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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. Thefore, 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 Song dynasty at its greatest extent in 1111

The Song dynasty (/sʊŋ/) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

The dynasty's history is divided into two periods: during the Northern Song (北宋; 960–1127), the capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now Eastern China. The Southern Song (南宋; 1127–1279) comprise the period following the loss of control over the northern half of Song territory to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. At that time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze and established its capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou). Although the Song dynasty had lost control of the traditional Chinese heartlands around the Yellow River, the Southern Song Empire contained a large population and productive agricultural land, sustaining a robust economy. In 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, died in 1259 while besieging the mountain castle Diaoyucheng in Chongqing. His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan and in 1271 founded the Yuan dynasty. After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279 after defeating the Southern Song in the Battle of Yamen, and reunited China under the Yuan dynasty. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia and the Middle East. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km² (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia and the largest in the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. The capital and largest city is Riyadh; other major cities include Jeddah and the two holiest cities in Islam, Mecca and Medina. With a population of almost 32.2 million, Saudi Arabia is the fourth most populous country in the Arab world.

Pre-Islamic Arabia, the territory that constitutes modern-day Saudi Arabia, was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations; the prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity outside Africa. Islam, the world's second-largest religion, emerged in what is now Saudi Arabia in the early seventh century. Islamic prophet Muhammad united the population of the Arabian Peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers expanded Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering territories in North Africa, Central, South Asia and Iberia within decades. Arab dynasties originating from modern-day Saudi Arabia founded the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750), Abbasid (750–1517), and Fatimid (909–1171) caliphates, as well as numerous other dynasties in Asia, Africa, and Europe. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Chan at the launch of Bleeding Steel in July 2016

Chan Kong-sang SBS MBE PMW (born 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan, is a Hong Kong actor, director, writer, producer, martial artist, and stuntman known for his slapstick acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically performs himself. Before entering the film industry, he was one of the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School, where he studied acrobatics, martial arts, and acting. Chan has been acting since the 1960s, performing in more than 150 films. He holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Stunts by a Living Actor", and is one of the most influential action film stars of all time.

After appearing in many Hong Kong films as a stuntman, Chan's first major breakthrough was the 1978 kung fu action comedy film Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. He then starred in similar kung fu action comedy films such as 1978's Drunken Master and 1980's The Young Master. In 1979, he made his directorial debut with The Fearless Hyena, which was a box office success. 1983's Project A saw the official formation of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and established Chan's signature style of elaborate, dangerous stunts combined with martial arts and slapstick humor, a style he further developed in a more modern setting with 1984's Wheels on Meals and 1985's Police Story. Rumble in the Bronx (1995), which had a successful worldwide theatrical run, brought Chan into the North American mainstream, leading to a successful Hollywood career with the Rush Hour and Shanghai series. In 2010, Chan appeared in his first dramatic role in an American film, The Karate Kid. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Featured picture

Foot binding

Credit: User:Dschwen

Foot binding was the custom of binding the feet of young girls painfully tight to prevent further growth. The practice probably originated among court dancers in the early Song dynasty, but spread to upper class families and eventually became common among all classes. The tiny narrow feet were considered beautiful and to make a woman's movements more feminine and dainty.

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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 Levantine Arabic is often written in Hebrew characters online by Bedouin, Arab Christians, and Druze in Israel?
... that Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after harassment by neighboring 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 Te'omim Cave in Israel 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

19 August 2024 – African mpox epidemic: The Philippine Department of Health reports its first case of mpox since 2023 in a patient with no international travel history. (GMA Network); Tainan City health officials in Taiwan reports three cases of mpox since the start of the year. (TVBS Taiwan)
18 August 2024 –: A bomb explodes in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing one person and injuring another. (Sky News)
18 August 2024 – 2024 Lebanese blackout: Ongoing nationwide blackouts in Lebanon caused by fuel shortages provoke significant governmental conflict, with the Minister of Energy blaming the Central Bank for not paying Iraq for fuel imports and the Central Bank blaming Parliament for not authorizing emergency fund transfers for fuel payments. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
18 August 2024 – 2024 Yemen floods: More than 100 people are killed during nearly three weeks of persistent heavy rainfall and flooding across Yemen, with the country's national weather agency declaring a severe weather alert for future "very heavy thunderstorms". (Arab News)
18 August 2024 –: At least eight family members are killed when their van collides with a delivery truck in Sariaya, Quezon, Philippines. (The Philippine Star) (Xinhua)

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Surroundings

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: Kanō Eitoku

Birds and flowers of the four seasons (紙本墨画花鳥図, shihon bokuga kachōzu), part of the Paintings on room partitions in the abbot's quarters (hōjō) (方丈障壁画, hōjō shōhekiga) of Jukō-in (聚光院) of Daitoku-ji (大徳寺), Kyoto, Japan. Ink on paper. This picture shows four of 16 panels on fusuma (sliding doors) in the ritual room (室中). The paintings have been designated as National Treasures of Japan in the category paintings.

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