A/HRC/33/18 extrabudgetary posts that are not included under the system of desirable ranges (see para. 4 above). Of these 122 nationalities, 21 are underrepresented,1 80 are considered within range,2 while 21 nationalities are overrepresented3 in the Secretariat. OHCHR also has nationals from the State of Palestine on its staff. 15. Despite confirmation by the General Assembly that the system of geographical ranges to be applied to the Secretariat is based on individual countries rather than regions, the Human Rights Council has repeatedly requested that statistics be provided on a regional basis. The table below complies with that request, showing the distribution of OHCHR staff by regional group. It shows a significant improvement in the geographical balance between the regions since 2006, which can be explained by the mobile and dynamic nature of OHCHR staff members and the effectiveness of the policies adopted by the High Commissioner to increase geographic diversity. Distribution of staff of the Office of the High Commissioner by region (Percentages at 31 December 2015) Region 2006 2009 2012 2015 Africa 11.1 13.8 16.7 15.5 Asia 11.9 13.6 15.7 13.7 9.6 13.2 13.3 11.6 Latin America and Caribbean Eastern Europe Western Europe and others Total 3.3 5.7 7.0 7.8 64.1 53.7 47.3 51.4 100 100 100 100 III. Efforts made to achieve equitable geographical representation and gender balance 16. Enhancing the geographical diversity of OHCHR staff remains one of the High Commissioner’s priorities. In accordance with that objective, OHCHR has continued to vigorously implement the High Commissioner’s procedures and framework for improving 1 2 3 4 Underrepresented as at 31 December 2015: Afghanistan, Belarus, Brazil, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, China, the Czech Republic, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, the United States of America and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). Within range as at 31 December 2015: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Colombia, the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, the Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Overrepresented as at 31 December 2015: Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.