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Asia (/ˈeɪʒə, ˈeɪʃə/ (listen)) is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe, and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa and Europe. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the 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 constitutes roughly 60% of the world's population.

In general terms, Asia 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 alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of a trans-Atlantic route from Europe to America by Columbus while in search for a route to India demonstrates this deep fascination. 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 (particularly East Asia) 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

Temples and pagodas in Bagan

Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ; MLCTS: pu.gam, IPA: [bəɡàɰ̃]; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas survive.

The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main attraction for the country's nascent tourism industry. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burmese: ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်‌, [pjìdàuɴzṵ θàɴmədaa̰ mjəmà nàiɴŋàɴdɔ̀]), also called Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country in Mainland Southeast Asia, and has a population of about 54 million as of 2017. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).

Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar. In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture, and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol invasions, and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty, the country became the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a short period. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Soegijapranata in 1960

Albertus Soegijapranata, SJ ([alˈbərtʊs suˈɡijapraˈnata]; Perfected Spelling: Albertus Sugiyapranata; 25 November 1896 – 22 July 1963), better known by his birth name Soegija, was a Jesuit priest who became the Apostolic Vicar of Semarang and later its archbishop. He was the first native Indonesian bishop and known for his pro-nationalistic stance, often expressed as "100% Catholic 100% Indonesian".

Soegija was born in Surakarta, Dutch East Indies, to a Muslim courtier and his wife. The family moved to nearby Yogyakarta when Soegija was still young; there he began his education. Known as a bright child, around 1909 he was asked by Father Frans van Lith to enter Xaverius College, a Jesuit school in Muntilan, where Soegija slowly became interested in Catholicism. He was baptised on 24 December 1910. After graduating from Xaverius in 1915 and spending a year as a teacher there, Soegija spent two years at the on-site seminary before going to the Netherlands in 1919. He began his two-year novitiate with the Society of Jesus in September 1920 in Grave, and finished his juniorate there in 1923. After three years studying philosophy at Berchmann College in Oudenbosch, he was sent back to Muntilan as a teacher for a further two years. In 1928, he returned to the Netherlands to study theology at Maastricht, where he was ordained by Bishop of Roermond Laurentius Schrijnen on 15 August 1931; Soegija then added the word "pranata" to the back of his name. He was then sent back to the Indies to preach and became a parochial vicar at the parish in Kidul Loji, Yogyakarta, and in 1934 he was given his own parish in Bintaran. There he focused on creating a sense of Catholicism within the native community, emphasising the need for strong bonds between Catholic families. Soegijapranata was consecrated as the vicar apostolic of the newly established Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang in 1940. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 2The first King of Goryeo, as known as Taejo of Goryeo (918–943) (from History of Asia)
Image 3Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 4A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 6Korean 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 7Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the amalgamation of South Asian cooking styles with those from Central Asia. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 8A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 9Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 10Detail 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 11The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 12A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 13Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 14Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 16Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 17The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 18Detail 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 19A map of the Bronze Age collapse, c. 1200 BCE (from History of Asia)
Image 20The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 21Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 23The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. (from Asian Century)
Image 24Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 26The 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 27Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 28Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 29The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 30The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 31The 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 32The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 33The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 34The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 35Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 36East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 38Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39India'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 40The 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 41Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 42The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 43Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 44The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 47Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 48Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 49The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 50Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 51the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 52Expansion of Hinduism in Southeast Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 53Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 54Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
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 56Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 57Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 58Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050. (from Asian Century)
Image 59The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)

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Featured picture

Kayan (Burma)

Credit: Diliff

The Kayan or Padaung are a group of the Karen people found in Myanmar and Thailand. They are known for a particular body modification, which consists of coiling lengths of brass around the neck of the women. The coils are first applied when the girls are about five years old, and the coil is replaced with longer coils as the weight of the brass pushes down the collar bone and compresses the rib cage, resulting in the appearance of a very long neck. The practice has seen a surge in recent years because the custom draws tourists who buy their handicrafts.

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Did you know...

... that a few months after Lü Peijian was appointed China's auditor general, he announced the discovery of more than US$1.6 billion worth of tax evasion, fraud, and waste?
... that comedian Atsugiri Jason became the first non-Japanese finalist on the R-1 Grand Prix in 2014?
... that a collection of kimono assembled by Nasser Khalili covers four periods of Japanese history?
... that the anandalahari is an Indian chordophone musical instrument used by religious singers of the Baul faith?
... that Liang Baibo and Yu Feng were among China's first female cartoonists?
... that the yawara is a Japanese weapon that is used for martial arts and was used by American police?
... that Gongnyong Ridge in Seoraksan National Park, South Korea, acquired its name (lit. 'Dinosaur Ridge') from its peaks looking as "vigorous and dynamic as a dinosaur rising from the ground"?
... that students participating in the 1968–69 Japanese university protests were known for ruthlessly interrogating and verbally abusing professors, sometimes for days on end?
... that the death of Uyghur writer Nurmuhemmet Tohti has been linked to mistreatment in the Xinjiang internment camps, a claim China denies?
... that Pennsylvania Treasurer-elect Stacy Garrity was nicknamed "The Angel of the Desert" in the Iraq War?

Updated: 1:33, 20 March 2022

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In the news

20 March 2022 –: South Korean car company Hyundai announces that the Genesis Motor brand has surpassed 700,000 units in accumulative global sales. (Korea Herald); Nowruz 1401 Iranian nation new solar hijri year and new 14th century beginning.
19 March 2022 – COVID-19 pandemic: COVID-19 pandemic in Asia; COVID-19 pandemic in India; Maharashtra reports 97 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, making it the first time that the Indian state has reported less than 100 new cases of COVID-19 since April 2020. (Business Standard); COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

Updated: 7:33, 20 March 2022

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Selected panorama

Credit: Benh LIEU SONG

The Central Area of Singapore surrounded by the perimeter of five planning areas: the Marina Bay, the Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South and Straits View. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent CBD. It is also the new downtown of Singapore built on reclaimed land.