View source for Earth:Asia

{{Short description|Continent}}
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{{pp-move}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox continent
|title               = Asia
|image               = File:Asia (orthographic projection) without New Guinea.svg
|image_size          = 220px
|area                = {{convert|44579000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} ([[Earth:Continent#Area and population|1st]])<ref name=NG264>{{Cite book |publisher=National Geographic Society (U.S.) |title=National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World |location=Washington, DC |year=2006 |page=264}}</ref>
|population          = {{UN Population|Asia}} ({{UN Population|Year}}; 1st){{UN Population|ref}}
|density             = 100/km<sup>2</sup> (260/sq mi)
|GDP_PPP             = $72.7 trillion (2022 est; [[Finance:List of continents by GDP#Continents by GDP (PPP)|1st]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|title=GDP PPP, current prices|publisher=International Monetary Fund|year=2022|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122001107/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|url-status=live}}</ref>
|GDP_nominal         = {{nowrap|$39 trillion (2022 est; [[Finance:List of continents by GDP#Continents by GDP (nominal)|1st]])<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP Nominal, current prices|url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|publisher=International Monetary Fund|year=2022|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=25 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225211431/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
|GDP_per_capita      = $8,890 (2022 est; [[Finance:List of continents by GDP#Continents by GDP per capita (nominal)|4th]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|title=Nominal GDP per capita|publisher=International Monetary Fund|year=2022|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111084550/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|url-status=live}}</ref>
|religions          = {{unbulleted list
 | Islam (28.0%) 
 | Hinduism (22.8%)
 | No religion (13.9%)
 | Buddhism (11.1%)
 | [[Religion:Chinese folk religion|Chinese folk religion]] (9.7%)
 | Christianity (8.4%)
 | [[Religion:Ethnic religion|Ethnic religion]]s (3.5%)
 | New religions (1.3%)
 | [[Religion:Religion in Asia|Others]] (1.3%)<ref name=":religions">{{Cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Todd M. |last2=Crossing |first2=Peter F. |date=2022-10-14 |title=Religions by Continent |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jrd/9/1-2/article-p91_2.xml |journal=Journal of Religion and Demography |volume=9 |issue=1–2 |pages=91–110 |doi=10.1163/2589742x-bja10013 |issn=2589-7411}}</ref>}}
| religions_ref      = 
|demonym             = [[Biography:Asian people|Asian]]
|countries           = 49 UN members<br />1 UN observer<br />5 other states
|list_countries      = List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia
|dependencies        =
{{Collapsible list
| titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
| list_style = text-align:left;
| 1 = {{flag|Akrotiri and Dhekelia}} | 2 = {{flag|British Indian Ocean Territory}} | 3 = {{flag|Christmas Island}} | 4 = {{flag|Cocos (Keeling) Islands}} | 5 = {{flag|Hong Kong}} | 6 = {{flag|Macau}}
}}
|unrecognized        =
{{Collapsible list
| titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
| list_style = text-align:left;
| 1 = {{flag|Abkhazia}}
| 2 = {{flag|Northern Cyprus}}
| 3 = {{flag|Palestine}}
| 4 = {{flag|South Ossetia}}
| 5 = {{flag|Taiwan}}}}
|languages = List of languages
|time = [[UTC+02:00|00]] to [[UTC+12:00|00]]
|internet = .asia
|cities = {{plainlist|
* List of metropolitan areas
* Lists of cities
}}
|m49 = <code>142</code> – Asia<br /><code>001</code> – World
|footnotes =
}}

[[File:Populous Asia (physical, political, population) with legend.jpg|thumb|Map of the most populous part of Asia showing physical, political, and population characteristics, as per 2018]]

'''Asia''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|ʒ|ə|audio=En-us-Asia.ogg}} {{respell|AY|zhə}}, {{IPAc-en|UKalso|ˈ|eɪ|ʃ|ə}} {{respell|AY|shə}}) is the largest [[Earth:Continent|continent]]{{Notetag|Asia is normally considered its own continent in the English speaking world, which uses the seven continent model.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/asia?q=Asia |title=Asia noun |dictionary=Oxford Learner's Dictionaries |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Asia |title=Asia Definition & Meaning |dictionary=Merriam Webster |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> Other models consider Asia as part of a Eurasian or Afro-Eurasian continent (see [[Earth:Continent#Number|Continent]] for more information).}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asia: The largest continent on Earth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmh4bdm |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Asia: Physical Geography {{!}} National Geographic Society |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/asia/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org}}</ref> in the world by both land area and population.<ref name=":0" /> It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometers,{{Notetag|44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 square miles)}} about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population,<ref>{{cite web |title=The World at Six Billion |url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm |publisher=UN Population Division |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042434/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=live}}, {{cite web| url = http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbilpart1.pdf| title = Table 2| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101220025/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbilpart1.pdf| archive-date = 1 January 2016}}</ref> was the site of many of the [[Social:Cradle of civilization|first civilizations]]. Its 4.7 billion people<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asia Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/continents/asia-population|access-date=21 February 2022|website=worldpopulationreview.com|archive-date=21 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221074627/https://worldpopulationreview.com/continents/asia-population|url-status=live}}</ref> constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.populationof.net/asia/|title=Population of Asia. 2019 demographics: density, ratios, growth rate, clock, rate of men to women.|website=populationof.net|access-date=2 June 2019|archive-date=14 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714065955/https://www.populationof.net/asia/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Asia shares the [[Earth:Landmass|landmass]] of [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]] with [[Earth:Europe|Europe]], and of [[Earth:Afro-Eurasia|Afro-Eurasia]] with both Europe and [[Earth:Africa|Africa]]. In general terms, it is bounded on the east by the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]], on the south by the [[Earth:Indian Ocean|Indian Ocean]], and on the north by the [[Earth:Arctic Ocean|Arctic Ocean]]. The border of Asia with Europe is a [[Philosophy:Social constructionism|historical and cultural construct]], as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in [[History:Classical antiquity|classical antiquity]]. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects [[East–West dichotomy|East–West]] cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. A commonly accepted division places Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from [[Earth:Africa|Africa]]; and to the east of the Turkish Straits, the Ural Mountains and Ural River, and to the south of the [[Place:Caucasus Mountains|Caucasus Mountains]] and the Caspian and Black seas, separating it from Europe.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=National Geographic Atlas of the World |edition=7th |year=1999 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[Organization:National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |isbn=978-0-7922-7528-2}} "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles."</ref>

{{wipe|China}} and {{wipe|India}} alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east,<ref>{{cite web |first=M. D. |last=Nalapat |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume14/nalapat.html |title=Ensuring China's 'Peaceful Rise' |access-date= 22 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110045822/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume14/nalapat.html |archive-date=10 January 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Dahlman"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_PNTJQTR |title=The Real Great Leap Forward|date= 30 September 2004 |newspaper=The Economist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227234147/http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_PNTJQTR |archive-date=27 December 2016}}</ref> and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia,<ref>[http://www.indianscience.org/essays/22-%20E--Gems%20&%20Minerals%20F.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120220244/http://www.indianscience.org/essays/22-%20E--Gems%20%26%20Minerals%20F.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.indianscience.org/essays/22-%20E--Gems%20%26%20Minerals%20F.pdf|archive-date=2022-10-09|url-status=live|date=20 November 2008}}</ref> attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of a trans-Atlantic route from Europe to America by Columbus while in search for a route to India demonstrates this deep fascination. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/diversions/millennium/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=346605 |title=Like herrings in a barrel |newspaper=The Economist |date=23 December 1999 |issue=Millennium issue: Population |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104100155/http://www.economist.com/diversions/millennium/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=346605 |archive-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including [[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]], [[Religion:Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrianism]], [[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]], [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]], [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]], [[Philosophy:Confucianism|Confucianism]], [[Philosophy:Taoism|Taoism]], [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]], [[Religion:Islam|Islam]], [[Religion:Sikhism|Sikhism]], as well as many other religions.

Asia varies greatly across and within [[Place:Regions of Asia|its regions]] with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. It also has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot desert in the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], temperate areas in the east and the <!-- extremely --> continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia.

== Definition and boundaries ==

=== Asia–Africa boundary ===
The boundary between Asia and Africa is the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea, and the Bab-el-Mandeb.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Suez Canal: 1250 to 1920: Middle East|encyclopedia=Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, & Africa: An Encyclopedia|year=2012|publisher=Sage Publications, Inc.|doi=10.4135/9781452218458.n112|isbn=978-1-4129-8176-7|s2cid=126449508 }}</ref> This makes [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]] a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia and the remainder of the country in Africa.

=== Asia–Europe boundary ===
[[File:Possible definitions of the boundary between Europe and Asia.png|thumb|Definitions used for the boundary between Asia and Europe in different periods of history. The commonly accepted modern definition mostly fits with the lines "'''B'''" and "'''F'''" in this image.]]

The threefold division of the [[Earth:Old World|Old World]] into Africa, Asia, and Europe has been in use since the 6th century BCE, due to [[History:List of Graeco-Roman geographers|Greek geographers]] such as [[Biography:Anaximander|Anaximander]] and Hecataeus.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Anaximander placed the boundary between Asia and Europe along the Phasis River (the modern Rioni river) in [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]] of Caucasus (from its mouth by Poti on the Black Sea coast, through the Surami Pass and along the Kura River to the Caspian Sea), a convention still followed by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE.<ref>''Histories'' 4.38. C.f. James Rennell, ''The Geographical System of Herodotus Examined and Explained'', Volume 1, Rivington 1830, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_enQ-AAAAcAAJ/page/n274 <!-- quote=Herodotus Phasis. --> p. 244]</ref> During the Hellenistic period,<ref>according to Strabo (''Geographica'' 11.7.4) even at the time of Alexander, "it was agreed by all that the Tanais river separated Asia from Europe" ({{lang|grc|ὡμολόγητο ἐκ πάντων ὅτι διείργει τὴν Ἀσίαν ἀπὸ
τῆς Εὐρώπης ὁ Τάναϊς ποταμός}}; c.f. Duane W. Roller, ''Eratosthenes' Geography'', Princeton University Press, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-691-14267-8}}, {{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8peKyWK_SWsC&pg=PA57| title = p. 57| isbn = 978-0-691-14267-8| author1 = Eratosthenes| date = 24 January 2010| publisher = Princeton University Press| access-date = 21 January 2020| archive-date = 26 March 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220326125152/https://books.google.com/books?id=8peKyWK_SWsC&pg=PA57| url-status = live}})</ref> this convention was revised, and the boundary between Europe and Asia was now considered to be the Tanais (the modern Don River). This is the convention used by Roman era authors such as [[Biography:Posidonius|Posidonius]],<ref>W. Theiler, ''Posidonios. Die Fragmente'', vol. 1. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982, fragm. 47a.</ref> Strabo<ref>I. G. Kidd (ed.), ''Posidonius: The commentary'', Cambridge University Press, 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-521-60443-7}}, {{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_iXs1aCr1ckC&pg=PA738| title = p. 738| isbn = 978-0-521-60443-7| author1 = Posidonius| year = 1989| publisher = Cambridge University Press| access-date = 21 January 2020| archive-date = 1 August 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200801115807/https://books.google.com/books?id=_iXs1aCr1ckC&pg=PA738| url-status = live}}</ref> and [[Biography:Ptolemy|Ptolemy]].<ref>''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geographia]]'' 7.5.6 (ed. Nobbe 1845, {{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vHMCAAAAQAAJ| title = vol. 2| last1 = Ptolomeo| first1 = Claudio| year = 1845| access-date = 21 January 2020| archive-date = 24 May 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200524011208/https://books.google.com/books?id=vHMCAAAAQAAJ| url-status = live}}, p. 178) {{lang|grc|Καὶ τῇ Εὐρώπῃ δὲ συνάπτει διὰ τοῦ μεταξὺ αὐχένος τῆς τε Μαιώτιδος λίμνης καὶ τοῦ Σαρματικοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς διαβάσεως τοῦ Τανάϊδος ποταμοῦ. }}
"And [Asia] is connected to Europe by the land-strait between Lake Maiotis and the Sarmatian Ocean where the river Tanais crosses through."</ref>

