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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. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. 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.

China and India traded places as the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power for much of recorded history, with the highest GDP per capita until 1500. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions. (Full article...)

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The Bengali language movement (Bengali: বাংলা ভাষা আন্দোলন, romanized: Bangla Bhasha Andolôn) was a political movement in former East Bengal (renamed East Pakistan in 1952) advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government affairs, the continuation of its use as a medium of education, its use in media, currency and stamps, and to maintain its writing in the Bengali script.

When the Dominion of Pakistan was formed after the separation of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 when the British left, it was composed of various ethnic and linguistic groups, with the geographically non-contiguous East Bengal province having a mainly ethnic Bengali population. In 1948, the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained as part of Islamization of East Pakistan or East Bengal that Urdu will be the sole federal language, alternately Bengali writing in the Perso-Arabic script or Roman script (Romanisation of Bengali) or Arabic as the state language of the whole of Pakistan was also proposed, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on 21 February 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the central government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956. (Full article...)

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Bhutan (/buːˈtɑːn/ ^ⓘ boo-TAHN; Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, romanized: Druk Yul [ʈuk̚˩.yː˩]), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་, romanized: Druk Gyal Khap), is a landlocked country in South Asia situated in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the north and India in the south. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi), Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king (Druk Gyalpo) as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. Vajrayana Buddhism is the state religion and the Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion.

The subalpine Himalayan mountains in the north rise from the country's lush subtropical plains in the south. In the Bhutanese Himalayas, there are peaks higher than 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) above sea level. Gangkhar Puensum is Bhutan's highest peak and is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. The wildlife of Bhutan is notable for its diversity, including the Himalayan takin and golden langur. The capital and largest city is Thimphu, holding close to 15% of the population. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Japanese woman in multi-layered clothing writing at a desk — Depiction of Murasaki Shikibu by Tosa Mitsuoki

Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部, 'Lady Murasaki'; c. 973 – c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara no Kaoriko (藤原香子), who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.

Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to-late twenties and gave birth to a daughter, Daini no Sanmi. Her husband died after two years of marriage. It is uncertain when she began to write The Tale of Genji, but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi at the Imperial court by Fujiwara no Michinaga, probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service, adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years, she left court and retired with Shōshi to the Lake Biwa region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014, others have suggested she was alive in 1025. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Featured picture

Masada

Credit: Photograph: Andrew Shiva

An aerial view of Masada, an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel. Found atop an isolated rock plateau, it overlooks the Dead Sea. The first fortifications on the mountain were built by Alexander Jannaeus, and significantly strengthened by the Roman client king Herod between 37 and 31 BCE. During the First Jewish–Roman War of 66–73 CE, the fortress was besieged, falling only after the 960 Sicarii defending it committed mass suicide. Masada is among the more popular tourist attractions in Israel, and in 2001 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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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

9 May 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Rafah offensive, United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war; President Joe Biden vows to withhold weapons from Israel if they launch a major invasion of Rafah. (Reuters)
8 May 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Humanitarian aid during the Israel–Hamas war; Israel reopens the Kerem Shalom border crossing, allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, the UN states that no aid has entered. (AP); Rafah offensive; Israeli troops reach the outskirts of Rafah with Hamas saying that heavy fighting is underway. The Israeli military says that it has "uncovered terrorist infrastructure" and killed a number of Hamas militants as it advances. (BBC News)

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Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Surroundings

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: KennyOMG

The Indus River (locally called Sindhu) is one of the longest rivers in Asia. Originating in the Tibetan Plateau in the vicinity of Lake Manasarovar, the river runs a course through the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, towards the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Kashmir and the Hindukush ranges, and then flows in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh.