Geography of Asia

The Geography of Asia looks at how we understand and group the lands of Asia. Asia is a huge part of the world, with 58 countries and areas. It has many different kinds of land, from tall mountains to wide plains, and from busy cities to quiet forests. Learning about Asia's geography helps us see how people, plants, and animals live together in such a big and changing place. The shape and features of Asia affect the weather, the water, and the lives of millions of people who call it home.

Geographical characteristics

Boundary

Main article: Definition and boundaries of Asia

Asia's size isn't just the sum of its parts, because its regions have their own borders. For example, South Asia and West Asia can look different depending on who's drawing the map. Egypt is usually part of the Middle East but not considered part of Asia, even though most of the Middle East is in Asia.

Asia's borders are clear in some places. The line between Asia and Africa follows the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea, and the Bab-el-Mandeb. The edge of Asia and Europe starts at the eastern Mediterranean and goes through places like the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Ural River, ending at the Arctic Ocean. The Bering Straits separate Asia from North America. To the southeast, the Malay Peninsula marks the end of mainland Asia, with Indonesia made up of many islands nearby. Australia is a different continent, and the islands northeast of Australia belong to Oceania.

Overall dimensions

Different sources give different numbers for how big Asia is. Some say it's about 44 million square kilometers. Asia stretches from about 77° North to 1° North in latitude and from 26° East to 169° West in longitude. This makes Asia roughly 8,700 kilometers long and 9,700 kilometers wide. Indonesia, with its many islands, adds more land to Asia and stretches its southern reach even further. The exact border between Asia and Australia is still being worked out.

European views of Asia

Geographical or traditional view

Medieval Europeans thought of Asia as a continent, a separate landmass. The idea of dividing the world into three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa—goes back to ancient times. Most geographers, in maps and books from places like National Geographic to the CIA World Factbook, still see Europe, Asia, and Africa as continents.

Hellenic origin

The idea of three continents started in ancient Greece. The Greeks didn’t have a clear idea of continents, but they did notice a difference between islands and the mainland. Over time, this idea grew. Early Greek writers talked about lands called Asia, Europe, and Libya (a small area west of Egypt). They described Asia by its coasts, from the Black Sea around Asia Minor to the Red Sea and India.

Imperial Roman geography

Later, during the time of the Roman Empire, the idea of three continents became more fixed. The Roman geographer Ptolemy said continents should be separated by seas when possible. He set the Red Sea as the border between Africa (which he called Libya) and Asia, and the Don River as the border between Europe and Asia. His view of Asia reached almost to today’s Far East, including parts of what is now Russia.

Geologic view

More recent studies of earth movements have shown that Asia has areas that could be seen as separate landmasses. Geologists study these landmasses, called tectonic plates. In strict geological terms, Europe and Asia are part of one big landmass called Eurasia.

Regional view

In human geography, there are different ways to think about Asia. One common way keeps Europe and Asia as separate continents and looks at regions like East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East more closely. Some people use “continent” to mean just a big area in physical geography.

Ethnic view

In everyday language, especially in Europe and America, the word “Asian” often describes a person’s ethnic background rather than where they live. In American English, “Asian” usually means people from East and Southeast Asia, while in British English, it often means people from South Asia. Asia includes many different areas, like the Indian subcontinent, the Iranian Plateau, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Regions

Further information: Subregion § Asia

Since the 18th century, Asia has been divided into several regions and smaller areas. However, there is no single agreement on how to use these terms.

The six main regions of Asia are:

• Central Asia: This area includes countries that were once part of a large group of nations, such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
• East Asia: This region includes China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. It also includes areas like Mainland China and smaller parts such as Inner Mongolia and Tibet.
• North Asia: This is mainly Siberia, which is part of Russia.
• South Asia: This region includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is often called the Indian subcontinent.
• Southeast Asia: This area has countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• West Asia: This region includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is also known as the Middle East or Southwest Asia.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Asia

Asia has many different climates. In the southwest, it is usually dry. The western part of Asia can have very big temperature changes from day to night. In the south and east, rains called monsoons come because of big mountains called the Himalayas. These rains bring wet weather in the summer.

The southwest part of Asia is flat and can be very hot in summer and cool in winter. In places like Siberia, it can get extremely cold. Some areas near the Philippines and Japan see strong storms called tropical cyclones. All of Asia is feeling the effects of changing weather patterns.

General data for countries defined as Asian by the UNSD

The United Nations Statistics Division collects data about regions, including Asia. They use a system called United Nations M49 to organize countries into groups for statistical purposes. This system helps the United Nations gather useful information but does not decide political boundaries or affiliations.

M49 is updated often to match changes in the world. One tricky part is "Northern Asia," which is not an official region. Russia is considered part of Europe, even though part of it lies in Asia. The United Nations chooses to place Russia in Europe, so the issue remains unsolved. The table below shows countries and areas linked to Asia, with notes about special cases and different views on where some countries belong.

Regional maps of Asia