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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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Featured article

Chinezenmoord, Unknown author

The 1740 Batavia massacre (Dutch: Chinezenmoord, lit. 'Murder of the Chinese'; Indonesian: Geger Pacinan, lit. 'Chinatown tumult') was a massacre and pogrom in which European soldiers of the Dutch East India Company killed ethnic Chinese residents of the port city of Batavia, Dutch East Indies, (present-day Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies. The violence in the city lasted from 9 October 1740, until 22 October, with minor skirmishes outside the walls continuing late into November that year. Historians have estimated that at least 10,000 ethnic Chinese were massacred; just 600 to 3,000 are believed to have survived.

In September 1740, as unrest rose among the Chinese population, spurred by government repression and declining sugar prices, Governor-General Adriaan Valckenier declared that any uprising would be met with deadly force. On 7 October, hundreds of ethnic Chinese, many of them sugar mill workers, killed 50 Dutch soldiers, leading Dutch troops to confiscate all weapons from the Chinese populace and to place the Chinese under a curfew. Two days later, rumors of Chinese atrocities led other Batavian ethnic groups to burn Chinese houses along Besar River and Dutch soldiers to fire cannons at Chinese homes in revenge. The violence soon spread throughout Batavia, killing more Chinese. Although Valckenier declared an amnesty on 11 October, gangs of irregulars continued to hunt down and kill Chinese until 22 October, when the governor-general called more forcefully for a cessation of hostilities. Outside the city walls, clashes continued between Dutch troops and rioting sugar mill workers. After several weeks of minor skirmishes, Dutch-led troops assaulted Chinese strongholds in sugar mills throughout the area. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital and most populous city. Tajikistan is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. It is separated from Pakistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor.

The territory was previously home to cultures of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, including the city of Sarazm, and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of various faiths and cultures including the Oxus civilization, Andronovo culture, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Islam. The area has been ruled by empires and dynasties including the Achaemenid Empire, Sasanian Empire, Hephthalite Empire, Samanid Empire, and Mongol Empire. After being ruled by the Timurid Empire and Khanate of Bukhara, the Timurid Renaissance flourished. The region was later conquered by the Russian Empire and subsequently by the Soviet Union. Within the Soviet Union, the country's borders were drawn when it was part of Uzbekistan as an autonomous republic before becoming a full-fledged Soviet republic in 1929. (Full article...)

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Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus Georgia (country) India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Oman Pakistan State of Palestine Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Syria Taiwan Thailand Timor-Leste Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen

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Featured biography

Roshan in 2016

Hrithik Roshan (pronounced [ɾɪt̪ɪk ɾoʃən]; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six Filmfare Awards, of which four were for Best Actor. Starting from 2012, he has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 several times based on his income and popularity.

Roshan has frequently collaborated with his father, Rakesh Roshan. He made brief appearances as a child actor in several films in the 1980s and later worked as an assistant director on four of his father's films. His first leading role was in the box-office success Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), for which he received several awards. Performances in the 2000 terrorism drama Fiza and the 2001 ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... consolidated his reputation but were followed by several poorly received films. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Featured picture

Kaohsiung Confucius Temple

Credit: Cccefalon

The Kaohsiung Confucius Temple is a temple dedicated to the memory of Confucius near Lotus Pond, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The temple was originally constructed in 1684, and renovated during the Qing dynasty. However, during the Japanese colonial period, the temple fell into disuse and disrepair. A new temple was constructed in 1976, now on the northwest corner of Lotus Pond.

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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

17 June 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Eight Palestinians are killed by Israeli fire while waiting for commercial trucks in Gaza according to unnamed "health officials". (Reuters)
17 June 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict: Hezbollah commander Muhammad Ahmed Ayoub is allegedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in Selaa, Lebanon, with further strikes occurring against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon. (Jerusalem Post)
17 June 2024 – 2024 West Bengal train collision: Fifteen people are killed and several others are injured when a cargo train collides with a Kanchanjungha Express passenger train in Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India. (Al Jazeera)
17 June 2024 –: Egypt's Tourism Hajj Mission announces that at least eight Egyptian pilgrims have died during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. (Ahram)
17 June 2024 – North Korea–Russia relations: Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that he will visit North Korea this week, the first state visit by a Russian President in 24 years. (Al Jazeera)
17 June 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Israeli war cabinet

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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: 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.