The border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics.<ref name="NatGeo">{{cite magazine |url=http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/09/geography-in-the-news-eurasias-boundaries/ |title=Geography in the News: Eurasia's Boundaries |first=Neal |last=Lineback |magazine=National Geographic |date=9 July 2013 |access-date=9 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508224947/http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/09/geography-in-the-news-eurasias-boundaries/ |archive-date=8 May 2016}}</ref> The Don River became unsatisfactory to northern Europeans when Peter the Great, king of the [[Place:Tsardom of Russia|Tsardom of Russia]], defeating rival claims of Sweden and the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] to the eastern lands, and armed resistance by the tribes of Siberia, synthesized a new [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]] extending to the Ural Mountains and beyond, founded in 1721.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

In Sweden, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Ural Mountains as the border of Asia. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg. The latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century. The border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects.<ref>{{harvnb|Lewis|Wigen|1997|pp=27–28}}</ref> The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the [[Place:Caucasus Mountains|Caucasus Mountains]], although it is sometimes placed further north.<ref name="NatGeo" />

=== Asia–Oceania boundary ===
The border between Asia and the region of [[Earth:Oceania|Oceania]] is usually placed somewhere in the Indonesia Archipelago. The Maluku Islands are often considered to lie on the border of southeast Asia, with Indonesian New Guinea, to the east of the islands, being wholly part of Oceania. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several vastly different geographic meanings since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Indonesian Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the colonial possessions of the various empires there (not all European). Lewis and Wigen assert, "The narrowing of 'Southeast Asia' to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process."<ref name="Myth">{{harvnb | Lewis | Wigen | 1997 | pp=170–173}}</ref>

=== Asia–North America boundary ===
The Bering Strait and Bering Sea separate the [[Earth:Landmass|landmass]]es of Asia and [[Earth:North America|North America]], as well as forming the international boundary between Russia and the United States. This national and continental boundary separates the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait, with Big Diomede in Russia and Little Diomede in the {{wipe|United States}}. The [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|Aleutian Islands]] are an island chain extending westward from the Alaskan Peninsula toward Russia's Komandorski Islands and Kamchatka Peninsula. Most of them are always associated with North America, except for the westernmost Near Islands group, which is on Asia's continental shelf beyond the North Aleutians Basin and on rare occasions could be associated with Asia, which could then allow the U.S. state of [[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]] as well as the United States itself to be considered a transcontinental state. The Aleutian Islands are sometimes associated with Oceania, owing to their status as remote Pacific islands, and their proximity to the Pacific Plate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Danver |first1=Steven L. |title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages =185 |isbn=978-1317464006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf4TBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22aleutians%22+%22part+of+oceania%22&pg=PA185 |access-date=23 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=Alfred Russel |title=Australasia |date=1879 |publisher=The University of Michigan |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2kcAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22oceania+is+the+word+often%22&pg=PA2 |access-date=12 March 2022 |quote=Oceania is the word often used by continental geographers to describe the great world of islands we are now entering upon [...] This boundless watery domain, which extends northwards of Behring Straits and southward to the Antarctic barrier of ice, is studded with many island groups, which are, however, very irregularly distributed over its surface. The more northerly section, lying between Japan and California and between the Aleutian and Hawaiian Archipelagos is relived by nothing but a few solitary reefs and rocks at enormously distant intervals.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kohlhoff |first1=Dean |title=Amchitka and the Bomb: Nuclear Testing in Alaska |date=2002 |publisher=University of Washington Press |page=6 |isbn=978-0295800509 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSWn8lbI4q4C&dq=%22aleutian+islands%22+%22oceania%22&pg=PA6 |access-date=12 March 2022 |quote=The regional name of the Pacific Islands is appropriate: Oceania, a sea of islands, including those of Alaska and Hawaii. The Pacific Basin is not insignificant or remote. It covers one third of the globe's surface. Its northern boundary is the Aleutian Islands chain. Oceania virtually touches all of the Western Hemisphere.}}</ref> This is extremely rare however, due to their non-tropical biogeography, as well as their inhabitants, who have historically been related to Indigenous Americans.<ref name="flick">{{cite book |last1=Flick |first1=Alexander Clarence |title=Modern World History, 1776-1926: A Survey of the Origins and Development of Contemporary Civilization |date=1926 |publisher=A.A. Knopf |page=492 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PhGHAAAAMAAJ&q=Modern%20World%20History,%201776-1926A%20Survey%20of%20the%20Origins%20and%20Development%20of%20Contemporary%20Civilization |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="handbook">{{cite book |last1=Henderson |first1=John William |title=Area Handbook for Oceania |date=1971 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NuOIqt-UQowC&dq=%22oceania%22+%22aleutian+islands%22&pg=PR5 |access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref>

St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea belongs to Alaska and may be associated with either continent but is almost always considered part of North America, as with the Rat Islands in the Aleutian chain. At their nearest points, [[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]] and {{wipe|Russia}} are separated by only {{convert|2.5|mi|0|order=flip|abbr=off}}.

=== Ongoing definition ===
[[File:Afro-Eurasia (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|left|Afro-Eurasia shown in green]]

Geographical Asia is a cultural artifact of European conceptions of the world, beginning with the {{wipe|Ancient Greece}}, being imposed onto other cultures, an imprecise concept causing endemic contention about what it means. Asia does not exactly correspond to the cultural borders of its various types of constituents.<ref>{{harvnb|Lewis|Wigen|1997|pp=7–9}}</ref>

From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system (Europe, Africa, Asia) on the grounds that there is no substantial physical separation between them.<ref name=McG-H>{{cite web |title=Asia |url=http://accessscience.com/abstract.aspx?id=054800&referURL=http%3a%2f%2faccessscience.com%2fcontent.aspx%3fid%3d054800 |work=AccessScience |publisher=McGraw-Hill |access-date=26 July 2011 |archive-date=27 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127141127/http://accessscience.com/abstract.aspx?id=054800&referURL=http%3A%2F%2Faccessscience.com%2Fcontent.aspx%3Fid%3D054800 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For example, Sir Barry Cunliffe, the emeritus professor of European archeology at Oxford, argues that Europe has been geographically and culturally merely "the western excrescence of the continent of Asia".<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200812/editors-choice |title=Geography Is Destiny |first=Benjamin |last=Schwartz |journal=The Atlantic |date=December 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930211221/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200812/editors-choice |archive-date=30 September 2009}}</ref>

Geographically, Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]] with Europe being a northwestern [[Earth:Peninsula|peninsula]] of the landmass. Asia, Europe and Africa make up a single continuous landmass—[[Earth:Afro-Eurasia|Afro-Eurasia]] (except for the Suez Canal)—and share a common [[Earth:Continental shelf|continental shelf]]. Almost all of Europe and a major part of Asia sit atop the [[Earth:Eurasian Plate|Eurasian Plate]], adjoined on the south by the [[Earth:Arabian Plate|Arabian]] and [[Earth:Indian Plate|Indian Plate]] and with the easternmost part of Siberia (east of the [[Earth:Chersky Range|Chersky Range]]) on the [[Earth:North American Plate|North American Plate]].
{{Clear}}

== Etymology ==
[[File:Gulf5..JPG|thumb|Ptolemy's Asia]]

The term "Asia" is believed to originate in the [[History:Bronze Age|Bronze Age]] placename ''[[Place:Assuwa|Assuwa]]'' ({{lang-hit|𒀸𒋗𒉿|translit=aš-šu-wa|link=yes}}) which originally referred only to a portion of northwestern [[Earth:Anatolia|Anatolia]]. The term appears in Hittite records recounting how a confederation of Assuwan states including [[History:Troy|Troy]] unsuccessfully rebelled against the Hittite king Tudhaliya I around 1400 BCE.<ref name="Jablonka-Bryce">{{cite encyclopedia |last=McMahon |first=Gregory |year=2011 |editor-last1=Steadman |editor-first1=Sharon | editor-last2=McMahon | editor-first2=Gregory |encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia |title=The Land and Peoples of Anatolia through Ancient Eyes |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195376142.013.0002
|page=21}}</ref><ref>Bossert, Helmut T., ''Asia'', Istanbul, 1946.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rose |first=Charles Brian|year=2013|title=The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-76207-6|pages=108–109}}</ref> Roughly contemporary [[Social:Linear B|Linear B]] documents contain the term ''asiwia'' ({{lang-gmy|𐀀𐀯𐀹𐀊|translit=a-si-wi-ja|link=yes}}), seemingly in reference to captives from the same area.<ref>{{harvnb|Ventris|Chadwick|1973|pp=410,536}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Billie Jean |last2=Bachvarova |first2=Mary R. |last3=Rutherford |first3=Ian |title=Anatolian Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks and their Neighbours |date=28 March 2010 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78297-475-8 |page=120 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KemAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT146 |language=en |quote=assuwa pylos "aswia" = Linear B A-si-wi-ja}}</ref>

[[File:Roman Empire - Asia (125 AD).svg|thumb|The province of Asia highlighted (in red) within the Roman Empire]]

Herodotus used the term Ἀσία in reference to [[Earth:Anatolia|Anatolia]] and the territory of the [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]], in contrast to Greece and Egypt. He reports that Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of [[Religion:Prometheus|Prometheus]], but that Lydians say it was named after ''Asies'', son of Cotys, who passed the name on to a tribe at Sardis.<ref>Book IV, Article 45.</ref> In [[Religion:Greek mythology|Greek mythology]], "Asia" (''Ἀσία'') or "Asie" (''Ἀσίη'') was the name of a "[[Unsolved:Nymph|Nymph]] or Titan goddess of Lydia".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheAsie.html |title=Asie |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia: Greek Gods, Spirits, Monsters |publisher=Theoi Greek Mythology, Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature and Art |date=2000–2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604045105/http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheAsie.html |archive-date=4 June 2010}}</ref> The [[Religion:Iliad|Iliad]] (attributed by the ancient Greeks to [[Biography:Homer|Homer]]) mentions two Phrygians in the Trojan War named Asios (an adjective meaning "Asian");<ref>Μ95, Π717.</ref> and also a marsh or lowland containing a marsh in Lydia as {{lang|grc|ασιος}}.<ref>Β461.</ref> According to many Muslims, the term came from Ancient Egypt's Queen Asiya, the adoptive mother of [[Biography:Moses|Moses]].<ref name="Sahih Al-Bukhari">Muhmmad al-Bukhari. Sahih Al-Bukhari Translated into English Prose by Muhammad Muhsin Khan. Hadith 7.329</ref>

The term was later adopted by the Romans, who used it in reference to the province of Asia, located in western Anatolia.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*%29asi%2Fa |title=Ἀσία |author=Henry George Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |author3=Henry Stuart Jones |author4=Roderick McKenzie |encyclopedia=A Greek-English Lexicon |year=2007 |location=Medford |publisher=Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University |orig-year=1940 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427042823/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*%29asi%2Fa |archive-date=27 April 2011}}</ref> One of the first writers to use Asia as a name of the whole continent was Pliny.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Asia&allowed_in_frame=0|title=Asia – Origin and meaning of Asia by Online Etymology Dictionary|website=Etymonline.com|access-date=9 November 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525113914/http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Asia&allowed_in_frame=0|archive-date=25 May 2017}}</ref>

In languages of the Chinese character cultural sphere words related to the character 亜細亜 Yàxìyà are used. This has been criticized as implying an inferiority of the continent as 亜 means inferior. However it is a mere phonetic representation.

