Asia-Pacific

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Not to be confused with APEC.

Asia-Pacific or APAC is that part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The area includes much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia and Oceania). Sometimes the term Asia-Pacific includes South Asia, though India and its neighbours are on or near the Indian Ocean rather than the Pacific Ocean. The term may also include Russia (on the North Pacific) and countries in North and South America which are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Although an imprecise geographical descriptor, the term Asia-Pacific became popular from the late 1980s as the economies within the heterogeneous region flourished due to increased regional capital flow, trade and other forms of economic and political interaction. The inclusion of Oceanian countries such as Australia and New Zealand is largely based upon the economic relationships between those countries and their East Asian trading partners to the north.

In some contexts, the region may extend further to include major Asian countries, as well as those around the Pacific Rim, stretching from Oceania, up to Russia, and down the western coast of the Americas. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.