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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 Anbar campaign consisted of fighting between the United States military, together with Iraqi security forces, and Sunni insurgents in the western Iraqi governorate of Al Anbar. The Iraq War lasted from 2003 to 2011, but the majority of the fighting and counterinsurgency campaign in Anbar took place between April 2004 and September 2007. Although the fighting initially featured heavy urban warfare primarily between insurgents and U.S. Marines, insurgents in later years focused on ambushing the American and Iraqi security forces with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), large scale attacks on combat outposts, and car bombings. Almost 9,000 Iraqis and 1,335 Americans were killed in the campaign, many in the Euphrates River Valley and the Sunni Triangle around the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

Al Anbar, the only Sunni-dominated province in Iraq, saw little fighting in the initial invasion. Following the fall of Baghdad it was occupied by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Violence began on 28 April 2003 when 17 Iraqis were killed in Fallujah by U.S. soldiers during an anti-American demonstration. In early 2004 the U.S. Army relinquished command of the governorate to the Marines. By April 2004 the governorate was in full-scale revolt. Savage fighting occurred in both Fallujah and Ramadi by the end of 2004, including the Second Battle of Fallujah. Violence escalated throughout 2005 and 2006 as the two sides struggled to secure the Western Euphrates River Valley. During this time, Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) became the governorate's main Sunni insurgent group and turned the provincial capital of Ramadi into its stronghold. The Marine Corps issued an intelligence report in late 2006 declaring that the governorate would be lost without a significant additional commitment of troops. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. A federal constitutional monarchy, it consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land borders with Brunei and Indonesia, as well as a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, the country's largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. Putrajaya is the administrative centre, which represents the seat of both the executive branch (the Cabinet, federal ministries, and federal agencies) and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 34 million, the country is the world's 43rd-most populous country. Malaysia is tropical and is one of 17 megadiverse countries; it is home to numerous endemic species. Tanjung Piai in the Malaysian state of Johor is the southernmost point of continental Eurasia.

The country has its origins in the Malay kingdoms, which, from the 18th century on, became subject to the British Empire, along with the British Straits Settlements protectorate. During World War Two, British Malaya, along with other nearby British and American colonies, was occupied by the Empire of Japan. Following three years of occupation, Peninsular Malaysia was briefly unified as the Malayan Union in 1946 until 1948 when it was restructured as the Federation of Malaya. The country achieved independence on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963, independent Malaya united with the then British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to become Malaysia. In August 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became a separate, independent country. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi (Arabic: الْمُخْتَار ٱبْن أَبِي عُبَيْد الثَّقَفِيّ, romanized: al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd al-Thaqafī; c. 622 – 3 April 687) was a pro-Alid revolutionary based in Kufa, who led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in 685 and ruled over most of Iraq for eighteen months during the Second Fitna.

Born in Ta'if, Mukhtar moved to Iraq at a young age and grew up in Kufa.in his young ages,Mukhtar Participated in Battles On Ali ibn Abu Talib side in Battle of Siffin.Following the death of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at the hands of the Umayyad army in the Battle of Karbala in 680, he allied with the rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca, but the alliance was short-lived. Mukhtar returned to Kufa where he declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661) and brother of Husayn, the mahdi and the imam, and called for the establishment of an Alid caliphate and retaliation for Husayn's killing. He took over Kufa in October 685, after expelling its Zubayrid governor, and later ordered the execution of those involved in the killing of Husayn. Hostile relations with Ibn al-Zubayr ultimately led to Mukhtar's death by the forces of the Zubayrid governor of Basra, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, following a four-month siege. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Featured picture

Utagawa school

Credit: Hiroshige Utagawa

Mandarin Ducks by Japanese woodblock artist Hiroshige Utagawa, accompanied by a poem which reads:

Out in a morning wind,
Have seen a pair of mandarin ducks parting.
Even the best loving couple makes a quarrel.

Hiroshige was a member of the Utagawa school, which was founded by Utagawa Toyoharu, whose primary innovation was his adaptation of linear perspective to Japanese subject matter. His pupil, Toyokuni I, took over after Toyoharu's death and raised the group to become the most famous and powerful woodblock print school for the remainder of the 19th century, so much so that today more than half of all surviving ukiyo-e prints are from it. In addition to Hiroshige, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi were Utagawa students.

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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

30 December 2024 –: Three tourists are killed and seven more injured during a fire at a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP)
30 December 2024 – 2024 South Korean martial law crisis: The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials formally requests an arrest warrant for impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law. (Reuters)
29 December 2024 – Syrian civil war: Fall of the Assad regime; Syrian mass graves; Three mass graves associated with the Assad regime are discovered in Al-Qabou, Homs Governorate. (SOHR); Operation Dawn of Freedom

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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: Dean S. Pemberton

A panoramic view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the site of the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare on August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II. Over 70,000 people were killed immediately, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation, after the U.S. Army Air Force bomber Enola Gay dropped the bomb, codenamed "Little Boy". The Genbaku ("A-bomb") Dome (center) was directly beneath the blast, but managed to survive mostly intact.

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