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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 its boundary with 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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Nagorno-Karabakh war may refer to: (Full article...)

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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. Afghanistan's population is estimated to be between 35 and 50 million.

Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. Popularly referred to as the graveyard of empires, the land has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and a US-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires. Because of the various conquests and periods in both the Iranian and Indian cultural spheres, the area was a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam. The modern state of Afghanistan began with the Durrani Empire in the 18th century under Ahmad Shah Durrani, although Dost Mohammad Khan is sometimes considered to be the founder of the first modern Afghan state. Afghanistan became a buffer state in the Great Game between the British Empire and the Russian Empire. From India, the British attempted to subjugate Afghanistan but were repelled in the First Anglo-Afghan War; the Second Anglo-Afghan War saw a British victory. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, Afghanistan became free of foreign political hegemony, and emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1926. This monarchy lasted almost half a century, until Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, following which the Republic of Afghanistan was established. (Full article...)

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Formal portrait, c. 1945

Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947 and then as Pakistan's first governor-general until his death a year later in 1948.

Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated for Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Detail 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 2Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 3Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 4Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History 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 6Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 7The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 8Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 9Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 11The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 12Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 13Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 14Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15Some 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 16Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture 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 18The 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 19Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 20A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 21The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 22Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 23Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 24Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 25The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 26Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 28The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 29East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 30India's middle-class population of 300 million is growing at an annual rate of 5%. Shown here is the skyline in South Mumbai. (from Asian Century)
Image 31The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 32The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 34Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 35Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 36British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 37Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 38Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 39Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 40Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 41Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 42The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 43Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 44Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 46The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 47Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 48The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 49the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 50Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Hinduism 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 52Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 53Detail 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 54The 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 55Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 56The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 57The 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 58Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 59The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 60Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 61Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 62A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 63The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 64A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 65Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 66Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 67The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 68Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)

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.

Did you know...

... that Bukit Brown Cemetery is believed to be the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China, with over 100,000 burials?
... that a Japanese island has rapidly fluctuated in size?
... that a train station in Japan appointed a cat as an "honorary assistant"?
... that the United States Department of Defense ran a propaganda campaign against Chinese vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic?
... that Mohammad Saifullah Ozaki, an academic in Japan born to a Hindu family in Bangladesh, became a leader in the Islamic State?
... that Singaporean chef and restaurateur Tan Kue Kim cooked while wearing a S$40,000 gold Rolex watch?
... that the Republic of China produced coins featuring emperor Yuan Shikai for decades after his demise?
... that a government had to intervene after 80 percent of all personal loans taken out were to cover wedding expenses?
... that a Japanese essayist and film historian has called Godzilla Minus One a "dangerous movie"?
... that a Doctor Who episode took place during the partition of India, and used a unique Indian adaptation of the usual closing theme?

Updated: 1:05, 24 March 2026

In the news

24 March 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis: 2026 Iran war; Iraq in the 2026 Iran war; Fifteen fighters from Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), including a commander, are killed in an American airstrike on a PMF base in the Al Anbar Governorate. (AFP via BSS); Hezbollah–Israel conflict; 2026 Lebanon war; Israeli defense minister Israel Katz states that the military will control a "security zone" up to the Litani River in southern Lebanon until the threat of Hezbollah is removed. (The Times of Israel)

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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.

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