Asia

Map of the most populous part of Asia showing physical, political and population characteristics, as per August 22, 2021

### Established

February 26, 2021 (Before)March 10, 2021 (After)

### Countries

49 UN members, 1 UN observer, 5 other states

### Dependencies

Akrotiri and Dhekelia, British Indian Ocean Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Hong Kong and Macau

### Non-UN states

Abkhazia, Artsakh, Northern Cyprus, Palestine, South Ossetia and Taiwan

### Languages

Dutch, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish

### Largest cities

Metropolitan areas of AsiaList of cities in Asia

### Population density

100/km2 (260/sq mi)

**Asia** (/ˈeɪʒə, ˈeɪʃə/ (listen)) is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.5 billion people (as of June 2019) constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.

In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a 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 classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from Africa; and to the east of the Turkish Straits, the Ural Mountains and Ural River, and to the south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas, separating it from Europe.

China and 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, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, 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 (particularly East Asia) as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions.

Given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within 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 Middle East, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia.

## Main regions

There are various approaches to the regional division of Asia. The following subdivision into regions is used, among others, by the UN 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.

* Central Asia (Dutch-speaking - Netherlands 🇳🇱)
* Western Asia (Portuguese-speaking - Portugal 🇵🇹)
* South Asia (Spanish-speaking - Spain 🇪🇸)
* East Asia (French-speaking - France 🇫🇷)
* Southeast Asia (English-speaking - United Kingdom 🇬🇧)

### Regions

Since the 21st century Asia has been divided into several subregions independently defined from European Colonization as a whole. There has been no historical consensus and there is not now any universal consensus on the use of these terms, just as there is none for the word "Asia".

* The regions of Asia include:

* Central Asia (Nederlands) (Centraal-Azië)
	+ Commonly understood as comprising Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

* East Asia (Français) (Asie de l'Est)
	+ Commonly understood as comprising China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan.

* South Asia (Español) (Asia del Sur)
	+ Commonly understood as comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. A common approximate synonym for South Asia is the Indian subcontinent which excludes Afghanistan.

* Southeast Asia (English) (Southeast Asia)
	+ Commonly understood as comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

* Western Asia (Português) (Ásia Ocidental)
	+ Commonly understood as comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

### Geopolitical map of Asia

The nations of this map with one major exception (and a few minor ones) are those defined by The World Factbook. Short forms of the names are used; sometimes abbreviations. All the nations can be found in the table below. The one major exception to the scheme is "Russia," not currently officially in the continental region of Asia, but unofficially partly in it even though classified as Europe.

### Geopolitical data for Asia

#### Introduction

The countries in this table are categorised mainly, but not entirely, according to the UNSD scheme for statistical purposes used by the United Nations Statistics Division. For example, the UNSD statistical geoscheme does not recognize a "North Asia," but problematic differences in point of view reach down to the country level elsewhere as well. Part of Egypt (Sinai Peninsula) is geographically in Western Asia, and the Australian external territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are often associated with Asia. However, these are not present in the UNSD geoscheme.

There is no universally defined standard Asia. Traditional views are approximate at best. Even today borders are still being defined, as between Indonesia, Australia and Oceania. As long as conflict over territory remains a human trait there may well be "an eastern question," as the British Empire said of the Ottoman Empire.

In evaluating the geographic position of nations of the edge of Asia some writers utilize the amorphous concept of "transcontinental countries," which has different meanings to different authorities. Merriam-Webster defines it as "going across a continent," as might a railroad. With regard to Asia, there is only one such country, the Russian Federation.

In a second definition, Petrovsky refers to a new tendency to form transcontinental agencies, meaning agencies whose jurisdictions cross continental borders, rather than the whole continent. Petrovsky's examples put together widely scattered sections of continents. There is no question of their trans- status. More precise views, however, require definitions of continents, which in the case of Asia are not quite so facile.

A third definition emphasizes transformation in place from one continent to another. Fahey at first defines Turkey as transcontinental by virtue of being in both Anatolia and the Balkans, neglecting the historical circumstance that the Balkans as part of the Ottoman Empire were once Asian, as was much of North Africa. He then hypothesizes that Turkey, accepted into the European Union, is defined by that circumstance to be European. By this usage, the very region to which "Asia" was first applied is now Europe. If it is, Turkey cannot be transcontinental by being split between two continents. This sort of paradox only underlines that Asia has no precise definition in the same way that nations do, to whom a mere 100 yards of border may be of great concern.

Data included in the table below are per sources in linked articles when available, the CIA World Factbook when not. No attempt is made to split populations. That of Russia is for the whole country; thus, the populations and areas cannot be summed to produce those of any defined Asia. The notes state which nations might be considered transcontinental by some agency, but there is little agreement generally.

