Asian Geography

Asia is the largest of the world’s continents, covering an estimated 44,607,000 square kilometers or about one-third of the world’s land surface area. Asia is generally characterized as being delimited by the Ural Mountains in the west, the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east, and the Indian Ocean in the south. Ortelius’s groundbreaking atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World), published in 1570, was the first to use the word “Asia” to describe the easternmost of the three known continents.

The continent of Asia is home to a great many diverse peoples, cultures, religions, and languages. The 2010 census reported that there are over 4.4 billion people living in Asia, which is about 60% of the world’s population. The most populous country in Asia is China, with over 1.3 billion people, followed by India, with over 1.2 billion people. Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, and the Philippines are also among the most populous countries in the world.

Geographically, Asia can be divided into five distinct regions: (1) the Middle East, which is generally considered to include the countries of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; (2) Central Asia, which comprises the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; (3) South Asia, which includes the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; (4) Southeast Asia, which comprises the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Vietnam; and (5) East Asia, which includes the countries of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The countries of Asia vary greatly in terms of their land area. Russia, the largest country in Asia, covers an area of 17,098,242 square kilometers, while the Maldives, the smallest country in Asia, covers an area of just 298 square kilometers. The highest point in Asia is Mount Everest, which stands 8,848 meters tall, while the deepest point in Asia is the Philippine Trench, which plunges to a depth of 10,040 meters.

Asia is also home to some of the world’s most iconic landmarks and natural wonders. The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum located in Agra, India, is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, and the Great Wall of China is one of the most impressive engineering feats in human history. Other popular tourist destinations in Asia include the temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia; the Forbidden City in Beijing, China; the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and the Ruins of Pompeii in Naples, Italy.