Asia

For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation).

Asia is the largest and most populous region or continent depending on the definition. It is traditionally defined as part of the landmass of Africa-Eurasia lying east of the Suez Canal, east of the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas. About 60% of the world's human population lives in Asia, of whom only 2% live in the northern and interior half (Siberia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, western Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan); the other 98% live in the remaining half.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Definition and boundaries 3 Geographical regions 3.1 Central Asia 3.2 East Asia 3.3 North Asia 3.4 South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent) 3.5 Southeast Asia 3.6 Southwest Asia (or Middle East, Near East or West Asia) 3.7 Table of territories and regions 4 Economy 4.1 Natural resources 4.2 Manufacturing 4.3 Financial and other services 5 Early history 6 Religion 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Etymology

The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (c. 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, as opposed to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three different women's names are used to describe a single land-mass (Europa, Asia and Libya, referring to Africa) stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus but that the Lydians say it was named after Asias, son of Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in Sardis.

Even before Herodotus, Homer knew of a Trojan ally named Asios, son of Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and elsewhere he describes a marsh as ασιος (Iliad 2, 461). The Greek term may be derived from Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in Western Anatolia. Hittite assu- "good" is probably an element in that name.

Alternatively, the ultimate etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word (w)aṣû(m), cognate of Hebrew יצא, which means "to go out" or "to ascend", referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East, and also likely connected with the Phoenician word asa meaning east. This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for Europe, as being from Semitic erēbu "to enter" or "set" (of the sun). However, an originally Mesopotamian or Middle Eastern perspective would not explain how the term "Asia" first came to be associated with Anatolia as lying west of the Semitic speaking area.

Definition and boundaries

Medieval Europeans considered Asia as a continent, a distinct landmass. The European concept of the three continents in the Old World goes back to classical antiquity with the etymology of the word rooted in the ancient Near and Middle East. The demarcation between Asia and Africa is the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea. The boundary between Asia and Europe is commonly believed to run through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River to its source, and the Ural Mountains to the Kara Sea near Kara, Russia. However, modern discovery of the extent of Africa and Asia made this definition rather anachronistic, especially in the case of Asia, which would have several regions that would be considered distinct landmasses if these criteria were used (for example, South Asia and East Asia).

Geologists and physical geographers no longer consider Asia and Europe to be separate continents. It is either defined in terms of geological landmasses (physical geography) or tectonic plates (geology). In the former case, Europe is a western peninsula of Eurasia or the Africa-Eurasia landmass. In the latter, Europe and Asia are parts of the Eurasian plate, which excludes the Arabian and Indian tectonic plates.

In human geography, there are two schools of thought. One school follows historical convention and treats Europe and Asia as different continents, categorizing Europe, East Asia (the Orient), South Asia (British India), and the Middle East (Arabia and Persia) as specific regions for more detailed analysis. The other schools equate the word "continent" in terms of geographical region when referring to Europe, and use the term "region" to describe Asia in terms of physical geography. Because in linguistic terms, "continent" implies a distinct landmass, it is becoming increasingly common to substitute the term "region" for "continent" to avoid the problem of disambiguation altogether.

There is much confusion in European languages with the term "Asian". Because a category implies homogenity, the term "Asian" almost always refers to a subcategory of people from Asia rather than referring to "Asian" defined in term of "Asia". The fact that in American English, Asian refers to East Asian (Orientals), while in British English, Asian refers to South Asian reflects this confusion. Sometimes, it is not even clear exactly what "Asia" consists of. Some definitions exclude Turkey, the Middle East, and/or Russia. The term is sometimes used more strictly in reference to Asia Pacific, which does not include the Middle East or Russia, but does include islands in the Pacific Ocean — a number of which may also be considered part of Australasia and/or Oceania. Asia contains the Indian subcontinent, Arabian subcontinent, as well as a piece of the North American plate in Siberia.

Further information: Transcontinental nation#Countries in both Asia and Europe

Geographical regions

As already mentioned, Asia is a subregion of Eurasia. For further subdivisions based on that term, see North Eurasia and Central Eurasia.

Some Asian countries stretch beyond Asia. See Bicontinental country for details about the borderline cases between Asia and Europe, Asia and Africa, and Asia and Oceania.

The following subregions of Asia are traditionally recognized:

• Central Asia
• East Asia
• Far East
• North Asia
• South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent)
• Southeast Asia
• Southwest Asia (or Middle East or West Asia)

Central Asia

There is no absolute consensus in the usage of this term. Usually, Central Asia includes:

• the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan (excluding its small European territory), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
• Afghanistan, Mongolia, and the western regions of China are also sometimes included.
• Former Soviet states in the Caucasus region.

Central Asia is currently geopolitically important because international disputes and conflicts over oil pipelines, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Chechnya, as well as the presence of U.S. military and U.K. military forces in Afghanistan.

