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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

On 30 September 2000, the second day of the Second Intifada, 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah (Arabic: محمد الدرة, romanized: Muḥammad ad-Durra) was killed at the Netzarim Junction in the Gaza Strip during widespread protests and riots across the Palestinian territories against Israeli military occupation. Jamal al-Durrah and his son Muhammad were filmed by Talal Abu Rahma, a Palestinian television cameraman freelancing for France 2, as they were caught in crossfire between the Israeli military and Palestinian security forces. Footage shows them crouching behind a concrete cylinder, the boy crying and the father waving, then a burst of gunfire and dust. Muhammad is shown slumping as he is mortally wounded by gunfire, dying soon after.

Fifty-nine seconds of the footage were broadcast on television in France with a voiceover from Charles Enderlin, the station's bureau chief in Israel. Based on information from the cameraman, Enderlin told viewers that the al-Durrahs had been the target of fire from the Israeli positions and that the boy had died. After an emotional public funeral, Muhammad was hailed throughout the Muslim world as a martyr. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population in the world as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.

Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahis, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Samma, the Shah Miris, the Mughals, and finally, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

A statue depicting Zhang Heng at his tomb in Nanyang, Henan province, China

Zhang Heng (Chinese: 張衡; AD 78 – 139), courtesy name Pingzi, formerly romanized Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartographer, ethnographer, artist, poet, philosopher, politician, and literary scholar.

Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian Kingdom in present-day Hebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 2Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 3Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 4Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 5Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 6Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 7The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 8The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 9A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 10Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 11The 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 12Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 13Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 14Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 15Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 16The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 17The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 18Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 19The 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 20Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate (from History of Asia)
Image 21Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22India's middle-class population of 300 million is growing at an annual rate of 5%. Shown here is the skyline in South Mumbai. (from Asian Century)
Image 23Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 24A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 26Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 29The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 30Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 31Detail 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 32Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 33The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 34Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 35The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 36the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 37Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south. (from History of Asia)
Image 38The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 40Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 41East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 43Hinduism 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 44Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46Map of the Qing Empire in 1832 (from History of Asia)
Image 47Expansion of the Mongol Empire 1206-1294 (from History of Asia)
Image 48Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 49Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 50Political map of the world in 1860 (from History of Asia)

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Featured picture

kris

Credit: Crisco 1492

The kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Brunei. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade (luk), but many have straight blades as well.

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Did you know...

... that Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann declined a request from Lee Kuan Yew to help design Singapore?
... that the National Library of Korea is a no kid zone?
... that Teuku Karimoeddin was arrested by the Imperial Japanese military police for resisting mandatory head shaving and other regulations?
... that Taiwanese long jumper Lin Yu-tang qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics by switching out his broken track shoes between attempts?
... that Baabda residents collectively purchased the Seraglio of Baabda for 1,000 gold Ottoman liras in the late 19th century to gift to the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate government?
... that Japan's oldest expressway is intended to be transformed into a park?
... that the Indonesian novel Verses of Love has been read as a challenge to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses?
... that the scenes set in the United States in the Taiwanese film Daughter's Daughter were nearly omitted during the writing process but were retained at the insistence of lead actress Sylvia Chang?
... that people in the Indian subcontinent eat a sweet dish resembling a bird's nest during Ramadan?
... that the headquarters of Indonesia's 16th Mechanized Infantry Brigade was a Japanese military base, seized by Indonesian youths after Japan's surrender in 1945?

Updated: 1:05, 13 August 2026

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In the news

12 August 2026 –: A woman is killed and 172 other people are rescued after a ferry catches fire off the coast of Bali, Indonesia. (AFP via RFI)
12 August 2026 – 2026 Cook Islands general election: Cook Islanders vote to elect all 24 seats of Parliament amid a cost-of-living crisis and debate regarding a past partnership agreement with China. Incumbent prime minister Mark Brown faces a challenge from Cook Islands United leader Teariki Heather. (RNZ) (The Guardian)
12 August 2026 – Solar eclipse of August 12, 2026: A total solar eclipse occurs in Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, with partial eclipses visible over much of northern North America, Europe (except most of Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria and Russia), northwestern Africa and northern Asian Russia. It is the first total eclipse observable in mainland Europe since the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999. (Time and Date) (EclipseWise)
11 August 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis: 2026 Iran war; 2026 Iran war ceasefire; Pakistan in the 2026 Iran war

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East (West Asia)

Central Asia

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: Félix Bonfils (1831–1885)

This image by the firm of Maison Bonfils depicts the city of Beirut, Lebanon, sometime in the last third of the 19th century. Maison Bonfils was the extraordinarily prolific venture of the French photographer Félix Bonfils (1831–85), his wife Marie-Lydie Cabanis Bonfils (1837–1918), and their son, Adrien Bonfils (1861–1928). The Bonfils moved to Beirut in 1867 and, over the next five decades, their firm produced one of the world's most important bodies of photographic work about the Middle East. Maison Bonfils was known for landscape photographs, panoramas, biblical scenes, and posed “ethnographic” portraits.

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