## **Formal names (Regional Official Name of Asia)**

### Before Languages is Region of Asia (Until March 10, 2021 - February 25, 2021-March 10, 2021)

#### Language of Central Asia (Before German and Dutch)

* Қазақстан Республикасы - Республика Казахстан
* Кыргыз Республикасы - Кыргызская Республика
* Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон
* Türkmenistan
* O‘zbekiston Respublikasi

#### Language of East Asia (Before French)

* 中华人民共和国
* 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區
* 中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區
* 日本
* 조선민주주의인민공화국
* 대한민국
* Монгол улс
* 新加坡共和国
* 中華民國

#### Language of South Asia (Before Spanish)

* جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان - د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت
* গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ
* འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ
* भारत गणराज्य
	+ ভাৰত গণৰাজ্য
	+ ভারতীয় প্রজাতন্ত্র
	+ ભારતીય ગણતંત્ર
	+ ಭಾರತ ಗಣರಾಜ್ಯ
	+ ۆمہوٗرِیہَ ہِندوستان
	+ ഭാരതമഹാരാജ്യം
	+ भारतीय प्रजासत्ताक
	+ ভারত গণরাজ্য
	+ गणतन्त्र भारत
	+ ଭାରତ ଗଣରାଜ୍ୟ
	+ ਭਾਰਤ ਗਣਰਾਜ
	+ भारतमहाराज्यम्
	+ ᱥᱤᱧᱚᱛ ᱨᱮᱱᱟᱜ ᱟᱹᱯᱱᱟᱹO
	+ भारत गणतन्त्र - جمھوريا ڀارت
	+ இந்தியக் குடியரசு
	+ భారత గణతంత్ర రాజ్యము
	+ مہوریہ بھارت
* ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ
* लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल
* اِسلامی جمہوریہ پاكِستان
* சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு
* ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය
	+ இலங்கை ஜனநாயக சமத்துவ குடியரசு

#### Language of Southeast Asia (Before English)

* Negara Brunei Darussalam - نڬارا بروني دارالسلام
* ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា
* Republik Indonesia
* ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ
* Malaysia
* ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်‌
* Republika ng Pilipinas
* Republik Singapura
* ราชอาณาจักรไทย
* Repúblika Demokrátika Timor Lorosa'e
* Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam

#### Language of West Asia (Before Portuguese)

* Հայաստանի Հանրապետությու
* Azǝrbaycan Respublikası
* مملكة البحرين
* Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία - Kıbrıs Cumhuriyet
* საქართველო
* جمهوری اسلامی ایران
* جمهورية العراق
	+ کۆماری عێراق
* מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל
	+ دولة إسرائيل
* المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية
* دولة الكويت
* ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱللُّبْنَانِيَّةُ
* سلطنة عُمان
* دولة قطر
* ٱلْمَمْلَكَة ٱلْعَرَبِيَّة ٱلسَّعُوْدِيَّة
* ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلسُّورِيَّةُ
* Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
* الإمارات العربية المتحدة
* ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْيَمَنِيَّةُ

### After Modern European Languages is Region of Asia (Since March 11, 2021)

#### Central Asian (Dutch-language) (Centraal-Aziatisch Nederlands)

* Republiek Kazachstan
* Kirgizische Republiek
* Republiek Tadzjikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Republiek Oezbekistan

#### East Asian (French-language) (Français d'Asie de l'Est)

* les gens de la République de Chine
* Région administrative spéciale de Hong Kong
* Région administrative spéciale de Macao
* Japon
* République Populaire Démocratique de Corée
* République de Corée
* Mongolie
* République de Singapour
* République de Chine

#### South Asian (Spanish-language) (Español asiático del sul)

* República Islámica de Afganistán (or Emirato islámico de Afganistán)
* República Popular de Bangladesh
* Reino de Bután
* República de la India
* República de maldivas
* República Democrática Federal de Nepal
* República Islámica de Pakistán
* Republica de Singapur
* República Socialista Democrática de Sri Lanka

#### Southeast Asian (English-language) (Southeast Asian English)

* Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace
* Kingdom of Cambodia
* Republic of Indonesia
* Lao People's Democratic Republic
* Malaysia
* Republic of the Union of Myanmar
* Republic of the Philippines
* Republic of Singapore
* Kingdom of Thailand
* Democratic Republic of East Timor
* Socialist Republic of Vietnam

#### West Asian (Portuguese-language) (Português da Ásia Ocidental)

* República da Armênia
* República do Azerbaijão
* Reino de Bahrain
* República de Chipre
* Georgia
* República Islâmica do Irã
* República do iraque
* Estado de israel
* Reino Hachemita da Jordânia
* Estado do Kuwait
* República libanesa
* Sultanato de Omã
* Estado do catar
* Reino da Arábia Saudita
* República Árabe da Síria
* República da Turquia
* Emirados Árabes Unidos
* República do Iémen

## Languages

Asia is home to several language families and many language isolates. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to Ethnologue, more than 600 languages are spoken in Indonesia, more than 800 languages spoken in India, and more than 100 are spoken in the Philippines. China has many languages and dialects in different provinces.

Asia and Europe are the only two continents where most countries use native languages as their official languages, though English is also widespread as an international language.