East Asia

This area includes:

• The Pacific Ocean island countries of Taiwan and Japan.

Further information: Political status of Taiwan

• North and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula.
• China, but sometimes only the eastern regions

Sometimes the nations of Mongolia and Vietnam are also included in East Asia.

More informally, Southeast Asia is included in East Asia on some occasions.

North Asia

This term is rarely used by geographers, but usually it refers to the bigger Asian part of Russia, also known as Siberia. Sometimes the northern parts of other Asian nations, such as Kazakhstan are also included in Northern Asia.

South Asia (or Indian Subcontinent)

South Asia is also referred to as the Indian Subcontinent. It includes:

• The Himalayan States of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
• The Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. India's Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands also lie in the Indian Ocean.
• The peninsular India (also known as the Deccan Plateau)
• Sometimes Afghanistan is also included into this category.

Southeast Asia

This region contains the Malay Peninsula, Indochina and islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The countries it contains are:

• In mainland Southeast Asia, the countries Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

• In Maritime Southeast Asia, the countries of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia (some of the Indonesian islands also lie in the Melanesia region of Oceania). East Timor (also Melanesian) is sometimes included too.

The country of Malaysia is divided in two by the South China Sea, and thus has both a mainland and island part.

Southwest Asia (or Middle East, Near East or West Asia)

This can also be called by the Western term Middle East, which is commonly used by Europeans and Americans. Middle East (to some interpretations) is often used to also refer to some countries in North Africa. Southwest Asia can be further divided into:

• Anatolia (i.e. Asia Minor), constituting the Asian part of Turkey.
• The island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.
• The Levant or Near East, which includes Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and the Asian portion of Egypt.
• The Arabian peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and Kuwait.
• The Caucasus region (which straddles both Asia and Europe), namely Transcaucasia, including a small portion of Russia and, arguably, most if not all of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
• The Iranian Plateau, containing Iran and parts of other neighbouring nations.

Table of territories and regions

Name of territory, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (1 July 2002 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital
Central Asia:[1]
Kazakhstan[2]	2,346,927	13,472,593	5.7	Astana
Kyrgyzstan	198,500	4,822,166	24.3	Bishkek
Tajikistan	143,100	6,719,567	47.0	Dushanbe
Turkmenistan	488,100	4,688,963	9.6	Ashgabat
Uzbekistan	447,400	25,563,441	57.1	Tashkent
Eastern Asia:
China[3]	9,584,492	1,284,303,705	134.0	Beijing
Hong Kong (China)[4]	1,092	7,303,334	6,688.0	—
Japan	377,835	126,974,628	336.1	Tokyo
Macau (China)[5]	25	461,833	18,473.3	—
Mongolia	1,565,000	2,694,432	1.7	Ulaanbaatar
North Korea	120,540	22,224,195	184.4	Pyongyang
South Korea	98,480	48,324,000	490.7	Seoul
Taiwan[6]	35,980	22,548,009	626.7	Taipei
Northern Africa:
Egypt[7]	63,556	1,378,159	21.7	Cairo
Northern Asia:[8]
Russia	13,115,200	39,129,729	3.0	Moscow
Southeastern Asia:
Brunei	5,770	350,898	60.8	Bandar Seri Begawan
Cambodia	181,040	12,775,324	70.6	Phnom Penh
Indonesia[9]	1,919,440	231,328,092	120.5	Jakarta
Laos	236,800	5,777,180	24.4	Vientiane
Malaysia	329,750	22,662,365	68.7	Kuala Lumpur
Myanmar (Burma)	678,500	42,238,224	62.3	Yangon (Rangoon)
Philippines	300,000	84,525,639	281.8	Manila
Singapore	693	4,452,732	6,425.3	Singapore
Thailand	514,000	62,354,402	121.3	Bangkok
Timor-Leste (East Timor)[10]	15,007	952,618	63.5	Dili
Vietnam	329,560	81,098,416	246.1	Hanoi
Southern Asia:
Afghanistan	647,500	27,755,775	42.9	Kabul
Bangladesh	144,000	133,376,684	926.2	Dhaka
Bhutan	47,000	2,094,176	44.6	Thimphu
India	3,064,898	1,045,845,226	341.2	New Delhi
Iran	1,648,000	66,622,704	40.4	Tehran
Jammu and Kashmir[11]	222,236	10,069,917	45.3	Srinagar, Jammu
Maldives	300	320,165	1,067.2	Malé
Nepal	140,800	25,873,917	183.8	Kathmandu
Pakistan	803,940	147,663,429	183.7	Islamabad
Sri Lanka	65,610	19,576,783	298.4	Colombo
Western Asia:
Armenia[12]	29,800	3,330,099	111.7	Yerevan
Azerbaijan[13]	41,370	3,479,127	84.1	Baku
Bahrain	665	656,397	987.1	Manama
Cyprus[14]	9,250	775,927	83.9	Nicosia (Lefkoşa)
Gaza[15]	363	1,203,591	3,315.7	Gaza
Georgia[16]	20,460	2,032,004	99.3	Tbilisi
Iraq	437,072	24,001,816	54.9	Baghdad
Israel	20,770	6,029,529	290.3	Jerusalem
Jordan	92,300	5,307,470	57.5	Amman
Kuwait	17,820	2,111,561	118.5	Kuwait City
Lebanon	10,400	3,677,780	353.6	Beirut
Naxçivan (Azerbaijan)[17]	5,500	365,000	66.4	Naxçivan
Oman	212,460	2,713,462	12.8	Muscat
Qatar	11,437	793,341	69.4	Doha
Saudi Arabia	1,960,582	23,513,330	12.0	Riyadh
Syria	185,180	17,155,814	92.6	Damascus
Turkey[18]	756,768	57,855,068	76.5	Ankara
United Arab Emirates	82,880	2,445,989	29.5	Abu Dhabi
West Bank[19]	5,860	2,303,660	393.1	—
Yemen	527,970	18,701,257	35.4	Sanaá
Total	44,309,978	3,816,775,642	86.1

