For each continent, which countries lie furthest west? Where countries straddle two continents, we only consider the country's territory in the continent in question.
This article explains why. Note the instructions, that state that only the parts of countries that are within the relevant continent are counted for that continent. Thanks for the typo correction, by the way.
Wikipedia says the westernmost point of Argentina is 73 degrees 30 minutes west, while the westernmost point of Brazil is 73 degrees 59 minutes 4 seconds west.
Everything's tidied up now. Thanks for everyone's feedback. We got Brazil and Argentina back to front, by the way, because they were listed out of order on Wikipedia - the entry there has been corrected as well!
Couple things: I typed Australia (forgetting about the IDL) and it filled in Fiji for me; I typed in Argentina and it filled in Brazil. Check your type-ins!
Seems a bit strange I agree, but it's true! All five countries on the list have territory at the far west (hence "westernmost") of the Western Hemisphere, in other words to the east of the 180 degree parallel. In New Zealand's case, it's the Chatham Islands.
Corrected, thanks. We've always classified Palestine as a country because most of the world does (135, or 70%, of the world's countries). It has the same nation status at the UN as Vatican City, which no-one questions as a country. I've left Israel as a type-in for that answer, for those whose thinking aligns with the 30%!
Fun quiz! I'm not 100% convinced about Egypt making the list, wouldn't any of the Greek islands off Turkey be considered part of Asia following a similar reasoning?
If the Sinai makes Egypt westernmost in Asia, then why doesn't French Guiana, a departement of France, make France the westernmost in Europe.
Still disagree with Samoa, etc being westernmost when they are farther east just because they re in the western hemisphere. Also Papua New Guinea and Solomons are farther west than some of the others.
You answered your own question: it is because the five westernmost countries in Oceania all have territory in the western hemisphere. It's counterintuitive we know, having these five countries, all on the right side of a map of Oceania, being the most westerly, but if you don't like that fact you need to whine to the cartographers who have specified longitudes as they have, not us! Finally, French Guiana is not in Europe, it's in South America.
Nominated. I believe the Canary Islands are farther west than Guinea-Bissau since they are in Africa and the Azores / Madeira would qualify for their continent.
Still disagree with Samoa, etc being westernmost when they are farther east just because they re in the western hemisphere. Also Papua New Guinea and Solomons are farther west than some of the others.