Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on the context, but it often includes countries in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania that border the Pacific Ocean. South Asia, Mongolia, Myanmar, and the Russian Far East are generally included in a wider Asia-Pacific region.
The term may include countries in North America and South America that are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Alternatively, the term sometimes comprises all of Asia except Central Asia and West Asia, as well as Oceania—for example, when dividing the world into large regions for commercial purposes (e.g., into APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and NA). Central Asia and West Asia are almost never included.
There is no clear-cut definition of "Asia-Pacific", and the regions included change depending on the context. The term has become popular since the late 1980s in commerce, finance, and politics. Despite the heterogeneity of the regions' economies, most individual nations within the zone are emerging markets experiencing rapid growth (compare the acronym "APEJ", "Asia-Pacific excluding Japan").