== History ==
[[File:Silkroutes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The Silk Road connected civilizations across Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelmain.shtml |title=Ancient Silk Road Travellers |author=Silkroad Foundation, Adela C.Y. Lee |website=Silk-road.com |access-date=9 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108022054/http://www.silk-road.com/artl/srtravelmain.shtml |archive-date=8 November 2017}}</ref>]]
[[File:Mongol dominions1.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|The Mongol Empire at its greatest extent. The gray area is the later Timurid Empire.]]
The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]], [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]], [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]], [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]], and [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]]. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in [[Place:Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]], the Indus Valley and the Yellow River shared many similarities. These civilizations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as [[Mathematics|mathematics]] and the wheel. Other innovations, such as writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.

The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the [[Earth:Steppe|steppe]]s. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the [[History:Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-Europeans]], who spread their languages into the Middle East, South Asia, and the borders of China, where the Tocharians resided. The northernmost part of Asia, including much of Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, climate and [[Earth:Tundra|tundra]]. These areas remained very sparsely populated.

The center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The [[Earth:Caucasus|Caucasus]] and {{wipe|Himalaya}} mountains and the [[Earth:Karakum Desert|Karakum]] and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While the urban city dwellers were more advanced technologically and socially, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons, the [[Social:Nomad|nomad]]s who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.

The Islamic [[Religion:Caliphate|Caliphate]]'s defeats of the [[Place:Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] empires led to West Asia and southern parts of [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]] and western parts of South Asia under its control during its conquests of the 7th century. The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe. Before the Mongol invasion, Song dynasty reportedly had approximately 120 million citizens; the 1300 census which followed the invasion reported roughly 60 million people.<ref>Ping-ti Ho. "An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China", in ''Études Song'', Series 1, No 1, (1970). pp. 33–53.</ref>

The Black Death, one of the most devastating [[Finance:Pandemic|pandemic]]s in human history, is thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/blackdisease_01.shtml |title=History – Black Death |publisher=BBC |date=17 February 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605000815/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/blackdisease_01.shtml |archive-date=5 June 2012}}</ref>

The [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]] began to expand into Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. The [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] controlled Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the mid 16th century onwards. In the 17th century, the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing dynasty. The Islamic Mughal Empire and the Hindu [[Place:Maratha Empire|Maratha Empire]] controlled much of India in the 16th and 18th centuries respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sen |first1=Sailendra Nath |title=An Advanced History of Modern India |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PA1941-IA82 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422184802/https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PA1941-IA82 |archive-date=22 April 2020 |isbn=978-0-230-32885-3 |year=2010 |publisher=Macmillan India }}</ref>

Western European colonisation of Asia coincided with the [[History:Industrial Revolution|Industrial Revolution]] in the West and the dethroning of {{wipe|India}} and {{wipe|China}} as the world's foremost economies.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2023-07-28 |title=How India's Economy Will Overtake the U.S.'s |url=https://time.com/6297539/how-india-economy-will-surpass-us/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> The [[Place:British Empire|British Empire]] became dominant in South Asia, with large parts of the region first being conquered by British traders before falling under [[History:British Raj|direct British rule]]; extreme poverty doubled to over 50% during this era.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Dylan |last1=Sullivan |first2=Jason |last2=Hickel |title=How British colonialism killed 100 million Indians in 40 years |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/12/2/how-british-colonial-policy-killed-100-million-indians |access-date=2023-09-04 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> The Middle East was contested and partitioned by the British and French,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yakoubi |first=Myriam |date=2022-01-04 |title=The French, the British and their Middle Eastern Mandates (1918-1939): Two Political Strategies |url=https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/8787 |journal=Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique. French Journal of British Studies |language=en |volume=XXVII |issue=1 |doi=10.4000/rfcb.8787 |s2cid=246524226 |issn=0248-9015|doi-access=free }}</ref> while Southeast Asia was carved up between the British, Dutch and French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southeast Asia, 1800–1900 A.D. {{!}} Chronology {{!}} Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History {{!}} The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/10/sse.html |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |language=en}}</ref> Various Western powers dominated China in what later became known as the "[[History:Century of humiliation|century of humiliation]]", with the British-supported opium trade and later Opium Wars resulting in China being forced into an unprecedented situation of importing more than it exported.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milestones: 1830–1860 - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/china-1 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=history.state.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-28 |title=Opinion {{!}} For China, the history that matters is its 'century of humiliation' |url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3150233/china-history-matters-still-century-humiliation |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref> Foreign domination of China was furthered by the [[Place:Empire of Japan|Empire of Japan]], which controlled most of East Asia and much of Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Pacific islands during this era; Japan's domination was enabled by its rapid rise that had taken place during the Meiji era of the late 19th century, in which it applied industrial knowledge learned from the West and thus overtook the rest of Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction: Race and Empire in Meiji Japan |url=https://apjjf.org/2020/20/Zohar.html |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Huffman |first=James L. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvzgb64z |title=The Rise and Evolution of Meiji Japan |date=2019 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctvzgb64z |jstor=j.ctvzgb64z |isbn=978-1-898823-94-0|s2cid=216630259 }}</ref>

With the end of [[Social:World War II|World War II]] in 1945 and the wartime ruination of Europe and imperial Japan, many countries in Asia were able to rapidly free themselves of colonial rule.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global war's colonial consequences |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/697/chapter-abstract/135374210 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref> The independence of {{wipe|India}} came along with the carving out of a separate nation for the majority of Indian Muslims, which today has become the countries {{wipe|Pakistan}} and Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dalrymple |first=William |date=2015-06-22 |title=The Mutual Genocide of Indian Partition |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple |access-date=2023-08-31 |issn=0028-792X}}</ref>

Some Arab countries took economic advantage of massive oil deposits that were discovered in their territory, becoming globally influential.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oil Discovered in Saudi Arabia |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/oil-discovered-saudi-arabia/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}</ref> East Asian nations (along with Singapore in Southeast Asia) became economically prosperous with high-growth "tiger economies",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Economic Issues 1 -- Growth in East Asia |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues1/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=imf.org}}</ref> with China regaining its place among the top two economies of the world by the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saul |first=Derek |title=China And India Will Overtake U.S. Economically By 2075, Goldman Sachs Economists Say |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/12/06/china-and-india-will-overtake-us-economically-by-2075-goldman-sachs-economists-say/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> India has grown significantly because of economic liberalisation that started in the 1990s,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-07 |title=25 years of liberalisation: A glimpse of India's growth in 14 charts-Business News |url=https://www.firstpost.com/business/25-years-of-liberalisation-a-glimpse-of-indias-growth-in-14-charts-2877654.html |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=Firstpost |language=en}}</ref> with extreme poverty now below 20%.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Manoj |date=2023-07-17 |title=One-tenth of India's population escaped poverty in 5 years - government report |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/one-tenth-indias-population-escaped-poverty-5-years-government-report-2023-07-17/ |access-date=2023-09-04}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Anaximander world map-en.svg|The threefold division of the [[Earth:Old World|Old World]] into Europe, Asia and Africa has been in use since the 6th century BCE, due to Greek geographers such as [[Biography:Anaximander|Anaximander]] and Hecataeus.
File:A new universal atlas of the world.Asia.jpg|1825 map of Asia by Sidney Edwards Morse
File:A Map of the Countries between Constantinople and Calcutta- Including Turkey in Asia, Persia, Afghanistan and Turkestan WDL11753.png|Map of western, southern, and central Asia in 1885<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11753/#institution=library-of-congress&page=17 |title=A Map of the Countries between Constantinople and Calcutta: Including Turkey in Asia, Persia, Afghanistan and Turkestan |website=Wdl.org |access-date=9 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017220525/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/11753/#institution=library-of-congress&page=17 |archive-date=17 October 2017 |year=1885 }}</ref>
File:Modern Asia (1796).tif|The map of Asia in 1796, which also included the continent of [[Earth:Australia (continent)|Australia]] (then known as New Holland)
File:Asien Bd1.jpg|1890 map of Asia
</gallery>

== Geography ==
[[File:Himalayas.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan range is home to some of the planet's highest peaks.]]
Asia is the largest [[Earth:Continent|continent]] on [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]]. It covers 9% of the Earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the longest coastline, at {{convert|62800|km|mi|0}}. Asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four-fifths of [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]]. It is located to the east of the Suez Canal and the Ural Mountains, and south of the [[Place:Caucasus Mountains|Caucasus Mountains]] (or the Kuma–Manych Depression) and the Caspian and Black Seas.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Asia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110518/Asia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |year=2006 |location=Chicago |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118141016/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110518/Asia |archive-date=18 November 2008}}</ref> It is bounded on the east by the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]], on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. Asia is subdivided into 49 countries, five of them ([[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]], {{wipe|Russia}}, Kazakhstan and [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]]) are transcontinental countries lying partly in [[Earth:Europe|Europe]]. Geographically, {{wipe|Russia}} is partly in Asia, but is considered a European nation, both culturally and politically.

The [[Earth:Gobi Desert|Gobi Desert]] is in Mongolia and the Arabian Desert stretches across much of the Middle East. The Yangtze River in China is the longest river in the continent. The Himalayas between Nepal and China is the tallest mountain range in the world. [[Earth:Tropical rainforest|Tropical rainforest]]s stretch across much of southern Asia and coniferous and [[Biology:Deciduous|deciduous forests]] lie farther north.

<gallery>
File:Tundra in Siberia.jpg|Siberian [[Earth:Tundra|tundra]]
File:Gunung Palung Jungle.jpg|[[Earth:Rainforest|Rainforest]] in Borneo
File:Kerala Backwaters, India.JPG|Kerala backwaters
File:Naadam rider 2.jpg|Mongolian [[Earth:Steppe|steppe]]
File:1 li jiang guilin yangshuo 2011.jpg|South China Karst
File:Taman Negara, Malaysia, Panoramic view.jpg|Taman Negara, Peninsular Malaysia
File:Akkem Valley 2011.jpg|Altai Mountains
File:Hunza Valley from Eagle Point.jpg|Hunza Valley
File:Baa atoll islands.JPG|Atolls of the Maldives
File:Red sand of the Wadi Rum desert.jpg|Wadi Rum in Jordan
</gallery>

=== Main regions ===
[[File:Detailed map of Asian regions.png|thumb|300px|Detailed map of Asian regions]]

There are various approaches to the regional division of Asia. The following subdivision into regions is used, among others, by the {{wipe|United Nations}} statistics agency UNSD. This division of Asia into regions by the United Nations is done solely for statistical reasons and does not imply any assumption about political or other affiliations of countries and territories.<ref>{{cite web|title=Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (M49 Standard)|publisher=UN Statistica Division|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/|access-date=2 May 2020|archive-date=30 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830170949/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/|url-status=live}} "Geographic Regions" anklicken Zitat: "The assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories by the United Nations."</ref>
* [[Place:North Asia|North Asia]] (Siberia){{Notetag|Siberia lies in Asia geographically, but is considered a part of [[Earth:Europe|Europe]] culturally and politically.}}
* [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]]
* [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]] (The [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]] or [[Place:Near East|Near East]] and the [[Earth:Caucasus|Caucasus]])
* [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]]
* [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]] ([[Place:Far East|Far East]])
* [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]] ([[Place:East Indies|East Indies]] and [[Place:Mainland Southeast Asia|Indochina]])

=== Climate ===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map Asia present.svg|thumb|[[Earth:Köppen climate classification|Köppen-Geiger climate classification]] map for Asia<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F. |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |date=30 October 2018 |volume=5 |pages=180214 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214|pmid=30375988 |pmc=6207062 |bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B }}</ref>]]
Asia has extremely diverse [[Earth:Climate|climate]] features. Climates range from arctic and [[Place:Subarctic|subarctic]] in Siberia to tropical in southern {{wipe|India}} and Southeast Asia. It is [[Earth:Moisture|moist]] across southeast sections, and dry across much of the interior. Some of the largest daily temperature ranges on Earth occur in western sections of Asia. The [[Earth:Monsoon|monsoon]] circulation dominates across southern and eastern sections, due to the presence of the Himalayas forcing the formation of a thermal low which draws in moisture during the summer. Southwestern sections of the continent are hot. Siberia is one of the coldest places in the [[Earth:Northern Hemisphere|Northern Hemisphere]], and can act as a source of arctic air masses for [[Earth:North America|North America]]. The most active place on [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] for [[Physics:Tropical cyclone|tropical cyclone]] activity lies northeast of the {{wipe|Philippines}} and south of Japan.