Notes:

• 1. ^   Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map except note 8 (source). Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 2, 7-10, 12-14, 16-18) may be in one or both of Asia and Europe, Africa, or Oceania.
  
• 2. ^   Kazakhstan is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
  
• 3. ^   The current state is formally known as the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is subsumed by the titular entity and civilisation.
  
• 4., 5. ^   Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the PRC.
  
• 6. ^   Taiwan is a contested territory of the PRC (Taiwan, Province of China) and the Republic of China (ROC): the two are not co-terminous and the ROC is not recognised by the UN as a sovereign state.
  
• 7. ^   Egypt is generally considered a transcontinental country in Northern Africa (UN region) and Western Asia; population and area figures are for Asian portion only, east of the Suez Canal (Sinai Peninsula).
  
• 8. ^   Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and northern Asia; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
  
• 9., 10. ^   Indonesia and Timor-Leste are often considered transcontinental countries in Southeastern Asia (UN region) and Oceania.
  
• 11. ^   Jammu and Kashmir is a contested territory of India (with flag), Pakistan, and the PRC. Srinagar is the summer capital of the Indian province; Jammu is the winter capital.
  
• 12. ^   Armenia is sometimes considered a transcontinental country: geographically in Western Asia, it has historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe.
  
• 13., 17. ^   Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only. Naxçivan is an autonomous exclave of Azerbaijan bordered by Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
  
• 14. ^   The island of Cyprus is sometimes considered a transcontinental territory: geographically in the Mediterranean Sea and approximate to the western Asian mainland, it has historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), distinct from the de jure Republic of Cyprus in the south (with a predominantly Greek population), is recognised only by Turkey.
  
• 15., 19. ^   Gaza and West Bank, collectively referred to as the "Occupied Palestinian Territory" by the UN, are territories occupied by Israel but under de facto administration of the Palestinian National Authority.
  
• 16. ^   Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
  
• 18. ^   Turkey is generally considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only, excluding all of Istanbul.
  

Economy

Economy of Asia
During 2003 unless otherwise stated

Population:	4.001 billion (2002)
GDP (PPP):	US$18.077 trillion
GDP (Currency):	$8.782 trillion
GDP/capita (PPP):	$4,518
GDP/capita (Currency):	$2,195
Annual growth of per capita GDP:
Income of top 10%:
Millionaires:	2.0 million (0.05%)
Unemployment
Estimated female income
Most numbers are from the UNDP from 2002, some numbers exclude certain countries for lack of information.
See also: Economy of the world - Economy of Africa - Economy of Asia - Economy of Europe - Economy of North America - Economy of Oceania - Economy of South America

Main article: Economy of Asia

In terms of gross domestic product (PPP), the largest national economy within Asia is that of the PRC (People's Republic of China). Over the last decade, China's and India's economies have been growing rapidly, both with an average annual growth rate above 7%. PRC is the world's second largest economy after the US, followed by Japan and India as the world's third and fourth largest economies respectively (then followed by the European nations: Germany, U.K., France and Italy).

In terms of exchange rates (nominal GDP) however, Japan has the largest economy in Asia and second largest of any single nation in the world, after surpassing the Soviet Union (measured in Net Material Product) in 1986 and Germany in 1968. (NB: A number of supernational economies are larger, such as the EU, NAFTA or APEC). Economic growth in Asia since World War II to the 1990's had been concentrated in few countries of the Pacific Rim, and has spread more recently to other regions. In the late 80's and early 90's Japan's economy was almost as large as that of the rest of the continent combined. In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equalled the USA to tie the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 yen. However, since then Japan's currency has corrected and China has grown to be the second largest Asian economy, followed by India in terms of exchange rates. It is expected that China will surpass Japan in currency terms to have the largest nominal GDP in Asia within a decade or two.

