empires straddling at least two continents (number of continents in parentheses):- Empire of Alexander the Great (3) - Europe, Asia, Africa
- Byzantine Empire (3) - Europe, Asia, Africa
- Ottoman Empire (3) - Europe, Asia, Africa
- Roman Empire (3) - Europe, Asia, Africa
- Umayyad Caliphate (3) - Europe, Asia, Africa
- Mongol Empire (2) - Europe, Asia
- Kingdom of Aksum (2) - Africa, Asia
- Persian Empire (3) - Asia, Europe, Africa
- British Empire (6) - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania
- Dutch Empire (6) - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania
- French Empire (6) - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania
- Spanish Empire (6) - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania
- Portuguese Empire (5) - Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania
- American Empire (4) - Asia, North America, South America, Oceania
- Dano-Norwegian Empire (4) - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America
- German Empire (4) - Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania
- Russian Empire (3) - Europe, Asia, North America
- Swedish Empire (3) - Europe, North America, Africa
- Italian Empire (3) - Europe, Africa, Asia
- Courlander Empire (3) -Europe, Africa, North America
- Japanese Empire (2) - Asia, Oceania
- Belgian Empire (2) - Europe, Africa
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