====Climate change====
[[Earth:Climate change|Climate change]] is having major impacts on many countries in the continent.
A survey carried out in 2010 by global risk analysis farm Maplecroft identified 16 countries that are extremely [[Climate change vulnerability|vulnerable to climate change]]. Each nation's vulnerability was calculated using 42 socio, economic and environmental indicators, which identified the likely [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]] impacts during the next 30 years. The Asian countries of [[Biology:Climate change in Bangladesh|Bangladesh]], India, the Philippines, [[Earth:Climate change in Vietnam|Vietnam]], Thailand, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka were among the 16 countries facing extreme risk from climate change.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asia tops climate change's 'most vulnerable' list|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827832-400-asia-tops-climate-changes-most-vulnerable-list/|access-date=17 December 2020|website=New Scientist|language=en-US|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413222219/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827832-400-asia-tops-climate-changes-most-vulnerable-list/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Which countries are most threatened by and vulnerable to climate change?|url=https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/top-countries-most-affected-by-climate-change|access-date=17 December 2020|website=Iberdrola|language=en|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127071529/https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/top-countries-most-affected-by-climate-change|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Climate Risk Index 2020 – World|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-climate-risk-index-2020|access-date=17 December 2020|website=ReliefWeb|date=5 December 2019 |language=en|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127205336/https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-climate-risk-index-2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Some shifts are already occurring. For example, in tropical parts of India with a [[Earth:Semi-arid climate|semi-arid climate]], the temperature increased by 0.4&nbsp;°C between 1901 and 2003.
A 2013 study by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) aimed to find science-based, pro-poor approaches and techniques that would enable Asia's agricultural systems to cope with climate change, while benefiting poor and vulnerable farmers. The study's recommendations ranged from improving the use of climate information in local planning and strengthening weather-based agro-advisory services, to stimulating diversification of rural household incomes and providing incentives to farmers to adopt natural resource conservation measures to enhance forest cover, replenish [[Earth:Groundwater|groundwater]] and use [[Engineering:Renewable energy|renewable energy]].<ref>[http://exploreit.icrisat.org/sites/default/files/uploads/1378286859_PolicyBrief23.pdf ''Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and layers of Resilience''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226173957/http://exploreit.icrisat.org/sites/default/files/uploads/1378286859_PolicyBrief23.pdf |date=26 February 2014 }}, ICRISAT, Policy Brief No. 23, February 2013</ref>

The ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and [[Earth:Climate change in Vietnam|Vietnam]] – are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the world, however, [[Organization:ASEAN|ASEAN's]] climate mitigation efforts are not commensurate with the climate threats and risks it faces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Overland |first1=Indra |last2=Sagbakken |first2=Haakon Fossum |last3=Chan |first3=Hoy-Yen |last4=Merdekawati |first4=Monika |last5=Suryadi |first5=Beni |last6=Utama |first6=Nuki Agya |last7=Vakulchuk |first7=Roman |title=The ASEAN climate and energy paradox |journal=Energy and Climate Change |date=December 2021 |volume=2 |pages=100019 |doi=10.1016/j.egycc.2020.100019 |hdl=11250/2734506 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== Economy ==
[[File:1 Singapore city skyline 2010 day panorama.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Singapore has one of the busiest container ports in the world and is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading center.]]
Asia has the [[Finance:List of continents by GDP|largest continental economy]] in the world by both [[Finance:List of countries by GDP (nominal)|GDP nominal]] and [[Finance:Purchasing power parity|PPP]] values, and is the fastest growing economic region.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |author=International Monetary Fund |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April |publisher=[[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]]}}</ref> {{as of|2023}}, {{wipe|China}} is by far the largest economy on the continent, making up nearly half of the continent's economy by GDP nominal. It is followed by Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which are all ranked amongst the top 20 largest economies both by nominal and PPP values.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aneki.com/countries2.php?t=Largest_Economies_in_Asia&table=fb126&places=2&unit=*&order=desc&dependency=independent&number=5&cntdn=n&r=-201-202-203-204-205-206-207-208-209-210-211-212-116-214-215-216-217-218-219-220&c=asia&measures=Country--GDP&units=*--$*&decimals=*--*|title=Largest_Economies_in_Asia|website=Aneki.com|access-date=9 November 2017|archive-date=30 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730041726/https://www.aneki.com/countries2.php?t=Largest_Economies_in_Asia&table=fb126&places=2&unit=%2A&order=desc&dependency=independent&number=5&cntdn=n&r=-201-202-203-204-205-206-207-208-209-210-211-212-116-214-215-216-217-218-219-220&c=asia&measures=Country--GDP&units=%2A--%24%2A&decimals=%2A--%2A|url-status=live}}</ref> Based on Global Office Locations 2011, Asia dominated the office locations with 4 of the top 5 being in Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]] and [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]]. Around 68 percent of international firms have an office in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/hong-kong-singapore-tokyo-worlds-top-office-destinations |title=Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo World's Top Office Destinations |work=CFO innovation ASIA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807011203/http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/hong-kong-singapore-tokyo-worlds-top-office-destinations |archive-date=7 August 2011 |access-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the economy of China<ref>{{citation |ssrn=916768 |title=Five Years of China WTO Membership: EU and US Perspectives About China's Compliance With Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism|date=4 August 2006|last1=Farah|first1=Paolo Davide}}</ref> had an average annual growth rate of more than 8%. According to economic historian Angus Maddison, India had the world's largest economy during 0 BCE and 1000 BCE. India was the largest economy in the world for most of the two millennia from the 1st until 19th century, contributing 25% of the world's industrial output.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-JGGp2suQUC&q=angus+maddison|title=Contours of the World Economy 1-2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History|isbn=978-0-19-164758-1|last1=Maddison|first1=Angus|date=20 September 2007|publisher=OUP Oxford |access-date=30 May 2021|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924191955/https://books.google.com/books?id=a-JGGp2suQUC&dq=angus+maddison&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rHJGz3HiJbcC&pg=PA261|title = Development Centre Studies the World Economy Historical Statistics: Historical Statistics|isbn = 978-9264104143|last1 = Angus|first1 = Maddison|date = 2003| publisher=OECD |access-date = 30 May 2021|archive-date = 14 April 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054608/https://books.google.com/books?id=rHJGz3HiJbcC&pg=PA261|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/economicsworldhi00bair_0|isbn = 978-0-226-03463-8|title = Economics and world history : Myths and paradoxes|year = 1995|last1 = Bairoch|first1 = Paul| publisher=University of Chicago Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theworldeconomy.org/MaddisonTables/MaddisontableB-18.pdf |title=Table B–18. World GDP, 20 Countries and Regional Totals, 0–1998 A.D. |website=theworldeconomy.org |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=22 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722202625/http://www.theworldeconomy.org/MaddisonTables/MaddisontableB-18.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> China was the largest and most advanced economy on earth for much of recorded history and shared the mantle with India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume14/nalapat.html |title= Ensuring China's "Peaceful Rise" |author=Professor M.D. Nalapat|publisher=Bharat-rakshak.com |date=11 September 2001 |access-date=1 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110045822/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume14/nalapat.html |archive-date=10 January 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Dahlman">{{Cite book |url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED460052&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED460052 |title=Dahlman, Carl J; Aubert, Jean-Eric. China and the Knowledge Economy: Seizing the 21st century. WBI Development Studies. World Bank Publications. Accessed 30 January 2008 |publisher=Eric.ed.gov |access-date=1 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304235359/http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED460052&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED460052 |archive-date=4 March 2008 |isbn=978-0-8213-5005-8 |date=2000 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_PNTJQTR |title=The Real Great Leap Forward |newspaper=The Economist |date=30 September 2004 |access-date=1 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227234147/http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_PNTJQTR |archive-date=27 December 2016}}</ref> For several decades in the late twentieth century Japan was the largest economy in Asia and second-largest of any single nation in the world, after surpassing the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] (measured in net material product) in 1990 and Germany in 1968. (NB: A number of supernational economies are larger, such as the [[Social:European Union|European Union]] (EU), the [[Finance:North American Free Trade Agreement|North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) or APEC). This ended in 2010 when China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy. It is forecasted that India will overtake Japan in terms of nominal GDP by 2027.<ref name=":5" />

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japan's GDP by currency exchange rates was almost as large as that of the rest of Asia combined.<ref name=":5" /> In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equaled that of the US as the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 [[Finance:Japanese yen|yen]]/US$. Economic growth in Asia since [[Social:World War II|World War II]] to the 1990s had been concentrated in Japan as well as the four regions of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore located in the [[Earth:Pacific Rim|Pacific Rim]], known as the Asian tigers, which are now all considered developed economies, having amongst the highest GDP per capita in Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emergingdragon.com/ |title=Rise of Japan and 4 Asian Tigers from |publisher=emergingdragon.com |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100422013118/http://www.emergingdragon.com/ |archive-date=22 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":5" />

[[File:Mumbai skyline BWSL.jpg|alt=|thumb|Mumbai is one of the most populous cities on the continent. The city is an infrastructure and tourism hub, and plays a crucial role in the economy of India.]]
Asia is the largest continent in the world by a considerable margin, and it is rich in natural resources, such as [[Chemistry:Petroleum|petroleum]], [[Earth:Forest|forest]]s, [[Biology:Fish|fish]], [[Chemistry:Water|water]], [[Biology:Rice|rice]], [[Chemistry:Copper|copper]] and [[Chemistry:Silver|silver]]. Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, and Singapore. Japan and South Korea continue to dominate in the area of [[Finance:Multinational corporation|multinational corporation]]s, but increasingly the PRC and India are making significant inroads. Many companies from Europe, North America, South Korea and Japan have operations in Asia's developing countries to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labour and relatively developed infrastructure.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

