Asia Map / Map of Asia – Maps, Info and Geography of Asia

Description

Asia is the most important and most populous continent on the earth, sharing borders with Europe and Africa to its West, Oceania to its South, and North America to its East. Its North helps kind a part of the Arctic alongside North America and Europe. Although most of its continental borders are clearly outlined, there are grey areas. Europe and Asia are technically situated on the identical total landmass, and mixed the 2 are known as Eurasia. Because of its porous land border, some nations on Asia’s western border have been at occasions known as a part of Europe’s East. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are typically known as Asian and different occasions as European. Russia and Turkey are usually lower into areas. Russia is usually cut up alongside the Ural Mountains, with its western half known as “European Russia” and its East as merely “Russia.” The land between Turkey’s largest metropolis, Istanbul, and its direct borders with Bulgaria and Greece is at occasions known as part of Europe known as “Thrace,” whereas the remainder of its territory known as “Anatolia” and is a part of Asia.

On the opposite facet of the continent, the islands which separate Asia from Oceania will also be tough to delineate. Indonesia and components of the Philippines are typically categorized as a part of Oceania fairly than as Asian. This being mentioned, it is very important word that these divided areas don’t represent separate nations or autonomous areas claiming sovereignty (such because the instances of Hong Kong or Palestine). “European Russia” and “Russia” are each merely Russia, and the “Thrace” and “Anatolia” components of Turkey are each undisputedly a part of Turkey, however typically the areas are shaded in a different way on maps with the intention to assist delineate the borders between Asia and Europe.

International locations inside West Asia embody Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Simply northeast of Turkey lies the Caucasus, a mountainous area wedged between the Black Sea to the West and the Caspian Sea to the East. The Caucasus contains Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and components of Russia. Central Asia is situated simply north of Iran and Afghanistan and south of Russia, consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. East Asia defines the area between Central Asia, Russia, and the Pacific Ocean roughly as much as the start of the Tropic of Most cancers.

The nations of East Asia embody China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia (in addition to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). South Asia can be known as the Indian Subcontinent, separated from East Asia by the Himalayan Mountains between China and India and outlined largely by the Indian Tectonic Plate on which its nations largely relaxation. South Asian nations embody Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Lastly, the Southeast Asian area defines the tropical and equatorial nations between South and East Asia to the North and Oceania to the South. The nations of Southeast Asia embody Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (or Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor (or Timor-Leste), and Vietnam.

It’s value reiterating that these regional borders are as porous as Asia’s continental borders, and a few nations could be organized in a different way. Pakistan could be West as an alternative of South Asian, Afghanistan could be Central or South fairly than West Asian, and so forth. Lastly, it’s also value noting that Russia will not be included in any of those areas. As it’s the largest nation on the earth, Russia’s territory really stretches throughout everything of Asia’s border from East to West. It can’t be categorized into any of those areas alone and so is stored separate.

There are additionally a number of unrecognized and partially acknowledged states inside Asia. Palestine, which is made up of the Gaza Strip and West Financial institution areas in and round Israel, declared its independence in 1988 and is presently acknowledged as unbiased by 134 nations, although it’s not an official member of the United Nations and isn’t thought-about to be its personal nation by each G-8 nation besides Russia. Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia are all situated within the Caucasus and all declared their independence throughout the Nineteen Nineties, with restricted recognition internationally.

Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983 however is simply acknowledged as a sovereign state inside the UN by Turkey, with each different member contemplating it as merely a part of Cyprus. Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are all thought-about by China to be part of its territory, however every see themselves as both solely unbiased (within the case of Taiwan) or totally autonomous (within the instances of Hong Kong and Macau), function largely autonomously by way of foreign money and authorities, and have various levels of worldwide recognition as separate states. Taiwan really operates beneath varied names on account of its contested statehood: it refers to itself formally because the Republic of China (or ROC), invoking the state which ruled the mainland till the Chinese language Civil Battle and takeover of energy by the Communist Celebration of China in 1949, and immediately’s mainland China (formally the Individuals’s Republic of China, or PRC) calls it Chinese language Taipei, however internationally it’s mostly known as Taiwan (the title of the state’s largest island).

