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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 kilometres, 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 civilisations. 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. Therefore, Asia is a region where various independent cultures coexist rather than sharing a single culture, and its boundary with 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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The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family, collectively called the Southern Ming, survived until 1662.

The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the navy's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. He also took great care breaking the power of the court eunuchs and unrelated magnates, enfeoffing his many sons throughout China and attempting to guide these princes through the Huang-Ming Zuxun, a set of published dynastic instructions. This failed when his teenage successor, the Jianwen Emperor, attempted to curtail his uncle's power, prompting the Jingnan campaign, an uprising that placed the Prince of Yan upon the throne as the Yongle Emperor in 1402. The Yongle Emperor established Yan as a secondary capital and renamed it Beijing, constructed the Forbidden City, and restored the Grand Canal and the primacy of the imperial examinations in official appointments. He rewarded his eunuch supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One eunuch, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia and the eastern coasts of Africa. Hongwu and Yongle emperors had also expanded the empire's rule into Inner Asia. (Full article...)

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Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares its sole land border with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Bahrain, an inlet of the Persian Gulf, separates Qatar from nearby Bahrain. The capital is Doha, home to over 80% of the country's inhabitants. Most of the land area is made up of flat, low-lying desert.

Qatar has been ruled as a hereditary monarchy by the House of Thani since Mohammed bin Thani signed an agreement with Britain in 1868 that recognised its separate status. Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in 1916 and gained independence in 1971. The current emir is Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who holds nearly all executive, legislative, and judicial authority in an autocratic manner under the Constitution of Qatar. He appoints the prime minister and cabinet. The partially-elected Consultative Assembly can block legislation and has a limited ability to dismiss ministers. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Portrait of Oerip, c. 1947

General Raden Oerip Soemohardjo ([urɪp sumɔˈhardʒɔ]; Perfected Spelling: Urip Sumoharjo; 22 February 1893 – 17 November 1948) was an Indonesian general, the first chief of general staff of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and acting Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. He received several awards from the Indonesian government, including the title National Hero of Indonesia in 1964.

Born Moehammad Sidik in Purworejo, Dutch East Indies, Oerip Soemohardjo exhibited leadership skills from an early age. As his parents wanted him to become a regent, after elementary school Oerip was sent to the School for Native Government Employees (id) in Magelang. His mother died during his second year at the school, and Oerip left to undertake military training Koninklijke Militaire Academie in Meester Cornelis, Batavia (modern-day Jatinegara, Jakarta). Upon graduating in 1914, he became a lieutenant in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army; during almost 25 years of service he was stationed on three different islands and promoted several times, eventually becoming the highest-ranking Native officer in the country. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Featured picture

Emirates (airline)

Credit: Julian Herzog

Emirates is an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International Airport, to more than 150 cities in 80 countries across six continents..

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Did you know...

... that the Fighting Vanguard waged a guerrilla war against the Syrian government in the 1970s and 1980s?
... that the song "100 Great People Who Made Korea Shine" mentions Yi Wanyong, who is known as a traitor for signing the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty?
... that water-filled pits left behind by tin mining activities in Indonesia have become tourist attractions?
... that at the 2024 Olympics, unranked North Korean table tennis pair Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong defeated the defending champions and went on to win the silver medal?
... that Splatoon 3 became the fastest-selling video game of all time in Japan three days after launch?
... that in Vladivostok, the Korean enclave Shinhanchon served as a hub of the Korean independence movement?
... that The Hooded Man is an iconic photograph of the Iraq War, known as a symbol of torture at Abu Ghraib prison?
... that an abandoned Catholic church in China was used by a party school?
... that Thinzar Shunlei Yi hid in the Burmese jungle for a month and joined a rebel militia following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état?
... that Monet decorated his house at Giverny with Kuniyoshi's In the Snow at Tsukahara, Sado Island, one of about 231 Japanese prints in Monet's personal collection?

Updated: 23:05, 1 August 2025

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In the news

1 August 2025 – France–Palestine relations: France temporarily suspends its programme for receiving Palestinian refugees fleeing the Gaza Strip, following the deportation of a Palestinian student accused of making antisemitic social media posts. (Le Monde)
1 August 2025 – 2024 South Korean martial law crisis: The Seoul Central District Court issues an arrest warrant to former interior minister Lee Sang-min for charges allegedly conspiring with former President Yoon Suk Yeol in his failed martial law attempt on December 3, 2024, becoming the second Yoon cabinet minister to be arrested after Kim Yong-hyun. (Yonhap)
1 August 2025 –: Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto pardons former trade minister Thomas Lembong and secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Hasto Kristiyanto, two prominent opposition figures sentenced under controversial corruption charges. (Jakarta Globe)
31 July 2025 – Myanmar civil war: The military junta of Myanmar formally ends the country's four-year-long state of emergency and declares a December 2025 election for the country's new head of government and legislative members. (AP)
31 July 2025 – New People's Army rebellion: Eight alleged members of the New People's Army are killed in clashes with the Philippine Army in Las Navas, Northern Samar, Philippines. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
31 July 2025 –: The death toll from the flooding in Beijing, China, increases to over 70 as the government discovers 31 elderly people who were trapped in a nursing home in Miyun district. (AP)

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East (West Asia)

Central Asia and Caucasus

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: Bluemangoa2z

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.

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