According to [[Company:Citigroup|Citigroup]] in 2011, 9 of 11 [[Organization:3G countries|Global Growth Generators]] countries came from Asia driven by population and income growth. They are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sme.com.ph/sme-news/news.php?newsid=2324 |title=Philippine potential cited |publisher=sme.com.ph |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=1 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424124759/https://www.sme.com.ph/sme-news/news.php?newsid=2324 |archive-date=24 April 2011 }}</ref> Asia has three main financial centers: Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Call centers and [[Business process outsourcing|business process outsourcing]] (BPOs) are becoming major employers in India and the Philippines due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled, English-speaking workers. The increased use of outsourcing has assisted the rise of India and the China as financial centers. Due to its large and extremely competitive information technology industry, India has become a major hub for outsourcing.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Trade between Asian countries and countries on other continents is largely carried out on the sea routes that are important for Asia. Individual main routes have emerged from this. The main route leads from the Chinese coast south via Hanoi to Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through the Strait of Malacca via the Sri Lankan Colombo to the southern tip of India via Malé to East Africa [[Place:Mombasa|Mombasa]], from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea over the Suez Canal into Mediterranean, there via Haifa, Istanbul and [[Place:Athens|Athens]] to the upper Adriatic to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe or further to [[Place:Barcelona|Barcelona]] and around Spain and France to the European northern ports. A far smaller part of the goods traffic runs via South Africa to Europe. A particularly significant part of the Asian goods traffic is carried out across the Pacific towards {{wipe|Los Angeles}} and Long Beach. In contrast to the sea routes, the Silk Road via the land route to Europe is on the one hand still under construction and on the other hand is much smaller in terms of scope. Intra-Asian trade, including sea trade, is growing rapidly.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.statista.com/statistics/253988/estimated-containerized-cargo-flows-on-major-container-trade-routes/| title = Estimated containerized cargo flows on major container trade routes in 2020, by trade route| access-date = 26 January 2021| archive-date = 9 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210109011258/https://www.statista.com/statistics/253988/estimated-containerized-cargo-flows-on-major-container-trade-routes/| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.futurenautics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/GlobalMarineTrends2030Report.pdf| title = Global Marine Trends 2030 Report| access-date = 26 January 2021| archive-date = 12 April 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210412162434/https://www.futurenautics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/GlobalMarineTrends2030Report.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/maritime-trade| title = Maritime Trade| access-date = 26 January 2021| archive-date = 19 March 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210319005146/https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/maritime-trade| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>Harry G. Broadman "Afrika's Silk Road" (2007), pp 59.</ref><ref>Harry de Wilt: Is One Belt, One Road a China crisis for North Sea main ports? in World Cargo News, 17. December 2019.</ref><ref>Bernhard Simon: Can The New Silk Road Compete With The Maritime Silk Road? in The Maritime Executive, 1 January 2020.</ref><ref>Jean-Marc F. Blanchard "China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative and South Asia" (2018).</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/trade-lanes/intra-asia| title = INTRA-ASIA| access-date = 26 January 2021| archive-date = 26 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126022043/https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/trade-lanes/intra-asia| url-status = live}}</ref>

In 2010, Asia had 3.3 million millionaires (people with net worth over US$1 million excluding their homes), slightly below North America with 3.4 million millionaires. Last year Asia had toppled Europe.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/asian-pacific/asias-millionaire-population-overtakes-europe/article2072205/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625124306/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/asian-pacific/asias-millionaire-population-overtakes-europe/article2072205/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 June 2011 |title=Asia has more millionaires than Europe |location=Toronto}}</ref>
Citigroup in The Wealth Report 2012 stated that Asian centa-millionaire overtook North America's wealth for the first time as the world's "economic center of gravity" continued moving east. At the end of 2011, there were 18,000 Asian people mainly in Southeast Asia, China and Japan who have at least $100 million in disposable assets, while North America with 17,000 people and Western Europe with 14,000 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-27/citigroup-study-shows-asian-rich-topping-north-american.html |title=Citigroup Study Shows Asian Rich Topping North American |date=28 March 2012 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |first=Sanat |last=Vallikappen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114212900/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-27/citigroup-study-shows-asian-rich-topping-north-american.html |archive-date=14 January 2015 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right; float:left; border:1px solid #aaa; margin:10px"
|- style="background:#dbdbdb;"
! Rank
! Country
! GDP <small>(nominal, Peak Year)</small><br /><small>millions of [[Finance:International dollar|USD]]</small>
! Peak Year
|-
| 1 ||align=left|{{flag|China}} ||17,700,899	||2023
|-
| 2 ||align=left|{{flag|Japan}} ||4,230,862||2023
|-
| 3 ||align=left|{{flag|India}} ||3,732,224||2023
|-
| 4 ||align=left|{{flag|Russia}} ||1,862,470||2023
|-
| 5 ||align=left|{{flag|South Korea}} ||1,709,232||2021
|-
| 6 ||align=left|{{flag|Indonesia}} ||1,417,387||2023
|-
| 7 ||align=left|{{flag|Turkey}} ||1,154,600||2023
|-
| 8 ||align=left|{{nowrap|{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}}} ||1,069,437||2023
|-
| 9 ||align=left|{{flag|Taiwan}} ||751,930||2023
|-
| 10 ||align=left|{{flag|Israel}}||521,688||2023
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right; float:left; border:1px solid #aaa; margin:10px"
|- style="background:#dbdbdb;"
! Rank
! Country
! GDP <small>(PPP, Peak Year)</small><br /><small>millions of [[Finance:International dollar|USD]]</small>
! Peak Year
|-
| 1 ||align=left|{{flag|China}} ||32,897,929||2023
|-
| 2 ||align=left|{{flag|India}} ||13,119,622||2023
|-
| 3 ||align=left|{{flag|Japan}} ||6,495,214||2023
|-
| 4 ||align=left|{{flag|Russia}}<ref>[https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/public/ddpext_download/GDP_PPP.pdf World Bank's GDP (PPP) Data for Russia]</ref>||5,326,855||2022
|-
| 5 ||align=left|{{flag|Indonesia}} ||4,393,370||2023
|-
| 6 ||align=left|{{flag|Turkey}} ||3,613,540||2023
|-
| 7 ||align=left|{{flag|South Korea}} ||2,924,189||2023
|-
| 8 ||align=left|{{nowrap|{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}}} ||2,246,535||2023
|-
| 9 ||align=left|{{flag|Egypt}} ||1,809,425||2023
|-
| 10 ||align=left|{{flag|Iran}} ||1,725,874||2023
|}
{{clear}}

== Tourism ==
[[File:วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม-5.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A Thai temple complex with several ornate buildings, and a lot of visitors|Wat Phra Kaew in the Grand Palace is among Bangkok's major tourist attractions.]]
{{Category see also|Tourism in Asia|Transport in Asia}}
With growing Regional Tourism with domination of Chinese visitors, MasterCard has released Global Destination Cities Index 2013 with 10 of 20 are dominated by Asia and Pacific Region Cities and also for the first time a city of a country from Asia ([[Place:Bangkok|Bangkok]]) set in the top-ranked with 15.98 million international visitors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italianvenue.com/news/20135281339-milan-and-rome-named-among-the-most-widely-visited-cities-in-the-world-in-the-mastercard-global-destination-cities-index-report/|title=Milan and Rome named among the most widely visited cities in the world in the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index report|date=28 May 2013|website=Italianavenue.com|access-date=9 November 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017220531/http://www.italianvenue.com/news/20135281339-milan-and-rome-named-among-the-most-widely-visited-cities-in-the-world-in-the-mastercard-global-destination-cities-index-report/|archive-date=17 October 2017}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations
|title       = Historical populations
|type        = Asia
|align       = right
|percentages = pagr
|footnote    = Source: [https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbilpart1.pdf "UN report 2004 data" (PDF).]<br />The figure for {{UN Population|Year}} is provided by.{{UN Population|source}}
|1500 |243000000
|1700 |436000000
|1900 |947000000
|1950 |1402000000
|1999 |3634000000
|2016|4462676731
|graph-pos=bottom
}}
[[File:WorldPopulation.png|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Graph showing population by continent as a percentage of world population (1750–2005)]]
East Asia had by far the strongest overall [[Engineering:Human Development Index|Human Development Index]] (HDI) improvement of any region in the world, nearly doubling average HDI attainment over the past 40 years, according to the report's analysis of health, education and income data. China, the second highest achiever in the world in terms of HDI improvement since
1970, is the only country on the "Top 10 Movers" list due to income rather than health or education achievements. Its per capita income increased a stunning 21-fold over the last four decades, also lifting hundreds of millions out of income poverty. Yet it was not among the region's top performers in improving school enrollment and life expectancy.<ref name="UNDP">{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/PR6-HDR10-RegRBAP-E-rev5-sm.pdf |title=2010 Human Development Report: Asian countries lead development progress over 40 years |publisher=UNDP |access-date=22 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121161015/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/PR6-HDR10-RegRBAP-E-rev5-sm.pdf |archive-date=21 November 2010}}</ref>
<br />Nepal, a South Asian country, emerges as one of the world's fastest movers since 1970 mainly due to health and education achievements. Its present [[Biology:Life expectancy|life expectancy]] is 25 years longer than in the 1970s. More than four of every five children of school age in Nepal now attend primary school, compared to just one in five 40 years ago.<ref name="UNDP" />
<br /> Hong Kong ranked highest among the countries grouped on the HDI (number 7 in the world, which is in the "very high human development" category), followed by Singapore (9), Japan (19) and South Korea (22). Afghanistan (155) ranked lowest amongst Asian countries out of the 169 countries assessed.<ref name="UNDP" />

=== Languages ===
Asia is home to several [[Social:Language family|language families]] and many [[Social:Language isolate|language isolate]]s. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to [[Social:Ethnologue|Ethnologue]], more than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia, more than 400 languages spoken in India, and more than 100 are spoken in the Philippines. China has many languages and dialects in different provinces.

=== Religions ===
Many of the world's major religions have their origins in Asia, including the five most practiced in the world (excluding [[Religion:Irreligion|irreligion]]), which are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion (classified as Confucianism and Taoism), and Buddhism respectively. Asian mythology is complex and diverse. The story of the Great Flood for example, as presented to Jews in the [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]] in the narrative of Noah—and later to Christians in the [[Religion:Old Testament|Old Testament]], and to [[Religion:Islam|Muslims]] in the [[Religion:Quran|Quran]]—is earliest found in Mesopotamian mythology, in the [[Religion:Enûma Eliš|Enûma Eliš]] and ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. [[Religion:Hindu mythology|Hindu mythology]] similarly tells about an [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]] in the form of a [[Unsolved:Matsya|fish]] who warned Manu of a terrible flood. Ancient Chinese mythology also tells of a Great Flood spanning generations, one that required the combined efforts of emperors and divinities to control.

==== Abrahamic ====
[[File:Westernwall2.jpg|thumb|The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem]]
[[File:Church of the Nativity (7703592746).jpg|thumb|The [[Religion:Church of the Nativity|Church of the Nativity]] in Bethlehem]]
[[File:Kaaba mirror edit jj.jpg|thumb|right|Pilgrims in the annual Hajj at the Kaabah in Mecca]]
The [[Religion:Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic religions]] including [[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]], [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]], [[Religion:Islam|Islam]], Druze faith,<ref name="TheDruze">{{cite book|last=Obeid|first=Anis|title=The Druze & Their Faith in Tawhid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FejqBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT1|year=2006|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-5257-1|page=1}}</ref> and [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]] originated in West Asia.<ref>{{cite book|title=An Introduction to Middle East Politics: Continuity, Change, Conflict and Co-operation|first=Benjamin |last=MacQueen|year= 2013| isbn=978-1-4462-8976-1| page =5|publisher=SAGE|quote=The Middle East is the cradle of the three monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Modern World: Civilizations of Africa, Civilizations of Europe, Civilizations of the Americas, Civilizations of the Middle East and Southwest Asia, Civilizations of Asia and the Pacific| first=Sarolta |last=Takacs|year= 2015| isbn=  978-1-317-45572-1| page =552|publisher=Routledge|quote=}}</ref>

[[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]], the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths, is practiced primarily in [[Place:Israel|Israel]], the indigenous homeland and historical birthplace of the [[Religion:Jews|Hebrew nation]]: which today consists both of those [[Religion:Jews|Jews]] who remained in the Middle East and those who returned from diaspora in Europe, North America, and other regions;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html |title=The Jewish Population of the World |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=1 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621102211/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html |archive-date=21 June 2010}}</ref> though various diaspora communities persist worldwide. Jews are the predominant ethnic group in [[Place:Israel|Israel]] (75.6%) numbering at about 6.1 million,<ref>{{cite news |first=Yoram |last=Ettinger |title=Defying demographic projections |url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3913 |access-date=29 October 2013 |newspaper=Israel Hayom |date=5 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191655/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3913 |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref> although the levels of adherence to Jewish religion vary. Outside of Israel there are small ancient Jewish communities in [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] (17,400),<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Turkey.html |title=Turkey Virtual Jewish History Tour {{pipe}} Jewish Virtual Library |publisher=jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=15 December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011161052/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Turkey.html |archive-date=11 October 2014}}</ref> [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] (9,100),<ref name="mashke2">{{cite web |url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/azerbaijan-ethnic2009.htm |title=Ethnic composition of Azerbaijan 2009 |publisher=Pop-stat.mashke.org |date=7 April 1971 |access-date=22 December 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207161726/http://pop-stat.mashke.org/azerbaijan-ethnic2009.htm |archive-date=7 February 2012}}</ref> Iran (8,756),<ref name=IranCensusMurder>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-woman-brutally-murdered-in-iran-over-property-dispute/ |title=Jewish woman brutally murdered in Iran over property dispute |newspaper=The Times of Israel |date=28 November 2012 |access-date=16 August 2014 |quote=A government census published earlier this year indicated there were a mere 8,756 Jews left in Iran |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819102713/http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-woman-brutally-murdered-in-iran-over-property-dispute/#ixzz3Ac6duaqw |archive-date=19 August 2014}} See Persian Jews#Iran</ref> India (5,000) and Uzbekistan (4,000),<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf| title = World Jewish Population 2007| access-date = 18 July 2015| archive-date = 26 March 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090326020910/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf| url-status = dead}}, ''American Jewish Yearbook'', vol. 107 (2007), p. 592.</ref> among many other places. In total, there are 14.4–17.5 million (2016, est.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=831|title=World Jewish Population 2016 (DellaPergola, AJYB) {{!}} Berman Jewish DataBank|website=jewishdatabank.org|access-date=24 March 2018|archive-date=30 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930084907/http://www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=831|url-status=live}}</ref> Jews alive in the world today, making them one of the smallest Asian minorities, at roughly 0.3 to 0.4 percent of the total population of the continent.

