return {
  region = "Asia",
  ngroups = "3",
  group1 = {
    name = "[[List of sovereign states|Sovereign states]]",
    data = {
      {"AF","Afghanistan"},
      {"AM","Armenia"},
      {"AZ","Azerbaijan"},
      {"BH","Bahrain"},
      {"BD","Bangladesh"},
      {"BT","Bhutan"},
      {"BN","Brunei"},
      {"KH","Cambodia"},
      {"CN","China"},
      {"CY","Cyprus"},
      {"TL","East Timor (Timor-Leste)",link="East Timor"},
      {"EG","Egypt"},
      {"GE","Georgia",link="Georgia (country)"},
      {"IN","India"},
      {"ID","Indonesia"},
      {"IR","Iran"},
      {"IQ","Iraq"},
      {"IL","Israel"},
      {"JP","Japan"},
      {"JO","Jordan"},
      {"KZ","Kazakhstan"},
      {"KP","North Korea"},
      {"KR","South Korea"},
      {"KW","Kuwait"},
      {"KG","Kyrgyzstan"},
      {"LA","Laos"},
      {"LB","Lebanon"},
      {"MY","Malaysia"},
      {"MV","Maldives",the=true},
      {"MN","Mongolia"},
      {"MM","Myanmar"},
      {"NP","Nepal"},
      {"OM","Oman"},
      {"PK","Pakistan"},
      {"PH","Philippines",the=true},
      {"QA","Qatar"},
      {"RU","Russia"},
      {"SA","Saudi Arabia"},
      {"SG","Singapore"},
      {"LK","Sri Lanka"},
      {"SY","Syria"},
      {"TJ","Tajikistan"},
      {"TH","Thailand"},
      {"TR","Turkey"},
      {"TM","Turkmenistan"},
      {"AE","United Arab Emirates",the=true},
      {"UZ","Uzbekistan"},
      {"VN","Vietnam"},
      {"YE","Yemen"}
    }
  },
  group2 = {
    name = "[[List of states with limited recognition|States with<br/>limited recognition]]",
    data = {
      {"XAB","Abkhazia"},
      {"XNK","Nagorno-Karabakh",link="Nagorno-Karabakh Republic",the=true},
      {"XNC","Northern Cyprus"},
      {"PS","Palestine",link="Palestinian territories",the=true},
      {"XSO","South Ossetia"},
      {"TW","Taiwan"}
    }
  },
  group3 = {
    name = "[[Dependent territory|Dependencies]] and<br/>other territories",
    data = {
      {"IO","British Indian Ocean Territory",the=true},
      {"CX","Christmas Island"},
      {"CC","Cocos (Keeling) Islands",the=true},
      {"HK","Hong Kong"},
      {"MO","Macau"}
    },
    switch = "countries_only",
    negate_switch = true
  }
}