TheEastern Mediterranean[1][2][3][4] is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of theMediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around theLevantine Sea.[5][6] It includes the southern half ofTurkey's main region,Anatolia; its smallerHatay Province; the island ofCyprus; the GreekDodecanese islands; and the countries ofEgypt,Israel,Palestine,Syria andLebanon.[7][8][9][10][11]
Its broadest uses can encompass theLibyan Sea (thusLibya), theAegean Sea (thusEuropean Turkey and the mainland and islands ofGreece), and theIonian Sea (thus southernAlbania inSoutheast Europe) and can extend west toItaly's farthest south-eastern coasts. AlthoughJordan does not border theMediterranean Sea, it is sometimes included in broader Levantine or Eastern Mediterranean frameworks for historical, cultural, or political analysis.
The eastern Mediterranean region is commonly interpreted in two ways:
TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) divides the world intosix WHO regions, for the purposes of reporting, analysis and administration. In this context, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is one of those six WHO regions.
The countries and territories of the Eastern Mediterranean includeCyprus,Turkey (Anatolia), its smallerHatay Province, theGreekDodecanese islands, and the countries ofLebanon,Syria,Israel,Palestine,Jordan andEgypt.
North-eastern Mediterranean has been put to print as a term for the Greater Balkans:Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Greece,[9][10]Slovenia,North Macedonia,Serbia,Kosovo,Montenegro,Romania.[8] A five-author statistics-rich study of 2019 has sought to addMoldova andUkraine beyond, which others link more to theBlack Sea's economy and history.[8] The three-word term is mainly a complexeuphemism for theBalkan peninsula used by those who stigmatise the word "Balkanisation" and to suggest parallels with other conflicts of the Eastern Mediterranean.[8]
TheWHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean includes the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the other regions of contiguousAfro-Eurasia:West Asia,North Africa, theHorn of Africa,Central Asia,Afghanistan, andPakistan.[13]
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