[[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]] is a widespread religion in Asia with more than 286 million adherents according to Pew Research Center in 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-christians/ |title=Christians |date=18 December 2012 |work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |access-date=13 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310002132/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-christians/ |archive-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> and nearly 364 million according to [[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]] Book of the Year 2014.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LccRAwAAQBAJ&q=reconciled%20table%20%22worldwide%20by%20religion%22&pg=PA324 |title=Britannica Book of the Year 2014 |access-date=13 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429073722/https://books.google.com/books?id=LccRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA324&q=reconciled%20table%20%22worldwide%20by%20religion%22&f=falsePew |archive-date=29 April 2016 |isbn=978-1-62513-171-3 |year=2014 |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica }}</ref> Constituting around 12.6% of the total population of Asia. In the Philippines and East Timor, Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion;<ref name="Global Christianity" /> it was introduced by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, respectively. In [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]] and Georgia, Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion.<ref name="Global Christianity" /> In the Middle East, such as in the [[Place:Levant|Levant]], [[Earth:Anatolia|Anatolia]] and Fars, Syriac Christianity ([[Religion:Church of the East|Church of the East]]) and Oriental Orthodoxy are prevalent minority denominations,<ref name="HindsonMitchell2013">{{cite book|last1=Hindson|first1=Edward E.|last2=Mitchell|first2=Daniel R.|title=The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History|date=1 August 2013|publisher=Harvest House Publishers|language=en|isbn=978-0-7369-4807-4|page=225}}</ref> which are both Eastern Christian sects mainly adhered to Assyrian people or Syriac Christians. Vibrant indigenous minorities in [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]] are adhering to the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodoxy.<ref name="Global Christianity" /> Saint Thomas Christians in India trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Christianity'', Volume 5 by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2008, p. 285. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-2417-2}}.</ref> Significant Christian communities also found in [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]], [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]], [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]] and [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]].<ref name="Global Christianity">{{cite web|url=https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf|title=Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=16 February 2022|archive-date=9 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809110719/https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Religion:Islam|Islam]], which originated in the [[Place:Hejaz|Hejaz]] located in modern-day Saudi Arabia, is the second largest and most widely-spread religion in Asia with at least 1 billion Muslims constituting around 23.8% of the total population of Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-asia/|title=Region: Asia-Pacific|date=27 January 2011|website=Pewforum.org|access-date=9 November 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010061404/http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-asia/|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> With 12.7% of the world Muslim population, the country currently with the largest Muslim population in the world is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan (11.5%), India (10%), Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey. [[Place:Mecca|Mecca]], [[Place:Medina|Medina]] and Jerusalem are the three holiest cities for Islam in all the world. The [[Religion:Hajj|Hajj]] and Umrah attract large numbers of Muslim devotees from all over the world to Mecca and Medina. Iran is the largest Shi'a country.

The [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]] Faith or Druzism originated in West Asia, is a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of figures like [[Biography:Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad|Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad]] and [[Biography:Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], and Greek [[Philosophy:Philosophy|philosophers]] such as [[Biography:Plato|Plato]] and [[Biography:Aristotle|Aristotle]]. The number of [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]] people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% live in [[Place:Syria|Syria]], 35% to 40% live in [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]], and less than 10% live in [[Place:Israel|Israel]], with recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.<ref>{{cite book|title=Middle East Patterns: Places, People, and Politics| first=Colbert|last=  C. Held|year= 2008| isbn= 978-0-429-96200-4| page =109|publisher=Routledge|quote= Worldwide, they number 1 million or so, with about 45 to 50 percent in Syria, 35 to 40 percent in Lebanon, and less than 10 percent in Israel. Recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.}}</ref>

The [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]] originated in Asia, in Iran (Persia), and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, India, and Burma during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh. Since the middle of the 20th century, growth has particularly occurred in other Asian countries, because Baháʼí activities in many Muslim countries has been severely suppressed by authorities. Lotus Temple is a big Baháʼí Temple in India.

==== Indian and East Asian religions ====
[[File:Akshardham Lotus.jpg|thumb|right|The Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple in Delhi, according to the Guinness World Records, is the ''World's Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Preeti |last=Jha |url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Guinness-comes-to-east-Delhi-Akshardham-worlds-largest-Hindu-temple/254631/ |title=Guinness comes to east Delhi: Akshardham world's largest Hindu temple |date=26 December 2007 |newspaper=The Indian Express |access-date=2 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228055300/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Guinness-comes-to-east-Delhi-Akshardham-worlds-largest-Hindu-temple/254631/ |archive-date=28 December 2007 }}</ref>]]
Almost all Asian religions have philosophical character and Asian philosophical traditions cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and writings. [[Philosophy:Indian philosophy|Indian philosophy]] includes [[Philosophy:Hindu philosophy|Hindu philosophy]] and [[Philosophy:Buddhist philosophy|Buddhist philosophy]]. They include elements of nonmaterial pursuits, whereas another school of thought from India, Cārvāka, preached the enjoyment of the material world. The religions of [[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]], [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]], [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]] and [[Religion:Sikhism|Sikhism]] originated in India, South Asia. In East Asia, particularly in China and Japan, [[Philosophy:Confucianism|Confucianism]], [[Philosophy:Taoism|Taoism]] and [[Philosophy:Zen|Zen]] Buddhism took shape.

{{as of|2012}}, Hinduism has around 1.1 billion adherents. The faith represents around 25% of Asia's population and is the largest religion in Asia. However, it is mostly concentrated in South Asia. Over 80% of the populations of both India and Nepal adhere to Hinduism, alongside significant communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and [[Place:Bali|Bali]], Indonesia. Many overseas Indians in countries such as Burma, Singapore and Malaysia also adhere to Hinduism.
[[File:Angkor Wat reflejado en un estanque 02.jpg|alt=|thumb|The Hindu-Buddhist temple of [[Astronomy:Angkor Wat|Angkor Wat]] in Cambodia, the largest religious monument in the world]]
Buddhism has a great following in mainland Southeast Asia and East Asia. Buddhism is the religion of the majority of the populations of Cambodia (96%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Cambodia|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Thailand (95%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Thailand|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Burma (80–89%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=burma|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Japan (36–96%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Japan|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Bhutan (75–84%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bhutan|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Sri Lanka (70%),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3 |title=The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011 |publisher=Department of Census and Statistics |access-date=29 July 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724072557/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3 |archive-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> Laos (60–67%)<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Laos|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> and Mongolia (53–93%).<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Mongolia|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Taiwan (35–93%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Taiwan|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=China (includes Taiwan only): International Religious Freedom Report 2005 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51508.htm |publisher=US Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |date=8 November 2005 |access-date=24 January 2008 |archive-date=26 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226103042/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51508.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=China (includes Taiwan only): International Religious Freedom Report 2006 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71337.htm |publisher=US Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |date=15 September 2006 |access-date=24 February 2008 |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917184720/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71337.htm/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=China (includes Taiwan only): International Religious Freedom Report 2007 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90134.htm |publisher=US Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |date=15 September 2006 |access-date=24 February 2008 |archive-date=25 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625070300/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90134.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> South Korea (23–50%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=South Korea|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Malaysia (19–21%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Malaysia|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Nepal (9–11%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Nepal|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> Vietnam (10–75%),<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=vietnam|access-date=20 December 2010 }}</ref> China (20–50%),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/han/ |title=Chinese Han Nationality: Language, Religion, Customs |website=Travelchinaguide.com |access-date=9 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017220534/https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/han/ |archive-date=17 October 2017}}</ref> North Korea (2–14%),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/North-Korea.html |title=Culture of North Korea – Alternative name, History and ethnic relations |work=Countries and Their Cultures |publisher=Advameg Inc. |access-date=4 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805183929/http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/North-Korea.html |archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=North Korea|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm |title=Background Note: North Korea |author=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs |year=2009 |publisher=U.S. State Department |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818233244/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and small communities in India and Bangladesh. The Communist-governed countries of China, Vietnam and North Korea are officially atheist, thus the number of Buddhists and other religious adherents may be under-reported.

[[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]] is found mainly in India and in overseas Indian communities such as the United States and Malaysia. [[Religion:Sikhism|Sikhism]] is found in Northern India and amongst overseas Indian communities in other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia. [[Philosophy:Confucianism|Confucianism]] is found predominantly in mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and in overseas Chinese populations. [[Philosophy:Taoism|Taoism]] is found mainly in mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. In many Chinese communities, Taoism is easily syncretized with Mahayana Buddhism, thus exact religious statistics are difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated.

<gallery>
File:Traditional wedding at Meji-jingu 72570539 f30636e2ef o.jpg|Japanese wedding at the Meiji Shrine
File:A day of devotion – Thaipusam in Singapore (4316108409).jpg|Hindu festival celebrated by Singapore's Tamil community
File:Bar Mitzvah Western Wall.jpg|Bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem
File:Black Nazarene procession.jpg|Catholic procession of the Black Nazarene in [[Place:Manila|Manila]]
File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Nebi Shueib Festival.jpg|Druze dignitaries celebrating the Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu'ayb festival at the tomb of the prophet in Hittin
File:Echmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia (5047080550).jpg|Christian Armenians praying at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat
File:İstanbul 4258.jpg|Muslim men praying at the Ortaköy Mosque in Istanbul
File:Buddhist Monks performing traditional Sand mandala made from coloured sand.jpg|Buddhist Monks performing traditional Sand mandala made from coloured sand
</gallery>

== Modern conflicts and events ==
[[File:A refugee special train at Ambala Station during partition of India.jpg|thumb|A refugee special train in Ambala, [[Place:Punjab|Punjab]] during the partition of India in 1947]]
[[File:Napalm.jpg|thumb|US forces drop [[Engineering:Napalm|Napalm]] on suspected Viet Cong positions in 1965.]]
[[File:June9protestTreefong01.jpg|thumb|Demonstrations in [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] against the Extradition bill began in March 2019 and turned into continuing mass movements, drawing around 2 million protesters by June]]
Some of the events pivotal in Asia related to the relationship with the outside world in the post-Second World War were:
* The Partition of India (1947):
Led to the creation of India and Pakistan, shaping the political landscape in South Asia.
*The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948:
Fought over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, setting the stage for future conflicts.
*The Chinese Civil War (1927–1949):
Culminated in the establishment of the People's Republic of China under the Communist Party.
*The Korean War (1950–1953):
Involved international forces and led to the division of the Korean Peninsula.
*The French Indochina War (1946–1954):
Ended with the defeat of French colonial forces and the partition of Vietnam.
*The Vietnam War (1955–1975):
A protracted conflict with significant global implications, especially during the Cold War.
*The Sino-Vietnamese War (1979):
Conflict between China and Vietnam following Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia.
*The Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975–1999):
Involved Indonesia's annexation and subsequent independence through a UN-backed referendum.
*The Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989):
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, contributing to the rise of the mujahideen.
*The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988):
Long-lasting conflict with regional and international implications.
*The Gulf War (1990–1991):
Resulted from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, with international intervention.
*The Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991):
Marked the end of the Cold War and the emergence of independent states.
*The War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
U.S.-led intervention post-9/11 with long-lasting consequences.
*The Iraq War (2003–2011):
Led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and subsequent instability.
*The Arab Spring (2010–2012):
Series of uprisings and protests across the Arab world, influencing regional dynamics.
*The Syrian Civil War (2011–present):
Ongoing conflict with widespread humanitarian implications.

