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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. 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

Darjeeling (/dɑːrˈdʒiːlɪŋ/, Nepali: [ˈdard͡ziliŋ], Bengali: [ˈdarˌdʒiliŋ]) is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2,045 metres (6,709 ft). To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, to the east the Kingdom of Bhutan, to the north the Indian state of Sikkim, and farther north the Tibet Autonomous Region region of China. Bangladesh lies to the south and southeast, and most of the state of West Bengal lies to the south and southwest, connected to the Darjeeling region by a narrow tract. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rises to the north and is prominently visible on clear days.

In the early 19th century, during East India Company rule in India, Darjeeling was identified as a potential summer retreat for British officials, soldiers and their families. The narrow mountain ridge was leased from the Kingdom of Sikkim, and eventually annexed to British India. Experimentation with growing tea on the slopes below Darjeeling was highly successful. Thousands of labourers were recruited chiefly from Nepal to clear the forests, build European-style cottages and work in the tea plantations. The widespread deforestation displaced the indigenous peoples. Residential schools were established in and around Darjeeling for the education of children of the domiciled British in India. By the late-19th century, a novel narrow-gauge mountain railway, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, was bringing summer residents into the town and carrying a freight of tea out for export to the world. After India's independence in 1947, as the British left Darjeeling, its cottages were purchased by wealthy Indians from the plains and its tea plantations by out-of-town Indian business owners and conglomerates. (Full article...)

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Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, romanized: sakartvelo, IPA: [sakʰartʰʷelo] ^ⓘ) is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and West Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north and northeast, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. Georgia covers an area of 69,700 square kilometres (26,900 sq mi). It has a population of 3.7 million, of which over a third live in the capital and largest city, Tbilisi. Georgians, who are native to the region, constitute a majority of the country's population and are its titular nation.

Georgia has been inhabited since prehistory, hosting the world's earliest known sites of winemaking, gold mining, and textiles. The classical era saw the emergence of several kingdoms, such as Colchis and Iberia, that formed the nucleus of the modern Georgian state. In the early fourth century, Georgians officially adopted Christianity, which contributed to the unification into the Kingdom of Georgia. Georgia reached its Golden Age during the High Middle Ages under the reigns of King David IV and Queen Tamar. Beginning in the 15th century, the kingdom declined and disintegrated under pressure from various regional powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia, before being gradually annexed into the Russian Empire starting in 1801. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Gold dinar minted by the Umayyads in 695, which likely depicts Abd al-Malik.

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (Arabic: عَبْد الْمَلِك ٱبْن مَرْوَان ٱبْن الْحَكَم, romanized: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death in October 705. A member of the first generation of born Muslims, his early life in Medina was occupied with pious pursuits. He held administrative and military posts under Caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, and his own father, Caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685). By the time of Abd al-Malik's accession, Umayyad authority had collapsed across the Caliphate as a result of the Second Fitna and had been reconstituted in Syria and Egypt during his father's reign.

Following a failed invasion of Iraq in 686, Abd al-Malik focused on securing Syria before making further attempts to conquer the greater part of the Caliphate from his principal rival, the Mecca-based caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. To that end, he concluded an unfavorable truce with the reinvigorated Byzantine Empire in 689, quashed a coup attempt in Damascus by his kinsman, al-Ashdaq, the following year, and reincorporated into the army the rebellious Qaysi tribes of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) in 691. He then conquered Zubayrid Iraq and dispatched his general, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to Mecca where he killed Ibn al-Zubayr in late 692, thereby reuniting the Caliphate under Abd al-Malik's rule. The war with Byzantium resumed, resulting in Umayyad advances into Anatolia and Armenia, the destruction of Carthage and the recapture of Kairouan, the launchpad for the later conquests of western North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, in 698. In the east, al-Hajjaj had become Abd al-Malik's viceroy and firmly established the caliph's authority in Iraq and Khurasan, stamping out opposition by the Kharijites and the Arab tribal nobility by 702. Abd al-Malik's final years were marked by a domestically peaceful and prosperous consolidation of power. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Featured picture

Tonle Sap Lake

Credit: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

A little girl making money for her family by posing with a snake in a water village of Tonle Sap Lake.

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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 Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after genocide and displacement by 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 Mughâret Umm et-Tûeimîn Caves in Filistin (or Palestine) 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

21 November 2024 –: A fourth foreign tourist died within a week from drinking poisoned alcohol in Vang Vieng, Laos. A dozen others are still in hospital. (Algemeen Dagblad)
20 November 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Calls for a ceasefire during the Israel–Hamas war; The United States vetoes a United Nations Security Council proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, citing the proposal's lack of a provision to immediately return hostages taken during the conflict. (The New York Sun) (Reuters); United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war; The United States Senate rejects three resolutions by Bernie Sanders that would block the sale of weapons to Israel in their war in Gaza. (The Hill)
20 November 2024 – Syrian civil war: Israel's role in the Syrian civil war

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Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Caucasus

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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