Asia is a continent with great linguistic diversity, and is home to various language families and many language isolates. In fact, Asia contains almost every major language family except the Bantu languages. A majority of Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to Ethnologue over 600 languages are spoken in Indonesia while over 100 are spoken in the Philippines. The official figure of 'mother tongues' spoken in India is 1683, of which an estimated 850 are in daily use. Korea, on the other hand, is home to only one language.

The main languages found in Asia, along with examples of each, are:

* Indo-European - Romance: French, Spanish and Portuguese
* Indo-European - Germanic: English and Dutch
* Afro-Asiatic: Arabic (Portuguese), Aramaic (Portuguese), Hebrew (Portuguese)

* Altaic languages (not accepted to be a family but a convenient grouping): Japonic: Japanese (French), Ryukyuan (French); Korean (French); Mongolic: Buryat (French), Mongolian (French); Turkic: Azeri (Portuguese), Kazakh (Dutch), Kyrgyz (Dutch), Turkish (Portuguese), Turkmen (Dutch), Uyghur (French), Uzbek (Dutch); Tungusic: Manchu (French)

* Austroasiatic: Khasi (Spanish), Khmer (English), Mon (English), Santali (Spanish), Vietnamese (English), Wa (English and French)

* Austronesian: Bicolano (English), Cham (English), Ilocano (English), Javanese (English), Kapampangan (English), Kedayan (English), Malay (Indonesian & Malaysian) (English), Minangkabau (English), Pangasinan (English), Sundanese (English), Tagalog (English), Tetum (English), Visayan (Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray) (English)

* Chinese or Sino-Tibetan: Hakka (French), Hokkien (Taiwanese) (French), Mandarin (French), Wu (Shanghainese) (French), Yue (Cantonese) (French), Burmese (English), Dzongkha (Spanish), Lepcha (Spanish), Meitei (Spanish), Nepal Bhasa (Spanish), Tibetan (French), Tshangla (French and Spanish); Miao–Yao: Hmong (French), Iu Mien (French); Tai–Kadai: Bouyei (French), Isan (English), Kam (French), Lao (English), Shan (English), Thai (English), Zhuang (French)

* Circassian: Kabardian (Portuguese)

* Dagestanian: Chechen (Dutch), Ingush (Dutch)

* Dravidian: Kannada (Spanish), Malayalam (Spanish), Tamil (Spanish), Telugu (Spanish)

* Georgian (Portuguese)

* Indo-European: Armenian (Portuguese), Assamese (Spanish), Bengali (Spanish), Bhojpuri (Spanish), Dhivehi (Spanish), Gujarati (Spanish), Hindustani (Hindi, Urdu) (Spanish), Kashmiri (Spanish), Kurdish (Portuguese), Maithili (Spanish), Marathi (Spanish), Nepali (Spanish), Odia (Spanish), Pashto (Spanish), Persian (Tajik and Dari) (Portuguese and Spanish), Punjabi (Spanish), Sanskrit (Spanish), Sindhi (Spanish), Sinhala (Spanish), Russian, Greek (Portuguese); as well as Romance-based creoles: Chavacano (English and Spanish), Macanese (French and Portuguese)

* Uralic: Khanty, Mari, Nenets, Permics

## Culture by people (Since March 2021)

* Pueblo afgano (Español)
* Povo árabe (Português)
* Povo armênio (Português)
* Povo assírio (Português)
* Ario (Español)
* Povo azerbaijano (Português)
* Pueblo baluchi (Español)
* Pueblo de Bangladesh (Español)
* Pueblo bengalí (Español)
* Betawi people (English)
* Buginese people (English)
* Burmese people (English)
* peuple chinois (Français)
* Khmer people (or Cambodian people) (English)
* Pueblos dravídicos (Español)
* Filipinos people (English)
* Povo hadhrami (Português)
* peuple hmong (Français)
* les habitants de Hong Kong (Français)
* Povo iraniano (Português)
* Indonesian people (English)
* Povo israelense (Português)
* les Japonais (Français)
* Povo judeu (Português)
* Kazachse mensen (Nederlands)
* les coréenns (Français)
* Povo curdo (Português)
* Lao people (English)
* Peuple macanais (Français)
* Malay people (English)
* Malaysian people (English)
* Les Miao (Français)
* Minangkabau people (English)
* peuple mongol (Français)
* Moro people (English)
* Pueblo punjabi (Español)
* Pueblo pakistaní (Español)
* Pueblo pastún (Español)
* Peranakan people (English)
* peuple tibétain (Français)
* Rohingya people (English)
* Povo cigano (Português)
* Russische mensen (Nederlands)
* Pueblo sindhi (Español)
* Tadzjiekse mensen (Nederlands)
* Turkse volkeren, Povos turcos, Peuples turcs (Nederlands/Português/Français)
* Les Taïwanais (Français)
* Thai people (English)
* Vietnamese people (English)

## Countries and territories

The following is a list of sovereign states in the Asia. All 49 states are members of the United Nations and the EuroAsian Union International.