Asia

          

          The largest of the seven continents, Asia occupies one-third of the world's total land area. Much of the continent is uninhabited. The north is a cold land of tundra. Parched deserts and towering mountains take up large areas of the central region. Yet Asia is the home of well over half of the world's population, most of whom live around the outer rim. China alone has more than 1,205 million people, and India has nearly 896 million. Although, Asia is an extraordinary variety of 48 nations, and many times this number of peoples, languages, and cultures. 

          Asia had 5 main zones. In the north is the Russian Federation. Part of this is in Europe, but the vast eastern region, from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, is in Asia. The Pacific coast, which includes China, Korea, and Japan, is known as the Far East. To the south of this lie the warmer, more humid countries of the Southeast Asia. India and Pakistan are the main countries of the Indian subcontinent in south Asia.  One of the world's first civilizations began here, in the Indus Valley. To the west is the Middle East,  bordered by the Mediterranean and Arabian seas. 

Middle East: The hot, dry lands of the Middle East occupy the southwest corner of Asia. Almost the entire Arabian peninsula,  between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, is desert. To the north, in Iraq and Syria, lie the fertile valleys of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Most of the people of the Middle East are Arabs, and speak Arabic. 

Far East: East Asia is often called the Far East. In the 19th century, European traders and travellers used this name to distinguish east Asia from the Middle East. The Far East includes China, Japan, and Korea. 

Southeast Asia: Many different people live in the warm, tropical southeastern corner of Asia. There are 10 independent countries in the region. Some of them - Burma (Myanmar),  Thailand, Cambodia (or Kampuchea), and Vietnam - are on the mainland attached to the rest of Asia. Further south lie Malaysia and the tiny island nation of Singapore. Indonesia stretches across the foot of the region. It is a scattered nation of more than 13,000 islands. The islands of the Philippines are to the east. Although some of these countries are very poor, Southeast Asia as a whole has one of the most rapidly developing economies in the world. 

Indian Subcontinent: The triangular landmass of south Asia extends south from the Himalaya Mountains to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.  This region is also known as the Indian subcontinent. It includes not only India but also Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. At the very southern tip of India lies the island nation of Sri Lanka. 

Siberia: The northern part of Asia lies within the Arctic Circle. The sea here is frozen for most of the year. A layer of the land, called permafrost, is also always frozen. This area is part of the vast region of the Russian Federation called Siberia. Despite the cold, Russian people travel to work in Siberia because the region is rich in timber, coal, oil, and natural gas. 

Korea: The Korean peninsula juts out from northern China towards Japan. The two Korean nations were at war between 1950 and 1953. They have lived in constant mistrust of each other since the war ended, but are now trying to mend the divisions between them. South Korea has a booming economy and is heavily supported by the United States. North Korea is Communist and poorer. The climate favors rice growing, with warm summers and icy winter.

Silk Road: Even 2,000 years ago, there was trade between the Far East and Europe. Traders carried silk, spices, gems, and pottery. They followed routes across India and Pakistan, past the Karakoram mountains. These trade routes were known as the Silk Road; they are still used today. 

Tropical Rain Forests: The warm, damp climate of much of Southeast Asia provides the perfect conditions for tropical rain forests, which thrive in countries such as Burma (Myanmar) and Malaysia. The forests are the habitat for a huge variety of wildlife, and are home to tribes of people whose way of life has not changed for a thousand years. But because many of the forest trees are beautiful hardwoods, the logging industry is now cutting down the forests at an alarming rate to harvest the valuable timber. 

River Yangtze: The Yangtze (or Chang Jiang) is the third longest river in the world. It flows 6,379 km (3,964 miles) through the middle of China, from its source in Tibet to the sea at Shanghai. It is large enough for ocean-going ships to reach Wuhan, 1,100 km (680 miles) inland. 

Prosperity: Some Asian countries, such as Japan and Singapore, are among the world's most prosperous nations. The discovery of oil in a number of other countries, such as Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, and Brunei in Southeast Asia, has made them very wealthy. 

Statistics:
Area: 44,579,000 square km (17,212,000 square miles)
Population: 4,462,676,731 (2016)
Number of independent countries: 50
Highest point: Mount Everest (Nepal-China), 8,848 m (29,028 ft)
Longest river: River Yangtze   6,379 km (3,964 miles)

Asian countries:

1. Afghanistan 
2. Armenia 
3. Azerbaijan 
4. Bahrain 
5. Bangladesh 
6. Bhutan 
7. Brunei 
8. Cambodia 
9. China    
10. Cyprus 
11. Georgia 
12. India     
13. Indonesia 
14. Iran
15. Iraq
16. Israel 
17. Japan 
18. Jordan 
19. Kazakhstan 
20. (South) Korea 
21. (North) Korea 
22. Kuwait 
23. Kyrgyzstan 
24. Laos
25. Lebanon 
26. Malaysia 
27. Maldives 
28. Mongolia 
29. Myanmar 
30. Nepal 
31. Oman
32. Pakistan 
33. Palestine
34. Philippines 
35. Qatar 
36. Russian Federation 
37. Saudi Arabia 
38. Singapore 
39. Sri Lanka 
40. Syria 
41. Taiwan 
42. Tajikistan 
43. Thailand 
44. Timor-Leste 
45. Turkey 
46. Turkmenistan 
47. United Arab Emirates (UAE)
48. Uzbekistan 
49. Vietnam 
50. Yemen

Rivers, lakes  and bays:

1. River Indus
2. River Ganges
3. River Godavari
4. River Brahmaputra 
5. River Irrawaddy
6. River Mekong 
7. River Yangtze 
8. River Yellow 
9. River Amur
10. River Lena
11. River Yenisey
12. River Ob
13. River Irtysh
14. River Ural 
15. Lake Baikal 
16. Lake Balkhash 
17. Bay of Bengal 

Sea and ocean surrounding Asia:

1. Black Sea
2. Caspian Sea 
3. Aral Sea 
4. Red Sea
5. Arabian Sea
6. South China Sea
7. East China Ses
8. Arctic Ocean 
9. Indian Ocean 

Find out more:

Southeast Asia

Middle East

Religions