Trade blocs:

• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
• Asia-Europe Economic Meeting
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
• Commonwealth of Independent States
• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
• South Asia Free Trade Agreement (proposed)

Natural resources

Asia is by a considerable margin the largest continent in the world, and is rich in natural resources, such as Petroleum and iron.

High productivity in agriculture, especially of rice, allows high population density of countries in the warm and humid area. Other main agricultural products include wheat and chicken.

Forestry is extensive throughout Asia except Southwest and Central Asia. Fishing is a major source of food in Asia, particularly in Japan.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in PRC, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The industry varies from manufacturing cheap goods such as toys to high-tech goods such as computers and cars. Many companies from Europe, North America, and Japan have significant operations in the developing Asia to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labor.

One of the major employers in manufacturing in Asia is the textile industry. Much of the world's supply of clothing and footwear now originates in Southeast Asia.

Financial and other services

Asia has three main financial centers. They are in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Call centers are becoming major employers in India and the Philippines, due to the availablity of many well-educated English speakers. The rise of the business process outsourcing industry has seen the rise of India and China as the other financial centers.

Early history

Main article: History of Asia

The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East ; linked by the interior mass of the Central Asiansteppes.

The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yangtze shared many similarities, and may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other innovations, such as that of writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.

The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads, and from the steppes they could reach all areas of Asia. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into the Middle East, India, and in the Tocharians, to the borders of China. The northernmost part of Asia, including much of Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, the climate, and the tundra. These areas remained very sparsely populated.

The center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus and Himalaya mountains and the Karakum and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While technologically and socially, the urban city dwellers were more advanced, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons, the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.

Religion

A large majority of people in the world who practice a religious faith practice one founded in Asia.

Religions founded in Asia and with a majority of their contemporary adherents in Asia include:

• Bahá'í Faith: slightly more than half of all adherents are in Asia
• Buddhism: Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, parts of northern, eastern, and western India, and parts of central and eastern Russia (Siberia).
  • Mahayana Buddhism: China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam.
  • Theravada Buddhism: Cambodia, parts of China, Laos, mainly northern parts of Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, as well as parts of Vietnam.
  • Vajrayana Buddhism: Parts of China, Mongolia, parts of northern and eastern India, parts of central, eastern Russia and Siberia.
• Hinduism: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bali.
• Islam: Central, South, and Southwest Asia, Malaysia, Philippines Brunei and Indonesia.
  • Shia Islam: largely to specific Iran, Azerbaijan, parts of Iraq, Bahrain, parts of Afghanistan, parts of India, parts of Pakistan.
  • Sunni Islam: dominant in the rest of the regions mentioned above.
• Jainism: India
• Qadiani: Pakistan, Bangladesh, India.
• Shinto: Japan
• Sikhism: India, Malaysia, Hong Kong
• Daoism: China, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and Taiwan
• Zoroastrianism: Iran, India, Pakistan
• Shamanism: Siberia
• Animism: Eastern India

Religions founded in Asia that have the majority of their contemporary adherents in other regions include:

• Christianity (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Georgia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Pakistan, India and the Philippines)
• Judaism (slightly fewer than half of its adherents reside in Asia; Israel, Iran, India, Syria.)

See also

• Assuwa
• Asia Minor
• Pan-Asianism
• Asian Century

References

External links

• http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/asia.html
• http://www.freeworldmaps.net/asia/index.html

Continents and regions of the world
Africa	Antarctica	Asia	Australia
Europe	North America	South America	Geological supercontinents: Gondwana • Laurasia • Pangaea • Rodinia
Africa-Eurasia	Americas	Eurasia	Oceania

Regions of the World
Africa	Central Africa · East Africa · Great Lakes · Guinea · Horn of Africa · North Africa · Maghreb · Northwest Africa · Sahel · Southern Africa · Sub-Saharan Africa · Sudan · West Africa
Americas	Andean states · Caribbean · Central America · Great Lakes · Great Plains · Guianas · Latin America · North America · Northern America · Pacific Northwest · Patagonia · South America · Southern Cone
Eurasia	Anatolia · Arabia · Asia · Balkans · Baltic region · Benelux · British Isles · Caucasus · Central Asia · Central Europe · East Asia · Eastern Europe · East Indies · Europe · Far East · Levant · Mediterranean · Mesopotamia · Middle East · Near East · Nordic Region · North Asia · Northern Europe · Scandinavia · South Asia · Southeast Asia · Southern Asia · Southern Europe · Southwest Asia · Western Europe
Oceania	Australasia · Melanesia · Micronesia · Polynesia · Pacific Rim
Polar	Arctic · Antarctic

The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia under GFDL