Geography

Asia’s immense measurement lends itself to quite a lot of completely different geographical landscapes, relying on its area. West Asia has a few of the highest temperatures on the planet on account of its heat desert local weather. Factoring within the warmth index and wind speeds, summers within the area have risen to harmful temperatures, with components of Iraq and Iran having recorded feel-like temperatures of over 160 levels Fahrenheit (71 levels Celsius). Inversely, Asia can be house to the coldest climate within the populated world (excluding Antarctica), which was recorded as -90 levels Fahrenheit (-67.7 levels Celsius) and occurred in two Russian cities: Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon. A lot of the northern half of Russia is characterised by continental subarctic climates just like Alaska and far of Canada, and its far north is classed as an arctic tundra akin to the far north of the Canadian territories or the coasts of Greenland.

Each extremes in precipitation will also be discovered on the Asian continent. Among the driest locations on Earth are situated within the desert climates of West Asia, the steppes of Central Asia, and components of China and Mongolia. On the identical time, the northeast Indian village of Mawsynram is absolutely the wettest place on Earth, with a mean of 467.4 inches (11,872 millimeters) of rainfall per 12 months. South Asia has a combination of the monsoon climate which lends itself to such heavy precipitation together with tropical savannas with intense warmth. Local weather patterns involving the Indian and Pacific Oceans trigger a lot of East Asia to have temperate climate with a heavy monsoon season, notably in Japanese China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea and most of southern Japan. A lot of continental Southeast Asia has a savannah local weather just like a few of the drier components of South Asia, whereas its island parts between Asia and Oceania are distinct for his or her tropical rainforests.

The Syrian and Arabian Deserts of West Asia depend among the many world’s largest deserts, as does the Gobi Desert between China and Mongolia, in Central Asia. It is usually value noting that many of those large landscapes are literally the underlying causes of Asia’s varied climate patterns. The peak of the Himalayas, for instance, blocks rainclouds coming from the Indian Ocean and pushes them again into the Indian Subcontinent whereas concurrently protecting northern chilly air from travelling any farther south, accounting for each the recent monsoon climate of South Asia and the chilly deserts and steppes of Central Asia.

The most important continent on Earth, Asia’s complete measurement is roughly 17,212,048 sq. miles (44,579,000 sq. kilometers), or 30% of the planet’s complete landmass. The most important nations of Asia embody Russia (6.6 million sq. miles or 17.1 million sq. kilometers), China (3.7 million sq. miles or 9.6 million sq. kilometers), India (1.3 million sq. miles or 3.3 million sq. kilometers), and Kazakhstan (1.05 million sq. miles or 2.7 million sq. kilometers). Asia’s smallest nations are Maldives (120 sq. miles or 300 sq. kilometers), Singapore (278 sq. miles or 719 sq. kilometers), Bahrain (295 sq. miles or 765 sq. kilometers), and Brunei (2,226 sq. miles or 5,765 sq. kilometers). If Hong Kong and Macau are acknowledged as separate nations, then Macau (12.1 sq. miles or 31.3 sq. kilometers) is the smallest nation in Asia and Hong Kong (1,064 sq. miles or 2,755 sq. kilometers) is the fourth-smallest.

Historical past

Because of its immense measurement and various populations, it’s practically unattainable to supply a unified historical past of Asia. The continent is the birthplace of practically all main religions on the earth immediately, in addition to an unlimited variety of technological and civilizational developments. West Asia is at occasions known as the “Cradle of Civilization,” because it was right here that Neolithic people first started its transition from a nomadic to a sedentary life-style, inventing the wheel and fundamental agriculture so as to take action. The West Asia was additionally house to the primary recognized human civilizations, resembling Historical Sumer and the traditional Assyrian, Babylonian, and Akkadian empires. In the meantime, the Indus Valley Civilization (or Harappan Civilization) was the primary recognized civilization shaped in South Asia, and in East Asia the Xia Dynasty can be the primary recorded account of Historical China.

Demographics

With a inhabitants of roughly 4.4 billion, or 62% of the worldwide inhabitants (about 7.1 billion), Asia is by far essentially the most populated continent on the planet. Essentially the most populous nations in Asia are China (1.4 billion individuals), India (1.3 billion individuals), Indonesia (259 million individuals), and Pakistan (193 million individuals). Asia’s least populated nations are Maldives (341 thousand individuals), Brunei (412 thousand individuals), Bhutan (771 thousand individuals), and East Timor (1.2 million individuals). If Hong Kong and Macau are included as nations, then Macau (647 thousand individuals) turns into the third-least populous nation in Asia.

