The 9 Regions of The Galaxy

Over the last 40 years, the Map of the Star Wars galaxy has been ever expanding and changing. Similarly, the in-universe galaxy also expands and changes throughout its history. Unlike our planet, the Star Wars galaxy is not fully mapped. There are new planets, new species, and entirely new civilizations waiting to be discovered.

The following explanations about the nine regions of the Star Wars galaxy are a hodgepodge of information which combine Canon, with former-Canon with, never-really-was Canon. You can try and sort out the difference between those, if you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend it. Just relax and enjoy the tour....

The Deep Core was a mysterious region in the galaxy. It was densely packed with stars and was notoriously difficult to navigate. As a result, was largely unexplored, even during New Republic times. The region was a volatile one. Stars would often collide and rip each other apart. Stars were so densely packed that planets in this region were bathed in eternal light, with no concept of dark or night. If that weren’t enough, at the very center of the galaxy sat a massive black hole.

One notable species from the Deep Core were the four-armed Besalisk species from planet Ojom. Another planet, Tython, housed one of the first Jedi temples. The planet Byss was an important imperial stronghold. In the Old Expanded Universe, Emperor Palpatine established a cloning facility on Byss, where he made dozens of copies of himself.

        

Corellia was the center of civilization of the galaxy. It is no coincidence that the name “Core” is baked into names of planets such as Corellia and Coruscant. The human species evolved in this region and settled most of its planets early in Galactic history. Yet, the Duros species from planet Duro should not be overlooked. Many historians claim it was the Duros that first created interstellar travel and humans acquired it from them.

The Core Worlds were the richest region of the galaxy and the most populated. Many citizens from this region were considered “snobs” by inhabitants of the galaxy’s outer regions. Clipped accents were common in the Core Worlds, which furthered the perception of "core snobbery".

In addition to housing the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, the Core Worlds contained many ship building planets including Kuat and Corellia.

Long ago, the space-faring beings of the Core Worlds branched out and colonized new worlds. One of the first new regions became known as “The Colonies”. Notably, the Duros species settled on Neimoidia and Cato Neimoidia where after several thousand generations they evolved into a new species called Neimoidians.

Eventually, the Colonies became vital trade routes for the galaxy at large. Many planets served as “purse worlds” and gave birth to the Trade Federation, which was ruled almost solely by a Neimoidian population. These trade routes gave Colony entities a powerful voice in the Galactic Senate.

The Inner Rim was established by explorers, who sought to map out new routes and discover virgin worlds. The jungle world of Onderon was found and eventually settled by shipwrecked human colonists. Sentient species were discovered, such as the Gotal from Antar 4. Agricultural planets, such as Taanab, become major “breadbaskets” for the galaxy.

While Inner Rim was being fleshed-out, the Galactic Republic did not see the need to invest much capital into exploration, but it wouldn’t be long until expansion became a driving force in the shaping of the Galaxy.

During the Great Manifest Period of galactic history, many of the resources found in the Core regions of the galaxy began to run out. The powerhouse planets of Coruscant and Alsakan began to compete in the pursuit of untapped resources in the region beyond the Inner Rim.

Mining colonies were established on many worlds. Doonium (a metal for starship construction) was discovered on Umbara. Hyperbarides (elements used for turbolaser construction) were unveiled on Mimban. The Ring of Kafrene was found to be rich with Zersium (a mineral used to produce durasteel).

Hyperlanes such as the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run became important lifelines - veins that pumped materials from the Expansion Region into the Core.

20,000 years before the collapse of the Old Republic, Core world populations began booming, the Colonies region was lining its pockets with riches, the formally “wild” regions of the Inner Rim began to become "civilized" and the Expansion region was being stripped of resources by the Galaxy’s leading powers. Meanwhile, pilgrims began to seek refuge in the furthest reaches of the Galaxy.

Early Jedi escaped to the Mid Rim planet of Jedha- though no one is quite sure if the planet is named after the order or the order is named after the planet.

Refugees fleeing violence on their home planets would also find refuge on worlds like Naboo. On Naboo human refugees once lived in peace with the indigenous Gungan species for generations. Eventually, tensions would drive the Gunans to establish underwater cities apart from the human inhabitants of the planet.

Over a 5,000 year period more and more mid-rim planets were discovered and new species entered the Republic. Among these were the Ithorians of Ithor, the Wookiees of Kashyyyk, and the Aqualish of Ando.

Throughout its long history, the Old Republic faced many threats and several of these threats came from the region of the Outer-Rim.

The Sith from planets Korriban and Ziost were one of the major threats, sparking many Galactic Wars. The Sith established an empire in this region of the Galaxy and sought galactic dominance. The Sith Empire conquered worlds and enslaved beings to carry out their bidding.

Eventually the Sith were defeated and the Galactic Republic established an era of peace. However this did not end all suffering. Slavery was common in the Outer Rim even during the height of Republic power.

The Outer Rim was too far from the Core worlds, and too expansive to effectively police. Other governments, such as the Hutt Empire enjoyed the benefits of slavery for generations. Although steps were taken to eliminate the practice, the Republic was never able to completely stamp it out from the Galaxy.

The Outer Rim was a region sparsely populated and many of the planets were viewed as “backwater” worlds. Crime was abundant in this region as it was seen as a safe-haven from the laws of the Republic. There were even some places in the Outer Rim which had pre-space-faring civilizations that had not yet made contact with the Galaxy at large. 

The Unknown Regions was a mysterious area of the galaxy that was mapped out by navigators, but largely unexplored. Though the Republic knew little of this area, there were advanced civilizations living in the area including the Chiss Ascendancy. The language of Sy Bisti was a common tongue in the region used among traders.

Rumors of even darker forces hidden in this region included the Grysk, the Rakata, and the Vong. Although most Galactic citizens chalked these rumors up as nothing more than spooky tales.

Also in the Unknown Regions was the planet Ahch-To where The Jedi Order was founded over 6000 years before the Imperial Era.

Wild Space was located in the furthest reaches of the galaxy “off the edge of the map”. There were few efforts to explore this region until the age of the Empire. Eventually, the Imperials did fund some cartography missions, including the surveyor team Auric and Rhyssa Graf.

The planet of Batuu was an outpost which served as the final stop before entering Wild Space. On this world frontiersmen would exchange fantastic tales of what lie “out there”. Tales of an ethereal planet home to ghostly beings known as Father, Daughter, and Son. Tales of a fungal species that could travel through the vacuum of space. Tales of wandering spirits that have no true form, but experiment with time, matter, and space.

Some rumors claim that the original homeworld of the Lasat species hailed from Wild Space on a planet called Lira San. It was to this planet that the few surviving Lasat beings fled to, after the Empire nearly wiped out the species.