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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 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

The empire in 555 under Justinian I, its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, vassals shaded in pink

The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the conditions that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. Throughout much of its history, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens called the polity the 'Roman Empire' and themselves 'Romans'.

During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine I (r. 324–337) legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. Theodosius I (r. 379–395) made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The empire adopted a defensive strategy and, throughout its remaining history, experienced recurring cycles of decline and recovery. (Full article...)

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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture. By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Bust of Shen at the Beijing Ancient Observatory

Shen Kuo (Chinese: 沈括; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁), was a Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen was a master in many fields of study including mathematics, optics, and horology. In his career as a civil servant, he became a finance minister, governmental state inspector, head official for the Bureau of Astronomy in the Song court, Assistant Minister of Imperial Hospitality, and also served as an academic chancellor. At court his political allegiance was to the Reformist faction known as the New Policies Group, headed by Chancellor Wang Anshi (1021–1085).

In his Dream Pool Essays or Dream Torrent Essays (夢溪筆談; Mengxi Bitan) of 1088, Shen was the first to describe the magnetic needle compass, which would be used for navigation (first described in Europe by Alexander Neckam in 1187). Shen discovered the concept of true north in terms of magnetic declination towards the north pole, with experimentation of suspended magnetic needles and "the improved meridian determined by Shen's [astronomical] measurement of the distance between the pole star and true north". This was the decisive step in human history to make compasses more useful for navigation, and may have been a concept unknown in Europe for another four hundred years (evidence of German sundials made circa 1450 show markings similar to Chinese geomancers' compasses in regard to declination). (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 2Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 3Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 4The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 5Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6The 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 7The 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 8The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 9The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 10Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 11Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 12Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 13Korean 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 14Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 15A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 16Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 17The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 18Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 19East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 21Detail 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 22A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 23Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 24The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 25The 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 26Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 29India'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 30the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 31The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 32The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 33The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 34Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 35Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 36Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 38Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 40Hinduism 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 41Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 43Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 44The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 46Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 47Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 48A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 49The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 50Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 52Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 54Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 55The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 56The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 57Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 58Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 59The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 60Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 61Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 62Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 63Detail 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 64Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 65A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 66Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 67Some 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 68British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 69Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History 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 Richard Stratton's diplomatic career took him "from South America to Japan, and from Southern Africa to the foothills of the Himalayas"?
... that the Akademia Nasionala del Ladino in Israel is dedicated to preserving the Judaeo-Spanish language?
... that when sworn in, Annas Maamun was the oldest serving Indonesian governor?
... that the Indonesian town of Tiakur experienced a shortage of specialist doctors due to them not renewing their contract?
... that only six years after its 2016 discovery, the Meratus blue flycatcher was found being sold in Indonesian songbird markets?
... that in 1981, TriGem introduced the first microcomputer built in South Korea?
... that Jewish Indian theory, the erroneous idea that some lost tribes of Israel became ancestors to Native Americans, influenced the Book of Mormon?
... that Mimodactylus is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent?
... that a Japanese island has rapidly fluctuated in size?
... that the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council became the richest landlord in Uganda after inheriting land left behind by Asian Muslims expelled under Idi Amin?

Updated: 21:05, 20 February 2025

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In the news

20 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State: Puntland security forces, with air support from the United Arab Emirates, launch a major offensive in the Cal Miskaad mountains, allegedly killing at least 44 IS–Somalia militants and seizing control of the areas of Dhasaq, Qurac, and Damdamle, in Bari Region, Puntland, Somalia. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online)
20 February 2025 – Gaza war: Hamas release the bodies of Shiri Bibas, Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, who were all kidnapped from their homes in Nir Oz kibbutz, Israel on October 7, 2023. (The Times of Israel)
20 February 2025 – 2025 Bat Yam bus bombings: Three empty buses explode in what is suspected as an attempted terrorist attack in Bat Yam, Israel. Devices planted on two other buses failed to detonate, according to police. No casualties are reported. (BBC News)
20 February 2025 – 2024 Indonesian local elections: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inaugurates 961 regional heads, including governors, regents, and mayors, at the State Palace. (Tempo)
19 February 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin praises the high-level talks with the U.S. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a "first step" towards restoring full diplomatic ties with the United States. (The Moscow Times)
19 February 2025 – 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite: In association football, Chinese club Shandong Taishan withdraw from the AFC Champions League Elite several hours before their match against South Korean club Ulsan HD. (ESPN) (South China Morning Post)

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Caucasus

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: Guillaume Piolle

Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire.

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