A number of completely different religions are broadly unfold all through the Asian continent. This being mentioned, Islam is adopted by about 1.1 billion individuals, or 25% of the continent, making it the preferred faith in Asia. Islam is especially standard in West Asia, the place it’s the sole official faith of many nations and is practiced by near 100% of the populations of nations like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, most Muslims really reside in South and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have Muslim populations of effectively over 100 million, whereas the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia has extra adherents to Islam than another nation, with over 200 million Muslims. The second-largest faith in Asia is Hinduism, which follows shut behind Islam with roughly 1 billion adherents. Hinduism is strongest in India and Nepal (the place it’s adopted by over 80% of the inhabitants), nevertheless it additionally has sturdy minority populations in a number of Southeast and West Asian nations. Christianity can be pretty widespread, with nearly all of individuals in Armenia, Georgia, and Russia following varied Orthodox church buildings, East Timor and the Philippines adhering to Roman Catholicism, and South Korea largely following Protestantism (although with a sizeable minority of Roman Catholics).

Different notable religions in Asia embody Sikhism and Jainism (that are discovered principally in India and Pakistan), Judaism (with Israel being the one nation on the earth with a majority Jewish inhabitants), and Zoroastrianism (the primary Iranian faith and nonetheless practiced in components of contemporary Iran and different nations). After Islam and Hinduism, nonetheless, irreligion technically counts because the third-widest “faith” in Asia. Roughly 21% of the continent claims to not have any explicit non secular affiliation, particularly in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and North Korea. This truth could be partly defined by Communist state insurance policies in China and North Korea relating to faith, but additionally by the character of the historically prevalent religions of East Asia. Confucianism and Taoism (or Daoism) are extra akin to philosophical traditions than the organized religions practiced in different societies, and certainly the Chinese language state promotes some particularly Confucian tenants, whereas Japan’s Shinto perception system includes a comparatively disunified set of non secular traditions and folkloric tales. Thus it’s the case that a lot of China’s inhabitants could be thought-about as someplace between Confucian, Taoist, or irreligious, and that roughly 80% of Japanese residents apply Shinto however lower than 5% can actually be known as “Shintoist.”

Asia is house to a staggering variety of languages starting from native tongues spoken by just a few inhabitants to worldwide languages utilized in total areas. Relating to worldwide languages, essentially the most broadly spoken language on the continent is Mandarin, which is spoken by 1.3 billion individuals and is an official language in China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Russian additionally crosses official language borders, being the official language of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan (alongside varied different state and regional languages) and having roughly 260 million audio system. Arabic is probably the third main worldwide language, acknowledged as official in a lot of the nations in West Asia and spoken by about 230 million individuals. It is usually value mentioning that English is internationally standard all through Asia. Although it doesn’t have many acknowledged native audio system, it’s acknowledged as an official or regional language in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Singapore. For languages concentrated round particular nations, Hindi is India’s nationwide language (although it acknowledged a plethora of regional tongues), and with roughly 400 million audio system it’s also the second-most standard language in Asia. Different populous nationwide languages embody Indonesian (240 million audio system), Bengali (150 million audio system), Japanese (120 million audio system), and Filipino (90 million audio system), although most different nations in Asia even have their very own nationwide languages.

Extra Asia Geography Notes

Burma: Navy authorities have promoted the title Myanmar since 1989 as the traditional title for his or her state. That call was not (and isn’t) permitted by any sitting legislature in Burma, and isn’t accepted by the U.S. authorities. Nonetheless, Myanmar is broadly accepted by quite a few nations, and by the United Nations.

European Russia: The Russian landmass west of the Ural Mountains is often known as European Russia in most instructional atlases, and by the overwhelming majority of geography specialists. It’s not a separate nation, however fairly known as that due to its political, cultural and geographical blendings with Europe. For reference functions it’s proven above to the west of the dashed-line, nonetheless, the whole nation (as an entire) remains to be thought-about a part of the continent of Asia.

Center East: International locations thought-about a part of the Center East (or West Asia) are proven in a lighter shade of grey. Observe that they’re all nonetheless part of the continent of Asia.

Opinions differ as to what nations make up the fashionable definition of Asia and the Center East. Traditionally, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been lengthy related to the Center East, however lately, some sources now take into account them to be extra intently aligned with Europe primarily based on their fashionable financial and political traits. We’ve got moved in that path, and the identical could be mentioned for the island nation of Cyprus.

Taiwan remains to be thought-about by China to be its twenty third province, and never an unbiased nation. Only a few different nation governments settle for China’s claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.

Turkey is formally, politically and geographically thought-about a part of each Asia and Europe. The small northwestern portion of Turkey named (Thrace) is a acknowledged a part of Europe, whereas the most important half (Anatolia) is situated within the Center East, part of Asia.