== Culture ==

The culture of Asia is a diverse blend of customs and traditions that have been practiced by the various ethnic groups of the continent for centuries. The continent is divided into six geographic sub-regions: [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]], [[Place:East Asian cultural sphere|East Asia]], [[Place:North Asia|North Asia]], South Asia, [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]], and [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/ |title= Geographic Regions |publisher=United Nations |access-date=March 31, 2018}}</ref> These regions are defined by their cultural similarities, including common religions, languages, and ethnicities. West Asia, also known as Southwest Asia or the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], has cultural roots in the ancient civilizations of the [[Place:Fertile Crescent|Fertile Crescent]] and [[Place:Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]], which gave rise to the [[Religion:Iran|Persian]], [[Place:Arab world|Arab]], [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] empires, as well as the Abrahamic religions of [[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]], [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]] and [[Religion:Islam|Islam]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/mesopotamia_gallery.shtml|title=BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Mesopotamia|first=Dominique |last=Collon |access-date=March 31, 2018}}</ref> These civilizations, which are located in the Hilly flanks, are among the oldest in the world, with evidence of farming dating back to around 9000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Why the West rules - for now : the patterns of history, and what they reveal about the future|last=Morris, Ian|date=2011|publisher=Profile|isbn=978-1846682087|oclc=751789199}}</ref> Despite the challenges posed by the vast size of the continent and the presence of natural barriers such as deserts and mountain ranges, trade and commerce have helped to create a [[Social:Pan-Asianism|Pan-Asian]] culture that is shared across the region.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTEeCgAAQBAJ&q=Indianized+kingdoms&pg=PA299 | title= Societies, Networks, and Transitions, Volume I: To 1500: A Global History |date= 2014-06-19| access-date=March 31, 2018 | isbn= 978-1285783086 | last1= Lockard | first1= Craig A. | publisher= Cengage Learning }}</ref>

=== Nobel prizes ===
[[File:Tagore3.jpg|thumb|upright|Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, and became Asia's first Nobel laureate.]]

The [[History:Polymath|polymath]] [[Biography:Rabindranath Tagore|Rabindranath Tagore]], a Bengali poet, dramatist, and writer from Santiniketan, now in West Bengal, India, became in 1913 the first Asian Nobel laureate. He won his Nobel Prize in Literature for notable impact his prose works and poetic thought had on English, French, and other national literatures of Europe and the Americas. He is also the writer of the national anthems of Bangladesh and India.

Other Asian writers who won Nobel Prize for literature include Yasunari Kawabata (Japan, 1968), [[Biography:Kenzaburō Ōe|Kenzaburō Ōe]] (Japan, 1994), Gao Xingjian (China, 2000), Orhan Pamuk (Turkey, 2006), and Mo Yan (China, 2012). Some may consider the American writer, [[Biography:Pearl S. Buck|Pearl S. Buck]], an honorary Asian Nobel laureate, having spent considerable time in China as the daughter of missionaries, and based many of her novels, namely ''The Good Earth'' (1931) and ''The Mother'' (1933), as well as the biographies of her parents for their time in China, ''The Exile'' and ''Fighting Angel'', all of which earned her the Literature prize in 1938.

Also, [[Biography:Mother Teresa|Mother Teresa]] of India and [[Biography:Shirin Ebadi|Shirin Ebadi]] of Iran were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their significant and pioneering efforts for [[Social:Democracy|democracy]] and human rights, especially for the rights of women and children. Ebadi is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize. Another Nobel Peace Prize winner is [[Biography:Aung San Suu Kyi|Aung San Suu Kyi]] from Burma for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship in Burma. She is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar) and a noted prisoner of conscience. She is a Buddhist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Chinese dissident [[Biography:Liu Xiaobo|Liu Xiaobo]] was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China" on 8 October 2010. He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China. In 2014, [[Biography:Kailash Satyarthi|Kailash Satyarthi]] from India and [[Biography:Malala Yousafzai|Malala Yousafzai]] from Pakistan were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education".

Sir C.V. Raman is the first Asian to get a Nobel prize in Sciences. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the [[Physics:Raman scattering|effect named after him]]".

Japan has won the most Nobel Prizes of any Asian nation with 24 followed by India which has won 13.

Amartya Sen, (born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and [[Philosophy:Social choice theory|social choice theory]], and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members.

Other Asian Nobel Prize winners include [[Biography:Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar|Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], [[Biography:Abdus Salam|Abdus Salam]], [[Biography:Malala Yousafzai|Malala Yousafzai]], [[Biography:Robert Aumann|Robert Aumann]], [[Biography:Menachem Begin|Menachem Begin]], [[Biography:Aaron Ciechanover|Aaron Ciechanover]], [[Biography:Avram Hershko|Avram Hershko]], [[Biography:Daniel Kahneman|Daniel Kahneman]], [[Biography:Shimon Peres|Shimon Peres]], [[Biography:Yitzhak Rabin|Yitzhak Rabin]], [[Biography:Ada Yonath|Ada Yonath]], [[Biography:Yasser Arafat|Yasser Arafat]], [[Biography:José Ramos-Horta|José Ramos-Horta]] and Bishop [[Biography:Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo|Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo]] of Timor Leste, [[Biography:Kim Dae-jung|Kim Dae-jung]], and 13 Japanese scientists. Most of the said awardees are from Japan and [[Place:Israel|Israel]] except for Chandrasekhar and Raman (India), Abdus Salam and Malala Yousafzai, (Pakistan), Arafat (Palestinian Territories), Kim (South Korea), and Horta and Belo (Timor Leste).

