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Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ ^ⓘ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈeɪʃə/ AY-shə) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometers, 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, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.

Asia shares the landmass of Eurasia with Europe, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. In general terms, it 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. A commonly accepted division places 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 traded places as the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power for much of recorded history, with the highest GDP per capita until 1500. 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. 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. (Full article...)

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Featured article

A map of the Western Han dynasty in 2 AD

Principalities and centrally-administered commanderies
Protectorate of the Western Regions (Tarim Basin)

The Han dynasty (UK: /ˈhæn/, US: /ˈhɑːn/; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; simplified Chinese: 汉朝; pinyin: Hàncháo) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refer to themselves as the "Han people" or "Han Chinese". The spoken Sinitic language and written Chinese are referred to respectively as the "Han language" and "Han characters".

The emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the scholarly gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government called commanderies, as well as a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States. From the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. In the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of 300,000 square kilometers, which are broadly categorized in three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east and southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. It is the world's twelfth-most-populous country, with diverse ethnicities and cultures. Manila is the country's capital, and its most populated city is Quezon City. Both are within Metro Manila.

Negritos, the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by waves of Austronesian peoples. The adoption of Animism, Hinduism with Buddhist influence, and Islam established island-kingdoms ruled by datus, rajas, and sultans. Overseas trade with neighbors such as the late Tang or Song empire brought Sinitic-speaking Sangley / "Langlang" merchants to the archipelago, which would gradually settle in and intermix. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Castile, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of King Philip II of Castile. Spanish colonization via New Spain, beginning in 1565, led to the Philippines becoming ruled by the Crown of Castile, as part of the Spanish Empire, for more than 300 years. Catholic Christianity became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade. Hispanic immigrants from Latin America and Iberia would also selectively colonize. The Philippine Revolution began in 1896, and became entwined with the 1898 Spanish–American War. Spain ceded the territory to the United States, and Filipino revolutionaries declared the First Philippine Republic. The ensuing Philippine–American War ended with the United States controlling the territory until the Japanese invasion of the islands during World War II. After the United States retook the Philippines from the Japanese, the Philippines became independent in 1946. The country has had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a decades-long dictatorship in a nonviolent revolution. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Kapoor in 2017

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (pronounced [soːnəm kəˈpuːr]; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has received several awards, including a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award. One of the highest-paid actresses in India as of 2018, Kapoor appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list from 2012 to 2016.

Kapoor, the daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, began her career as an assistant director on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2005 film Black. She made her acting debut in Bhansali's romantic drama Saawariya (2007), a box office flop, and had her first commercial success with the romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010). This was followed by a series of commercial failures and repetitive roles, which garnered her negative reviews. The 2013 box office hit Raanjhanaa marked a turning point in Kapoor's career, garnering her praise and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Asia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 2The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 3The Syriac Orthodox Saint Ahoadamah Church was a 7th-century church building in the city of Tikrit, one of the oldest in the world until its destruction by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 25 September 2014. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 4The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 5The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 6Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 7A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 8Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 9Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 10The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 11Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 12Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 13The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 14The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 15Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 16British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 17Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 18Detail of Chinese silk from the 4th century BCE. The characteristic trade of silk through the Silk Road connected various regions from China, India, Central Asia, and the Middle East to Europe and Africa. (from History of Asia)
Image 19East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 21Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 22The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 23Hinduism expansion in Asia, from its heartland in Indian Subcontinent, to the rest of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, started circa 1st century marked with the establishment of early Hindu settlements and polities in Southeast Asia. (from History of Asia)
Image 24Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 26Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 27Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 29Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 30Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 31The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 32A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 34A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 35Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 36Some henges at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey were erected as far back as 9600 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, by over seven millennia. (from History of Asia)
Image 37India's middle-class population of 300 million is growing at an annual rate of 5%. Shown here is an upmarket area in South Mumbai. (from Asian Century)
Image 38Korean peninsula in 476 AD. There are three kingdoms and Gaya Union in the picture. This picture shows the heyday of Goguryeo (from History of Asia)
Image 39Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 40The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 41The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 AD to 2003 AD according to Angus Maddison's estimates. Before 18th century, China and India were the two largest economies by GDP output. (from Asian Century)
Image 42Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 43Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 44Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 45Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 46The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 47The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 48A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 49The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 50Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 52Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 54Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 55Detail of the Dragon Throne used by the Qianlong Emperor of China, Forbidden City, Qing dynasty. Artifact circulating in U.S. museums on loan from Beijing (from Culture of Asia)
Image 56Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 57Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 58Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 59Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 61The third Inter-Korean Summit, which was held in 2018, between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. It was a historical event that symbolized the peace of Asia. (from History of Asia)
Image 62Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 63Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 64Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 65the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 66Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 67Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 68Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 69The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)

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Featured picture

litter (vehicle)

Credit: Unknown

A c. 1890 Korean illustration of a litter (gama in Korean), a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Gamas were primarily used by royalty and government officials, or in traditional weddings. Because of the difficulties posed by the mountainous terrain of the Korean Peninsula and the lack of paved roads, gamas were preferred over wheeled vehicles.

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Did you know...

... that although he was a former Indonesian prime minister, Soekiman Wirjosandjojo was not arrested during a political purge as he was considered a non-threat?
... that Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, India's second Muslim president, was also the second Indian president to die in office?
... that the Empire of Japan turned a Korean royal cemetery at what is now Hyochang Park into a golf course?
... that Levantine Arabic is often written in Hebrew characters online by Bedouin, Arab Christians, and Druze in Israel?
... that Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after harassment by neighboring Israeli settlers?
... that the popularity of "10 Minutes" by Korean singer Lee Hyori led to 2003 being dubbed the "year of Hyori" by domestic media?
... that Sun Haiyan is the first Chinese ambassador to Singapore who was not a member of the Foreign Ministry of China?
... that University of Nebraska alumnus M. Khalid Roashan helped draft the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan?
... that the Pakistani film Shehr e Tabassum was the first animated cyberpunk film to be made by an Urdu development team?
... that the Te'omim Cave in Israel was home to a Bronze Age alabaster quarry, a refuge cave during the Jewish–Roman wars, and a possible center for necromantic activity in late antiquity?

Updated: 6:33, 14 February 2024

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In the news

19 April 2024 – 2024 Iran–Israel conflict: 2024 Israeli strikes on Iran; Missiles believed to be from the Israel Defense Forces allegedly hit sites near the Iranian city of Isfahan, sites in Iraq and radar sites in Syria. (Al Jazeera) (Times of Israel) (Washington Post); The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia tells its citizens to leave Israel, citing a high threat of military reprisals and terrorist attacks. (Times of Israel)
19 April 2024 – 2024 Indian general election: Indians begin voting to elect members to the 18th Lok Sabha. With 968 million people eligible to vote, this election is expected to be the largest election in history. Voting will continue in a total of seven phases, lasting until June. (AP)
18 April 2024 – Palestine and the United Nations: The United States vetoes a UN Security Council resolution supporting the State of Palestine joining the United Nations. The vote was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. France, Japan, Ecuador and South Korea supported the resolution. (AP)
17 April 2024 –: Vietnam announces a $24 billion rescue for the Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, which is currently involved in a fraud case. (Reuters)

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Surroundings

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

150pxThe view of Nanga Parbat, taken 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the base camp.

Credit: Waqas.usman

Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth, the second highest mountain in Pakistan and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters (26,660 ft).

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