Asia-Pacific Countries (APAC) 2026

Considered an APAC Country

Always

Rarely

Sometimes

Usually

Considered an APAC Country

36 countries

20 countries

9 countries

24 countries

Country	Considered an APAC Country↑	APCSS List	ESCAP Member	ESCAP Subcategory
India	Always	Yes	Yes	SSWA
China	Always	Yes	Yes	ENEA
Indonesia	Always	No	Yes	SEA
Pakistan	Always	Yes	Yes	SSWA
Bangladesh	Always	Yes	Yes	SSWA
Japan	Always	Yes	Yes	ENEA
Philippines	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Vietnam	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Thailand	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Myanmar	Always	No	Yes	SEA
South Korea	Always	Yes	Yes	ENEA
Malaysia	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Nepal	Always	Yes	Yes	SSWA
Australia	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
North Korea	Always	Yes	Yes	ENEA
Sri Lanka	Always	Yes	Yes	SSWA
Cambodia	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Papua New Guinea	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Laos	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Singapore	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
New Zealand	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Mongolia	Always	Yes	Yes	ENEA
Timor-Leste	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
Fiji	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Solomon Islands	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Maldives	Always	Yes	Yes	SSWA
Brunei	Always	Yes	Yes	SEA
New Caledonia	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Kiribati	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Micronesia	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Tonga	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Marshall Islands	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Palau	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Cook Islands	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Tuvalu	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Niue	Always	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Russia	Usually	Yes	Yes	NCA
Afghanistan	Usually	No	Yes	SSWA
Hong Kong	Usually	No	Yes	ENEA
Bhutan	Usually	No	Yes	SSWA
Macau	Usually	No	Yes	ENEA
Vanuatu	Usually	Yes	No	PACIFIC
French Polynesia	Usually	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Samoa	Usually	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
Nauru	Usually	Yes	Yes	PACIFIC
United States	Sometimes	Yes	No
Iran	Sometimes	No	Yes	SSWA
Turkey	Sometimes	No	Yes	SSWA
United Kingdom	Sometimes	No	Yes
France	Sometimes	No	Yes
Canada	Sometimes	Yes	No
Uzbekistan	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Peru	Sometimes	Yes	No
Kazakhstan	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Chile	Sometimes	Yes	No
Netherlands	Sometimes	No	Yes
Tajikistan	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Azerbaijan	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Turkmenistan	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Kyrgyzstan	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Georgia	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Armenia	Sometimes	No	Yes	NCA
Guam	Sometimes	No	Yes	PACIFIC
American Samoa	Sometimes	No	Yes	PACIFIC
Northern Mariana Islands	Sometimes	No	Yes	PACIFIC
Mexico	Rarely	No	No
Colombia	Rarely	No	No
Iraq	Rarely	No	No
Yemen	Rarely	No	No
Saudi Arabia	Rarely	No	No
Syria	Rarely	No	No
Taiwan	Rarely	No	No
Guatemala	Rarely	No	No
Ecuador	Rarely	No	No
Jordan	Rarely	No	No
United Arab Emirates	Rarely	No	No
Honduras	Rarely	No	No
Israel	Rarely	No	No
Nicaragua	Rarely	No	No
El Salvador	Rarely	No	No
Lebanon	Rarely	No	No
Palestine	Rarely	No	No
Oman	Rarely	No	No
Costa Rica	Rarely	No	No
Kuwait	Rarely	No	No
Panama	Rarely	No	No
Qatar	Rarely	No	No
Bahrain	Rarely	No	No
Cyprus	Rarely	No	No

APAC is an unofficial designation. As such, the list of APAC countries often varies by source.
Data shown were compiled from multiple relevant sources: the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC).
Countries such as the US, United Kingdom and France are occassionally considered APAC countries by way of their territories, such as American Samoa, the Cook Islands (UK) and Wallis and Futuna (France).
The lists shown indicate which countries are considered APAC countries by various source organizations. Lists do not necessarily indicate membership in the given source organization.
ESCAP divides the APAC region into five geographical subregions: East and North East Asia (ENEA), North and Central Asia (NCA), South and South West Asia (SSWA), South East Asia (SEA — ASEAN), and the Pacific (PACIFIC).
Adjacent topics: APEC Countries, European Union Countries, ASEAN Countries, G7 Countries.

APAC An abbreviation for Asia-Pacific, a broad region encompassing much of Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific.

ESCAP The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, one of the most widely used definitions of the Asia-Pacific region.

What Is the Asia-Pacific Region?

The Asia-Pacific region, commonly abbreviated as APAC, is a broad geographic and economic area that generally includes much of Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific Islands. The term is widely used in business, international relations, trade, and security discussions to describe countries connected by geography, commerce, and regional cooperation. APAC became especially popular during the late 20th century as economic growth accelerated across East Asia and the Pacific.

Unlike continents or internationally recognized political unions, APAC does not have a single official definition. Different organizations define the region in different ways depending on their goals and areas of focus. As a result, some countries are almost always considered part of APAC, while others may be included or excluded depending on the organization, industry, or context involved. Understanding these varying definitions is key to understanding which countries are classified as APAC nations.

Countries Always Considered Part of APAC

While definitions vary, a large group of countries is included in virtually every interpretation of the Asia-Pacific region. These core APAC nations include major Asian economies such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, as well as Oceania’s two largest countries, Australia and New Zealand. Pacific island nations such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tonga, Palau, and the Marshall Islands are also consistently included.

These countries form the geographic and economic heart of the Asia-Pacific region. Together they account for a substantial share of the world’s population, economic output, international trade, and maritime activity. Because they appear across nearly all major APAC definitions, they are often regarded as the region’s core members regardless of whether the context is business, diplomacy, security cooperation, or regional development.

Why APAC Definitions Vary

One reason APAC can be difficult to define is that different organizations draw the region’s boundaries differently. Countries such as Russia, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Macau, and several Pacific territories are often included in some definitions but omitted from others. Likewise, nations such as the United States, Canada, Chile, and Peru may be considered part of APAC in certain economic or security frameworks because of their Pacific Ocean connections.

These differences reflect the fact that APAC is primarily a functional rather than a strictly geographic concept. Business organizations may define the region according to trade relationships and markets, while international institutions may focus on geography, development, or political cooperation. As a result, some countries are almost universally classified as APAC nations, while others fall into categories such as “usually,” “sometimes,” or “rarely,” depending on the context.

APAC in Business and International Organizations

The term APAC is used extensively by governments, international organizations, and private companies. Regional institutions such as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) maintain their own membership lists, which often overlap but do not always include the same countries and territories. These differing definitions help explain why APAC boundaries can appear inconsistent from one source to another.

In the business world, APAC is commonly used to organize markets, sales regions, and corporate operations. Companies frequently group countries throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific Islands into a single APAC division because of their economic ties and geographic proximity. For this reason, the term has become one of the most widely used regional classifications in global commerce, even though there is no universally accepted list of APAC countries.