Cultural Region: An area inhabited by people who have one or more cultural traits in common, such as language, religion, or system of livelihood. CULTURAL REGIONS:
CULTURAL REGIONS CAN BE DEFINED BY: Language Ethnicity Religion Economics Political
EXAMPLES OF LANGUAGE REGIONS: Latin America: Spanish speaking; an exception is Brazil which is Portuguese speaking. Francophone World: Comprised of more than 40 French speaking countries or regions of the world.
EXAMPLES OF ETHNIC REGIONS: Chinatowns: Many major cities have sections where a large percentage of the residents are of Asian ethnic background (New York City). Kurdistan: An area in the Middle East that includes a portion of Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and the former Soviet Union; home of the Kurds, who would like their own nation – and have declared a capital and even has its own flag.
EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS REGIONS: Islam: A region that is dominant in the Middle East; also dominant in the country Indonesia. Buddhism: Religion that is dominant in Asia.
ECONOMIC REGIONS: Wheat Belt: Areas where large quantities of wheat are grown easily; found in the Great Plains are of the United States and also in the Northern European Plain of European Union (EU): An economic organization of European countries to eliminate trade barriers.
POLITICAL REGIONS: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): An organization of countries the members of which agree to help provide security for one another. African Union (AU): An organization of African countries that eliminates African trade barriers and tries to promote democracy in Africa.