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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. 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.

Since the concept of Asia derives from the term for the eastern region from a European perspective, Asia is the remaining vast area of Eurasia minus Europe. Thefore, Asia is a region where various independent cultures coexist rather than sharing a single culture, and the boundary between Europe is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural differences, some of which vary on a spectrum. (Full article...)

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Featured article

Slow lorises are nocturnal strepsirrhine primates in the genus Nycticebus that live in the rainforests of South and Southeast Asia. They are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation from deforestation, selective logging, and slash-and-burn agriculture, as well as by collection and hunting for the wildlife trade, including the exotic pet trade, and for use in traditional medicine and as bushmeat. Because of these and other threats, all five species of slow loris are listed as either "Vulnerable" or "Endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their conservation status was originally listed as "Least Concern" in 2000 because of imprecise population surveys and the frequency in which these primates were found in animal markets. Because of their rapidly declining populations and local extinctions, their status was updated and in 2007 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) elevated them to Appendix I, which prohibits international commercial trade. Local laws also protect slow lorises from hunting and trade, but enforcement is lacking in most areas.

Traditional beliefs regarding slow lorises have been part of the folklore of Southeast Asia for at least several hundred years. Their remains are buried under houses and roads to bring good luck, and every part of their body is used in traditional medicine to make products ranging from love potions to unproven cures for cancer, leprosy, epilepsy, and sexually transmitted diseases. The primary users of this traditional medicine are urban, middle-aged women who are reluctant to consider alternatives. (Full article...)

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China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the world's second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land. With an area of nearly 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third-largest country by total land area. The country is divided into 33 province-level divisions: 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the country's capital, while Shanghai is its most populous city by urban area and largest financial center.

China is considered one of the cradles of civilization: the first human inhabitants in the region arrived during the Paleolithic; by the late second millennium BCE, the earliest dynastic states had emerged in the Yellow River basin. The eighth to third centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the Zhou dynasty, accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques, literature, philosophy, and historiography. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor for the first time. Appointed non-hereditary officials began ruling counties instead of the aristocracy, ushering in more than two millennia of imperial dynasties including the Qin, Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. With the invention of gunpowder and paper, the establishment of the Silk Road, and the building of the Great Wall, Chinese culture—including languages, traditions, architecture, philosophy and technology—flourished and has heavily influenced both its neighbors and lands further afield. However, China began to cede parts of the country in the late 19th century to various European powers by a series of unequal treaties. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Hasekura portrayed during his mission in Rome by Archita Ricci, 1615

Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga (支倉六右衛門常長, 1571–1622) was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Philippus Franciscus Faxecura Rocuyemon in period European sources, as he took a baptismal name upon converting to Catholicism.

In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura headed the Keichō Embassy (慶長使節), a diplomatic mission to Pope Paul V. He visited New Spain and various other ports-of-call in Europe on the way. On the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across New Spain in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manila, and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 2Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 3The 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 4Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 7Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 8The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 9Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 11The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 12A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 13The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 14Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 16Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 17Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 18The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 19Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 20Detail 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 21Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 22The 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 23Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 24Detail 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 25Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 26Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27The 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 28The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 29The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 30Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 31Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 32Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 33Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 34A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 35Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 36Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 37The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 38Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 39The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 40Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 41Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 43Hinduism 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 44The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 46The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 47India'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 48The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 49The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 50The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 52Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53Some 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 54Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 55Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 56Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 57Korean 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 58Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 59East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 61A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 62the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 63Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 64Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 65Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 66British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 67Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 68Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 69Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 70The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)

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Featured picture

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

Credit: 3rd Class Benjamin D. Glass

A Navy HH-60H Seahawk helicopter, assigned to the "Golden Falcons" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Two (HS-2), delivers relief supplies at a mosque in the town of Meulaboh on the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Helicopters assigned to Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) and Sailors from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are supporting Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian operation effort in the wake of the Tsunami that struck South East Asia.

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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 September 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict: 2024 Lebanon pager explosions; The death toll from yesterday's walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah militants increases to 25, with more than 600 others injured. A total of 37 people have been killed and more than 3,000 others injured in explosions over the last two days. (The Independent); United States officials report that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was pre-warned by Israel about the military operation in Lebanon occurring later that day, and claim that they received no prior details about the nature of the attack. (AP); The Israeli Air Force strikes more than 100 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, destroying multiple rocket launch systems and weapons depots. Lebanese security forces say the raids are the most intense since the conflict began. Israeli fighter jets are also reported over Beirut. (Reuters); Two Israeli soldiers are killed and eight others are injured in Hezbollah drone and anti-tank missile attacks on the Israel–Lebanon border. (The Times of Israel)
19 September 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Israel–Hamas war

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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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