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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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Featured article

Monks following Pradakshina at Borobudur

Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur (Indonesian: Candi Borobudur, Javanese: ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, romanized: Candhi Barabudhur), is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, near the town of Muntilan, northwest of the city of Yogyakarta, in Central Java, Indonesia.

Constructed of gray andesite-like stone, the temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and originally 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa. The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has one of the world's most extensive collections of Buddhist reliefs. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country located in Central Asia. Dushanbe, its capital city, is its largest and most populous city with a population of over 1.2 million. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east; it is narrowly separated from Pakistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor. Its total population exceeds 11 million.

The territory was previously home to cultures of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, including the Oxus civilisation in the west. Parts of the country were part of the Sogdian and Bactrian civilisations, and were ruled by the Achaemenids, Alexander the Great, the Greco‑Bactrians, the Kushans, the Kidarites, the Hephthalites, the First Turkic Khaganate, the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, the Samanid Empire, the Kara‑Khanids, the Seljuks, the Khwarazmians, the Mongols, the Timurids, and the Khanate of Bukhara. The region was later conquered by the Russian Empire, before becoming part of the Soviet Union. Within the Soviet Union, the country's borders were drawn when it was part of Uzbekistan as an autonomous republic, before becoming a constituent republic of the Soviet Union on 5 December 1929. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Kapoor in 2023

Kareena Kapoor Khan (pronounced [kəˈriːna kəˈpuːr xɑːn]; née Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress. She has been known for her leading roles in Hindi cinema since 2000. Kapoor is the recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Awards, and as of 2024, is one of Hindi cinema's highest-paid actresses.

Born into the Kapoor family, she is the daughter of actors Babita and Randhir Kapoor, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. After making her acting debut in 2000 in Refugee, Kapoor established herself the following year with several roles, including in the top-grossing drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. This was followed by a series of commercial failures and negative reviews for her repetitive roles. An against-type performance as a sex worker in the 2004 drama Chameli marked a turning point in her career. She earned critical recognition for her portrayal of a riot victim in the 2004 drama Dev and a character based on Desdemona in the 2006 crime film Omkara. Her performance as a loquacious woman in the romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007) earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Map of the Qing Empire in 1832 (from History of Asia)
Image 2Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 3The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 4Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 6Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 7The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 8Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 9A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10The 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 11Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 12Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate (from History of Asia)
Image 13The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 14The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 16Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History 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 18Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 19A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 21Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 23Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 24The 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 25The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 26Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 27East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 29Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 30Korean 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 31Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 32The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south. (from History of Asia)
Image 34Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 35Some 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 36Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 37Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 38The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 39Political map of the world in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 40Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 41Hinduism 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 42The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 43Detail 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 44Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 45Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 47Byzantine and Sasanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 48The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 49Expansion of the Mongol Empire 1206–1294 (from History of Asia)
Image 50Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)

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Featured picture

Burj Khalifa

Credit: Donaldytong

The Burj Khalifa (previously known as Burj Dubai prior to inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Designed by the SOM architectural firm, it is the world's tallest structure, with a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but including a 242.6 m spire) of 828 m (2,717 ft). It has been the tallest building in the world since its complete inauguration in 2011, surpassing Taipei 101, which had held the record since 2004. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

... that an Indian sugar-factory timekeeper founded a library with more than two million books?
... that an Olympic wrestler from the Philippines became a mayor in Southern California?
... that a 17th-century painting depicts an Indian emperor shooting arrows at a personification of poverty?
... that medicine dean Sjahriar Rasad was accused of being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Indonesian president Sukarno?
... that to protest changes to the flight route M503, Taiwan cancelled 176 flights between China and Taiwan?
... that the Indian emperor Jahangir was so amazed by the emaciated condition of a dying nobleman that he ordered a court artist to create a painting of him?
... that Japanese singer Cindy was once said to have an "angel voice"?
... that the Chinook Indian Nation became a federally recognized tribe in 2001, but had its status revoked the following year?
... that the works of both Dutch and indigenous Indonesian artists have been classified as Mooi Indië?
... that the DJ NewJeansNim has been credited with reviving interest in Buddhism among South Korean youths?

Updated: 1:05, 6 October 2026

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In the news

6 October 2026 – Yemeni civil war: 2026 Yemen offensives; The Houthis launches missiles against the airports of Najran and Jizan, in Saudi Arabia, causing material damages and wounding three people. (Al Jazeera)
6 October 2026 – Gaza war: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says that the Israel Defense Forces has killed 4,000 militants who took part in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. (The Jewish Chronicle)
5 October 2026 – Yemeni civil war: 2026 Yemen offensives, Operation Dawn of Yemen; The Presidential Leadership Council launches a large-scale military operation against Houthis in Yemen, with the aim to capture all Houthi-controlled territories. (Al Arabiya) (Al Jazeera) (TRT World); Turkey and Pakistan agree to deploy troops under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement to help Saudi and Yemeni forces against the Houthis. (Al Jazeera)

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Major Religions in Asia

Middle East (West Asia)

Central Asia

Indian Subcontinent

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East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: David Castor

The Taj Mahal (Hindi: ताज महल, from Persian/Urdu: تاج محل "crown of palaces") is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

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