APAC stands for Asia-Pacific: broadly East, Southeast and South Asia plus Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. There is no single agreed list (some companies put India, China or the Philippines in regions of their own), so an APAC posting may not cover your country. On 27 September 2026, of 53,655 live remote postings we track, 50.2% don't say where they hire at all. Look for your country by name, or ask, before you apply.
All the location words in job posts (EMEA, APAC, LATAM, US-only, "Remote") on one page: What "Remote" means in a job posting →
APAC is short for Asia-Pacific. On a remote job posting it marks where the employer says it can hire, or, in a sales title, the market you will cover. It is also a loose label, because organizations draw the region differently, and it is used less often than you might expect.
What does APAC stand for?
Asia-Pacific. A broad version is the International Monetary Fund's: its Asia and Pacific department covers 37 member economies, from India and China to Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island states. Company definitions can be much narrower, as the examples below show.
Which countries does APAC usually include?
| Part of the region | Countries | In "APAC"? |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast Asia | Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and their neighbors | Yes, in the IMF's, SAP's and Apple's groupings |
| Oceania | Australia, New Zealand | Yes, in all three; the IMF adds the Pacific island states |
| East Asia | China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea | Can be split out: Apple reports Greater China and Japan separately |
| South Asia | India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal | In the IMF's list and SAP's region, but Apple counts India in Europe |
| Pakistan | Pakistan | An edge case: the IMF groups it with the Middle East and North Africa |
Apple shows how far apart two definitions can be. Its Rest of Asia Pacific segment covers Australia, New Zealand and the Asian countries not in its other segments; Greater China (China mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Japan are segments of their own; and India sits in Europe, alongside the Middle East and Africa, according to Apple's annual report for fiscal 2025. Cisco runs a region called APJC (Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China), while SAP's Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region spans Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Postings also use narrower labels. ANZ means Australia and New Zealand, and a title such as "Account Executive, ANZ" names that market. A posting that says Asia on its own may leave out Australia and New Zealand.
How far apart are APAC time zones?
| City | UTC offset | Versus Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Karachi | UTC+5 | 3 hours behind |
| New Delhi | UTC+5:30 | 2.5 hours behind |
| Dhaka | UTC+6 | 2 hours behind |
| Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City | UTC+7 | 1 hour behind |
| Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila | UTC+8 | Same time |
| Tokyo | UTC+9 | 1 hour ahead |
| Sydney | UTC+10, or +11 in the southern summer | 2 hours ahead, or 3 |
| Auckland | UTC+12, or +13 in the southern summer | 4 hours ahead, or 5 |
From Karachi to Auckland is seven hours of clock time, eight in the southern summer. A team in Sydney shares only a few working hours with India, and a US-based team sits on the far side of the clock: Manila is 13 hours ahead of New York when the US is on standard time. Ask which city the team works from; our guide to time-zone overlap covers how employers phrase hours requirements. Teams stretched this wide usually cope by moving to asynchronous work: written updates and recorded decisions instead of live meetings.
What does APAC mean in practice?
- A territory, not a residence. In a sales or account title, APAC can name the market you will cover. Some of those roles are based in a hub such as Singapore or Sydney and expect you to live there.
- A shorter country list. The employer still needs a legal way to hire you: a local entity, an employer of record that employs you on its behalf, or a contractor agreement. An APAC posting may cover only the countries where one of those is in place.
- Hours set by the hub. An APAC role run from Singapore is a normal day in Manila or Kuala Lumpur and a 6 a.m. start in Karachi.
How do you check whether an APAC job can hire you?
- Look for your country by name in the location list or the application form's country field.
- Ask the recruiter: "Which APAC countries can you hire in, and does that include mine?"
- Ask whether you would be an employee, directly or through an employer of record, or a contractor.
- Browse by country: our pages for India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia list postings from employers' own careers pages that say they can hire there.
- Read the country guide. Our guides to remote jobs in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam show how many postings can hire in each country, what to search when the country is not named, and how a company abroad can hire and pay you there.
How many remote jobs say APAC?
Fewer than you might think. Of the roughly 28,200 postings in our index that state where the employer can hire (13 September 2026), about 240 (0.8%) say APAC. That is less than LATAM (about 680) or EMEA (about 910), and the LATAM label has the same problem APAC does: which countries it covers depends on who wrote the posting. Many more postings name individual countries instead: India, the Philippines and Australia each appear in hundreds of postings' location lists.
| Country page | Postings that say they can hire there |
|---|---|
| India | 852 |
| Philippines | 673 |
| Indonesia | 543 |
| Malaysia | 539 |
| Vietnam | 528 |
These counts cover postings from employers' own careers pages. Postings that do not say where they hire (42.0% of all remote postings in our index) are not included. RemoteHunt shows where each employer says it can hire, so an APAC tag is not the last word.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does APAC include India?
Sometimes. The IMF's Asia and Pacific department and SAP's Asia Pacific Japan region include India, while Apple counts India in its Europe segment with the Middle East and Africa. On a posting, look for India by name rather than assuming.
Does APAC include China and Japan?
Geographically, yes, but some large companies run them separately. Cisco's region is APJC, short for Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China, and Apple reports Greater China and Japan as segments of their own. A posting that says APAC may still exclude mainland China.
What do ANZ and APJ mean in a job posting?
ANZ means Australia and New Zealand, and a title such as "Account Executive, ANZ" names that market. APJ means Asia Pacific and Japan; SAP uses it for a region spanning Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Can I apply to an APAC role from Pakistan or Bangladesh?
Yes, if the employer can hire there. Bangladesh sits in the IMF's Asia and Pacific group, but the IMF counts Pakistan in MENAP, its Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan grouping, so an APAC list may leave Pakistan out. Ask the recruiter to confirm your country.
Does APAC include Sri Lanka and Nepal?
Geographically, yes: both sit in South Asia, in the IMF's Asia and Pacific grouping. On a posting, an APAC tag doesn't guarantee either country is on the employer's hiring list. Check for the country by name. On 27 September 2026, our index listed 1,582 live postings open to Sri Lanka and 1,574 open to Nepal, though only 10 name Sri Lanka directly and 2 name Nepal directly. Most reach them through a wider region or a "worldwide" line.
How can RemoteHunt help me find remote jobs in Asia-Pacific?
RemoteHunt reads remote jobs from 2,400+ employers’ own careers pages and from job boards, scores each one 0 to 100 against your resume, and shows where each employer says it can hire, so you can see whether your country is named before you apply.