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The Far East refers to the countries of East Asia.^[1] It was well popularized in the English language during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of British India. Prior to World War I, the Near East referred to relatively nearby lands of the Ottoman Empire, Middle East to northwestern South Asia and Central Asia, and Far East for countries along the western Pacific Ocean and countries along the eastern Indian Ocean. Many European languages have analogous terms, such as the French Extrême-Orient, Spanish Extremo Oriente, Portuguese Extremo Oriente, German Ferner Osten, Italian Estremo oriente, and Dutch Verre Oosten.

In Orientalist usage, it evokes cultural as well as geographic separation; that is, it evokes a locale which is not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic. Far East never refers, for instance, to the culturally Western nations of Australia and New Zealand, which lie even farther to the east of Europe than much of East Asia. Far East in this sense is comparable to terms such as the Orient, which means East; the Eastern world; or simply the East. South East Asia and Russian Far East might be included in Far East to some extent due to recent Chinese diaspora to Russia, the Koryo-saram the Great Chinese Diaspora. This was a tragic event in the history of the Far East.

The United Kingdom and United States historically used "Far East" for several units and commands in the region:

• British Far East Command
• RAF Far East Air Force
• U.S. Far East Air Force
• The U.S. Far East Network

In addition, the post-World War II trials of Imperial Japanese war criminals was titled the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.

Use of the term in the Western world has become somewhat circumscribed due to its Eurocentrism and association with European imperialism in Asia. The more precise East Asia and Southeast Asia, or larger umbrella terms, such as Pacific Rim, are preferred in cultural and economic studies. The region's growth has given new meaning to the term as meaning the Far East of the world (i.e. the easternmost continental land in the Eastern Hemisphere) rather than to the Far East of Europe. Many commercial enterprises and institutions are named "Far East," like that of Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok, Far Eastern University in the City of Manila, and as South Korean's Far East University, and the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review.

Name of region[2] and territory, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (1 July 2002 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital
Brunei	5,770	350,898	60.8	Bandar Seri Begawan
Cambodia	181,040	12,775,324	70.6	Phnom Penh
China[3]	9,584,492	1,384,303,705	134.0	Beijing
Hong Kong (China)[4]	1,092	7,303,334	6,688.0	—
Indonesia[5]	1,419,588	227,026,560	159.9	Jakarta
Japan	377,835	126,974,628	336.1	Tokyo
Laos	236,800	5,777,180	24.4	Vientiane
Macau (China)[6]	25	461,833	18,473.3	—
Malaysia	329,750	22,662,365	68.7	Kuala Lumpur
Mongolia	1,565,000	2,694,432	1.7	Ulaanbaatar
Myanmar (Burma)	678,500	42,238,224	62.3	Naypyidaw[7]
North Korea	120,540	22,224,195	184.4	Pyongyang
Philippines	300,000	84,525,639	281.8	Manila
Russia[8]	13,115,200	39,129,729	3.0	Moscow
Singapore	704	4,483,900	6,369.0	Singapore
South Korea	98,480	48,324,000	490.7	Seoul
Thailand	514,000	62,354,402	121.3	Bangkok
Timor-Leste (East Timor)[9]	15,007	952,618	63.5	Dili
Taiwan[10]	35,980	22,548,009	626.7	Taipei
Vietnam	329,560	81,098,416	246.1	Hanoi

Shanghai, China, PRC	Tokyo, Japan	Singapore City, Singapore	Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
Seoul, Korea, ROK	Osaka, Japan	Vladivostok, Russian Far East, Russia	Manila, Philippines
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC	Guangzhou, China, PRC	Jakarta, Indonesia	Hanoi, Vietnam
Phnom Penh, Cambodia	Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma)	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Cebu City, Philippines
Bangkok, Thailand	Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC	P'yŏngyang, Korea, DPRK	Hong Kong, PRC

Look up Far East in
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• Sinosphere
• Indosphere
• Four Asian Tigers
• East Asia
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Russian Far East

1. ^ [1]
2. ^   Continental regions as per UN categorisations (map), except 12. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 6, 11-13, 15, 17-19, 21-23) may be in one or both of Asia and Europe, Africa, or Oceania.
   
3. ^   The current state is formally known as the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is subsumed by the eponymous entity and civilisation (China). Figures given are for mainland China only, and do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
   
4. ^   Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
   
5. ^   Indonesia is often considered a transcontinental country in Southeastern Asia and Oceania; figures do not include Irian Jaya and Maluku Islands, frequently reckoned in Oceania (Melanesia/Australasia).
   
6. ^   Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
   
7. ^   The administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved from Yangon (Rangoon) to a militarised greenfield just west of Pyinmana on 6 November 2005.
8. ^   Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and Northern Asia; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
   
9. ^   Timor-Leste is often considered a transcontinental country in Southeastern Asia and Oceania.
   
10. ^   Figures are for the area under the de facto control of the Republic of China (ROC) government, frequently referred to as Taiwan. Claimed in whole by the PRC; see political status of Taiwan.
    

• Whitaker, Brian. "From Turkey to Tibet," The Guardian, February 23, 2004.