In 2006, [[Biography:Muhammad Yunus|Muhammad Yunus]] of Bangladesh was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of [[Company:Grameen Bank|Grameen Bank]], a community development bank that lends money to poor people, especially women. He is known for the concept of micro credit which, allows poor and destitute people to borrow money. The borrowers pay back money within the specified period and defaulting is very low. The Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize, in [[Place:Oslo|Oslo]], Norway in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |author=His Holiness's Teachings at TCV |url=http://www.dalailama.com/biography/a-brief-biography |title=A Brief Biography – The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama |publisher=Dalailama.com |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525181231/http://www.dalailama.com/biography/a-brief-biography |archive-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Political geography ==
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! style="line-height:95%; width:2em" class="unsortable" | Symbol
! style="line-height:95%; width:2em" class="unsortable" | Flag
! Name
! Population{{UN Population|ref}}<br />({{UN Population|Year}})
! Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
! Capital
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Arms of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Afghanistan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Afghanistan|link=Flag of Afghanistan}}
| Afghanistan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Afghanistan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 652,864
| [[Place:Kabul|Kabul]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Armenia|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Armenia}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Armenia|link=Flag of Armenia}}
| [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Armenia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 29,743
| [[Place:Yerevan|Yerevan]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Azerbaijan|text=none|link=National emblem of Azerbaijan}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Azerbaijan|link=Flag of Azerbaijan}}
| [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]]{{NoteTag|name=transcon|Transcontinental country}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Azerbaijan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 86,600
| [[Place:Baku|Baku]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Bahrain|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Bahrain}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Bahrain|link=Flag of Bahrain}}
| Bahrain
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Bahrain}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 760
| [[Place:Manama|Manama]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:National emblem of Bangladesh.svg|20px|link=National Emblem of Bangladesh|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Bangladesh|link=Flag of Bangladesh}}
| Bangladesh
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Bangladesh}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 147,570
| [[Place:Dhaka|Dhaka]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Bhutan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Bhutan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Bhutan|link=Flag of Bhutan}}
| Bhutan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Bhutan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 38,394
| [[Place:Thimphu|Thimphu]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Brunei.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Brunei|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Brunei|link=Flag of Brunei}}
| Brunei
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Brunei Darussalam}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,765
| [[Place:Bandar Seri Begawan|Bandar Seri Begawan]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Royal arms of Cambodia.svg|20px|link=Royal arms of Cambodia|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Cambodia|link=Flag of Cambodia}}
| Cambodia
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Cambodia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 181,035
| [[Place:Phnom Penh|Phnom Penh]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:中华人民共和国国徽.png|25x25px]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|China|link=Flag of China}}
| {{wipe|China}} (PRC)
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|China}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,596,961
| [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Cyprus|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Cyprus}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Cyprus|link=Flag of Cyprus}}
| [[Place:Cyprus|Cyprus]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Cyprus}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,251
| [[Place:Nicosia|Nicosia]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|East Timor|text=none|link=National emblem of East Timor}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|East Timor|link=Flag of East Timor}}
| East Timor
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Timor-Leste}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 14,874
| [[Place:Dili|Dili]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Egypt|text=none|link=National emblem of Egypt}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Egypt|link=Flag of Egypt}}
| [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]]{{NoteTag|name=transcon|Transcontinental country}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Egypt}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,001,449
| [[Place:Cairo|Cairo]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Georgia (country)|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Georgia (country)}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Georgia (country)|link=Flag of Georgia (country)}}
| [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]]{{NoteTag|name=transcon}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Georgia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 69,700
| [[Place:Tbilisi|Tbilisi]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of India.svg|20px|link=State Emblem of India|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|India|link=Flag of India}}
| {{wipe|India}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|India}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,287,263
| [[Place:New Delhi|New Delhi]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:National emblem of Indonesia Garuda Pancasila.svg|20px|link=National emblem of Indonesia|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Indonesia|link=Flag of Indonesia}}
| Indonesia{{NoteTag|name=transcon}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Indonesia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,904,569
| [[Place:Jakarta|Jakarta]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Iran.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Iran|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Iran|link=Flag of Iran}}
| [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Iran (Islamic Republic of)}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,648,195
| [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Iraq|text=none|link=Emblem of Iraq}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Iraq|link=Flag of Iraq}}
| Iraq
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Iraq}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 438,317
| [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Israel|text=none|link=Emblem of Israel}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Israel|link=Flag of Israel}}
| [[Place:Israel|Israel]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Israel}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 20,770
| [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] ([[Place:Status of Jerusalem|disputed]])
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Imperial Seal of Japan.svg|20px|link=Imperial Seal of Japan|alt=Seal]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Japan|link=Flag of Japan}}
| {{wipe|Japan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Japan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 377,915
| [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Jordan|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Jordan}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Jordan|link=Flag of Jordan}}
| Jordan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Jordan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 89,342
| [[Place:Amman|Amman]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Kazakhstan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Kazakhstan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Kazakhstan|link=Flag of Kazakhstan}}
| Kazakhstan{{NoteTag|name=transcon}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Kazakhstan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,724,900
| [[Place:Astana|Astana]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Kuwait|text=none|link=Emblem of Kuwait}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Kuwait|link=Flag of Kuwait}}
| Kuwait
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Kuwait}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 17,818
| [[Place:Kuwait City|Kuwait City]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Kyrgyzstan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Kyrgyzstan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Kyrgyzstan|link=Flag of Kyrgyzstan}}
| Kyrgyzstan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Kyrgyzstan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 199,951
| [[Place:Bishkek|Bishkek]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Laos.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Laos|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Laos|link=Flag of Laos}}
| Laos
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Lao People's Democratic Republic}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 236,800
| [[Place:Vientiane|Vientiane]]
|-
| 
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Lebanon|link=Flag of Lebanon}}
| [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Lebanon}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 10,400
| [[Place:Beirut|Beirut]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Coat of arms of Malaysia.svg|20px|link=Coat of arms of Malaysia|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Malaysia|link=Flag of Malaysia}}
| Malaysia
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Malaysia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 329,847
| [[Place:Kuala Lumpur|Kuala Lumpur]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Maldives.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Maldives|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Maldives|link=Flag of Maldives}}
| [[History:Maldives|Maldives]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Maldives}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 298
| [[Place:Malé|Malé]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:State emblem of Mongolia.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Mongolia|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Mongolia|link=Flag of Mongolia}}
| Mongolia
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Mongolia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,564,116
| [[Place:Ulaanbaatar|Ulaanbaatar]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:State seal of Myanmar.svg|20px|link=State Seal of Myanmar|alt=Seal]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Myanmar|link=Flag of Myanmar}}
| Myanmar
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Myanmar}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 676,578
| [[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Nepal (alternative).svg|20px|link=Emblem of Nepal|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Nepal|link=Flag of Nepal}}
| Nepal
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Nepal}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 147,181
| [[Place:Kathmandu|Kathmandu]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of North Korea.svg|20px|link=Emblem of North Korea|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|North Korea|link=Flag of North Korea}}
| North Korea
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 120,538
| [[Place:Pyongyang|Pyongyang]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:National emblem of Oman.svg|20px|link=National emblem of Oman|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Oman|link=Flag of Oman}}
| Oman
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Oman}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 309,500
| [[Place:Muscat|Muscat]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Pakistan|text=none|link=State emblem of Pakistan}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Pakistan|link=Flag of Pakistan}}
| {{wipe|Pakistan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 211,103,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 881,913
| [[Place:Islamabad|Islamabad]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Coat of arms of Palestine.svg|20px|link=Coat of arms of Palestine|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|State of Palestine|link=Flag of Palestine}}
| [[Place:State of Palestine|Palestine]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|State of Palestine}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,220
| {{ubl|[[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] ([[Place:Status of Jerusalem|proclaimed]])|Ramallah ({{abbr|adm.|administrative}} center)}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Philippines|text=none|link=Coat of arms of the Philippines}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Philippines|link=Flag of the Philippines}}
| {{wipe|Philippines}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Philippines}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 343,448
| [[Place:Manila|Manila]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Qatar.svg|20px|link=Coat of arms of Qatar|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Qatar|link=Flag of Qatar}}
| Qatar
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Qatar}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 11,586
| [[Place:Doha|Doha]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Russia|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Russia}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Russia|link=Flag of Russia}}
| {{wipe|Russia}}{{NoteTag|Russia is a transcontinental country located in [[Place:Eastern Europe|Eastern Europe]] and [[Place:North Asia|North Asia]], but is considered European historically, culturally, ethnically, and politically, and the vast majority of its population (78%) lives within its European part.}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Russian Federation}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 17,098,242
| [[Place:Moscow|Moscow]]{{NoteTag|Moscow is located in [[Earth:Europe|Europe]].}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Saudi Arabia.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Saudi Arabia|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Saudi Arabia|link=Flag of Saudi Arabia}}
| Saudi Arabia
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Saudi Arabia}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,149,690
| [[Place:Riyadh|Riyadh]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Coat of arms of Singapore.svg|20px|link=Coat of arms of Singapore|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Singapore|link=Flag of Singapore}}
| [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Singapore}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 697
| [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of South Korea.svg|20px|link=Emblem of South Korea|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|South Korea|link=Flag of South Korea}}
| {{wipe|South Korea}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Republic of Korea}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 100,210
| [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Sri Lanka|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Sri Lanka|link=Flag of Sri Lanka}}
| Sri Lanka
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Sri Lanka}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 65,610
| [[Place:Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte|Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|Syria|text=none|link=Coat of arms of Syria}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Syria|link=Flag of Syria}}
| [[Place:Syria|Syria]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Syrian Arab Republic}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 185,180
| [[Place:Damascus|Damascus]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Tajikistan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Tajikistan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Tajikistan|link=Flag of Tajikistan}}
| Tajikistan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Tajikistan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 143,100
| [[Place:Dushanbe|Dushanbe]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Thailand.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Thailand|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Thailand|link=Flag of Thailand}}
| Thailand
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Thailand}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 513,120
| [[Place:Bangkok|Bangkok]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| <!-- The Turkish Constitution doesn't specify an official coat of arms -->
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Turkey|link=Flag of Turkey}}
| [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]]{{NoteTag|Turkey is a transcontinental country located mainly in [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]] with a smaller portion in [[Place:Southeast Europe|Southeastern Europe]].}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Turkey}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 783,562
| [[Place:Ankara|Ankara]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Turkmenistan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Turkmenistan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Turkmenistan|link=Flag of Turkmenistan}}
| Turkmenistan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Turkmenistan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 488,100
| [[Place:Ashgabat|Ashgabat]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of the United Arab Emirates.svg|alt=Emblem|28x28px|link=Emblem of the United Arab Emirates]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|United Arab Emirates|link=Flag of the United Arab Emirates}}
| [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|United Arab Emirates}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 83,600
| [[Place:Abu Dhabi|Abu Dhabi]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Uzbekistan|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Uzbekistan|link=Flag of Uzbekistan}}
| Uzbekistan
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Uzbekistan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 447,400
| [[Place:Tashkent|Tashkent]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Vietnam.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Vietnam|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Vietnam|link=Flag of Vietnam}}
| Vietnam
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Viet Nam}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 331,212
| [[Place:Hanoi|Hanoi]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Emblem of Yemen.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Yemen|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Yemen|link=Flag of Yemen}}
| Yemen
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Yemen}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 527,968
| {{ubl|[[Place:Sana'a|Sana'a]] ({{abbr|const.|constitutional capital}}; {{abbrlink|SPC|Supreme Political Council}} control)|[[Place:Aden|Aden]] ({{abbr|prv.|provisional}} capital of {{abbrlink|PLC|Presidential Leadership Council}})}}
|}

Within the above-mentioned states are several partially recognized countries with limited to no international recognition. None of them are members of the {{wipe|United Nations}}:
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! style="line-height:95%; width:2em" class="unsortable" | Symbol
! style="line-height:95%; width:2em" class="unsortable" | Flag
! Name
! Population<br />
! Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
! Capital
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Coat of arms of Abkhazia.svg|20px|link=Emblem of Abkhazia#Republic of Abkhazia|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Abkhazia|link=Flag of Abkhazia#Republic of Abkhazia}}
| [[Place:Abkhazia|Abkhazia]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 242,862
| style="text-align:right;"| 8,660
| [[Place:Sukhumi|Sukhumi]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Coat of arms of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.svg|20px|link=Coat of arms of Cyprus#Northern Cyprus|alt=Arms]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Northern Cyprus|link=Flag of Northern Cyprus}}
| [[Place:Northern Cyprus|Northern Cyprus]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 326,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,355
| [[Place:North Nicosia|North Nicosia]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Coat of arms|South Ossetia|text=none|link=Coat of arms of South Ossetia#Republic of South Ossetia–the State of Alania}}
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|South Ossetia|link=Flag of South Ossetia}}
| [[Place:South Ossetia|South Ossetia]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 51,547
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,900
| Tskhinvali
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:National Emblem of the Republic of China.svg|20px|link=Blue Sky with a White Sun|alt=Emblem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{Linkflag|Taiwan|link=Flag of the Republic of China}}
| Taiwan (ROC)
| style="text-align:right;"| {{UN Population|Taiwan}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 36,193
| [[Place:Taipei|Taipei]]
|}

== See also ==
<!-- -->
'''Special topics:'''
* Asian Century
* Asian cuisine
* Asian furniture
* Asian Games
* [[Earth:Asia-Pacific|Asia-Pacific]]
* Asian Para Games
* Asian Monetary Unit
* [[Biography:Asian people|Asian people]]
* [[Place:Eastern world|Eastern world]]
* [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]]
* [[Place:Far East|Far East]]
* [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]]
* [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]]
* [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]]
* [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]]
* [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]]
* [[Place:North Asia|North Asia]]
* Fauna of Asia
* Flags of Asia
* [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]]
** [[Place:Eastern Mediterranean|Eastern Mediterranean]]
** [[Place:Levant|Levant]]
** [[Place:Near East|Near East]]
* [[Social:Pan-Asianism|Pan-Asianism]]

'''Lists:'''
* List of cities in Asia
* List of metropolitan areas in Asia by population
* List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia

'''Projects'''
* Asian Highway Network
* Trans-Asian Railway

== Notes ==
{{notelist|30em}}
{{NoteFoot|30em}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |title=The myth of continents: a critique of metageography |first1=Martin W. |last1=Lewis |first2=Kären |last2=Wigen |publisher=University of California Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-520-20743-1 |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles}}
* {{cite book |first1=Michael |last1=Ventris |first2=John |last2=Chadwick |title=Documents in Mycenaean Greek |edition=2nd |year=1973 |location=Cambridge |publisher=University Press}}

== Further reading ==
* Embree, Ainslie T., ed. ''Encyclopedia of Asian history'' (1988)
** [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas0003unse/page/n5/mode/2up vol. 1 online]; [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas0002unse/page/n5/mode/2up vol 2 online]; [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas0003unse_l9c1/page/n5/mode/2up vol 3 online]; [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas0000embr vol 4 online]
* Higham, Charles. ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations''. Facts on File library of world history. New York: Facts On File, 2004.
* Kamal, Niraj. "Arise Asia: Respond to White Peril". New Delhi: Wordsmith, 2002, {{ISBN|978-81-87412-08-3}}
* Kapadia, Feroz, and Mandira Mukherjee. ''Encyclopaedia of Asian Culture and Society.'' New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 1999.
* Levinson, David, and Karen Christensen, eds. ''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia''. (6 vol. Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002).

== External links ==
* {{Britannica|38479}}  
* [https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/asia-human/ Asia: Human Geography] at the [[Organization:National Geographic Society|National Geographic Society]]
* {{curlie|Regional/Asia}}  
* [https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/asian/about-this-research-center/ Asian Reading Room] from the United States Library of Congress
* {{cite web |title=Display Maps |work=The Soil Maps of Asia |publisher=European Digital Archive of Soil Maps – EuDASM |url=http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/esdb_archive/EuDASM/asia/indexes/idx_country.htm |access-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812114558/http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/esdb_archive/EuDASM/asia/indexes/idx_country.htm |archive-date=12 August 2011}}
* {{cite web |title=Asia Maps |work=Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/asia.html |publisher=University of Texas Libraries |access-date=20 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718061834/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/asia.html |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |title=Asia |publisher=Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library |url=http://maps.bpl.org/search_advanced/?mtid=786 |access-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929144209/http://maps.bpl.org/search_advanced/?mtid=786 |archive-date=29 September 2011}}
* {{cite journal |title=What is Asia? |url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/geography/geo_whatis.html |first=Philip |last=Bowring |journal=Eastern Economic Review |volume=135 |number=7 |date=12 February 1987 |ref=none |access-date=22 April 2009 |archive-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728121004/http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/geography/geo_whatis.html |url-status=dead }}

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{{Sourceattribution|Asia}}