Asian Countries and Regions
Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent. Since the 18th century, the border between Europe and Asia has generally been considered to run through the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, the Marmara Sea and the Dardanelles. The border between Asia and Africa is normally considered to be the Suez Peninsula and the Red Sea. About 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, of which only about 2% live in the northern and inner parts, i.e. Siberia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, western Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
| Area: | 43,810,582 km² |
| Population: | 3,900,000,000 |
| States: | 46 |
| Countries: | 49 |
As continents are defined by human geography, i.e. how the country is interpreted by humans, and not by geology, it can be difficult to determine whether Asia is a continent of its own or not. The idea that the ancient world has three continents dates back to antiquity, and the name Asia is derived from the ancient civilizations of the Middle East.
Regions in Asia
The following subdivision of Asia into regions is used, for example, by the UN statistical agency UNSD:
- North Asia
- Central Asia
- West Asia (Middle East)
- South Asia
- East Asia
- Southeast Asia
In some publications, these limits are varied depending on the objective, subject, and background for which a split is used. Afghanistan was previously assigned to Central Asia, now to South Asia. There are also alternative or additional subdivisions or overlaps, for example for Northeast Asia.
Countries in Asia
| Afghanistan | South Asia |
| Armenia | West Asia |
| Azerbaijan | West Asia |
| Bahrain | West Asia |
| Bangladesh | South Asia |
| Bhutan | South Asia |
| Brunei | Southeast Asia |
| Cambodia | Southeast Asia |
| China | East Asia |
| Cyprus | West Asia |
| East Timor | Southeast Asia |
| Georgia | West Asia |
| India | South Asia |
| Indonesia | Southeast Asia |
| Iran | West Asia |
| Iraq | West Asia |
| Israel | West Asia |
| Japan | East Asia |
| Jordan | West Asia |
| Kazakhstan | Central Asia |
| Kuwait | West Asia |
| Kyrgyzstan | Central Asia |
| Laos | Southeast Asia |
| Lebanon | West Asia |
| Malaysia | Southeast Asia |
| Maldives | South Asia |
| Mongolia | East Asia |
| Myanmar | Southeast Asia |
| Nepal | South Asia |
| North Korea | East Asia |
| Oman | West Asia |
| Pakistan | South Asia |
| Philippines | Southeast Asia |
| Qatar | West Asia |
| Saudi Arabia | West Asia |
| Singapore | Southeast Asia |
| South Korea | East Asia |
| Sri Lanka | South Asia |
| Syria | West Asia |
| Tajikistan | Central Asia |
| Thailand | Southeast Asia |
| Turkey | West Asia |
| Turkmenistan | Central Asia |
| United Arab Emirates | West Asia |
| Uzbekistan | Central Asia |
| Vietnam | Southeast Asia |
| Yemen | West Asia |
Where is Asia Located?
