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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 the boundary between 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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The original letter from Balfour to Rothschild; the declaration reads:

His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population. The declaration was contained in a letter dated 2 November 1917 from Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. The text of the declaration was published in the press on 9 November 1917.

Following Britain's declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914, it began to consider the future of Palestine. Within two months a memorandum was circulated to the War Cabinet by a Zionist member, Herbert Samuel, proposing the support of Zionist ambitions to enlist the support of Jews in the wider war. A committee was established in April 1915 by British prime minister H. H. Asquith to determine their policy towards the Ottoman Empire including Palestine. Asquith, who had favoured post-war reform of the Ottoman Empire, resigned in December 1916; his replacement David Lloyd George favoured partition of the Empire. The first negotiations between the British and the Zionists took place at a conference on 7 February 1917 that included Sir Mark Sykes and the Zionist leadership. Subsequent discussions led to Balfour's request, on 19 June, that Rothschild and Chaim Weizmann draft a public declaration. Further drafts were discussed by the British Cabinet during September and October, with input from Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews but with no representation from the local population in Palestine. (Full article...)

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The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.

The Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Its land area is only 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), but this is spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi) of the sea, making it one of the world's most spatially dispersed sovereign states. With a population of 515,132 in the 2022 census, it is the second least populous country in Asia and the ninth-smallest country by area, but also one of the most densely populated countries. The Maldives has an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in), making it the world's lowest-lying country. Some sources state the highest point, Mount Villingili, as 5.1 metres or 17 feet. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi (Arabic: الْمُخْتَار ٱبْن أَبِي عُبَيْد الثَّقَفِيّ, romanized: al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd al-Thaqafī; c. 622 – 3 April 687) was a pro-Alid revolutionary based in Kufa, who led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in 685 and ruled over most of Iraq for eighteen months during the Second Fitna. He invite Husayn ibn Ali to Kufa but then not help Husayn in Karbala near Kufa.

Born in Ta'if, Mukhtar moved to Iraq at a young age and grew up in Kufa. Following the death of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at the hands of the Umayyad army in the Battle of Karbala in 680, he allied with the rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca, but the alliance was short-lived. Mukhtar returned to Kufa where he declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661) and brother of Husayn, the mahdi and the imam, and called for the establishment of an Alid caliphate and retaliation for Husayn's killing. He took over Kufa in October 685, after expelling its Zubayrid governor, and later ordered the execution of those involved in the killing of Husayn. Hostile relations with Ibn al-Zubayr ultimately led to Mukhtar's death by the forces of the Zubayrid governor of Basra, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, following a four-month siege. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 2Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 3The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 4The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 5Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 7Hinduism 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 8The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 9A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 11Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 12A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 13Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 14Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 15Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 16Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 17Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 18Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 19Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 21Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 22Some 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 23Detail of Chinese silk from the 4th century BCE. The characteristic trade of silk through the Silk Road connected various regions from China, India, Central Asia, and the Middle East to Europe and Africa. (from History of Asia)
Image 24The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 25Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 26British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 27Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 29Korean 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 30Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 31Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 32The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 34Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 35Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 36The 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 37Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 38Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 40India's middle-class population of 300 million is growing at an annual rate of 5%. Shown here is an upmarket area in South Mumbai. (from Asian Century)
Image 41Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 43The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 44A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 45Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 47Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 48Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 49The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 50The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 51The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 AD to 2003 AD according to Angus Maddison's estimates. Before 18th century, China and India were the two largest economies by GDP output. (from Asian Century)
Image 52Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 54Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 55Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 56Detail 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 57The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 58Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 59Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 61Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 62The 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 63The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 64the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 65East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 66Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 67Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 68The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 69The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)

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Featured picture

Ramayana

Credit: Sahibdin

A scene from the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic. Depicted here are several stages of the War of Lanka, with the monkey army of the protagonist Rama (top left, blue figure) fighting the demon army of the king of Lanka, Ravana, to save Rama's kidnapped wife Sita. The three-headed figure of the demon general Trisiras occurs in several places – most dramatically at the bottom left, where he is shown beheaded by Hanuman.

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Did you know...

... that the oldest depiction of the Amida Triad in Japanese art was donated to the Imperial Household by Hōryū-ji in 1878?
... that The Seoul Press was an English-language newspaper created to justify Japan's colonial rule of Korea?
... that Bachtiar Djafar was the first mayor of Medan, Indonesia, to be of Malay descent?
... that George Vernon's loss against the Parsis cricket team was seen as "a blow to the prestige of the Empire"?
... that Abdul Ghani Azhari wrote Qadim Tarikh-e-Gujjar in Urdu, detailing the ancient history of Gujjars in India?
... that in 1993, Indonesia's home affairs minister Yogie Suardi Memet used thugs to disrupt the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party's national congress?
... that Japan's oldest expressway is intended to be transformed into a park?
... that conservation in Indonesia had little local support after independence because it was associated with the Dutch colonial period?
... that a photograph inspired by one of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings shows 14 Israeli soldiers and was described as a "homoerotic challenge to Israeli machismo"?
... that a Chinese poet wrote about a Syriac church in Sichuan without knowing what it was?

Updated: 21:05, 12 May 2025

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In the news

13 May 2025 –: Fourteen people are killed and four others are hospitalized after drinking toxic liquor in Amritsar, Punjab, India. (AP)
13 May 2025 – Syria–United States relations: US President Donald Trump announces that the United States will lift all sanctions imposed on Syria under the previous regime of President Bashar al-Assad and expresses willingness to work with the Syrian transitional government. (Al Jazeera)
12 May 2025 – Gaza war: Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander is released by Hamas after being kept in captivity in Gaza for 19 months since the October 7 attack. (Reuters)
12 May 2025 – Myanmar civil war: The National Unity Government of Myanmar says that an airstrike by junta forces killed 17 students and injured 20 others at a school in Tabayin, Sagaing Region. (Reuters)
12 May 2025 – Syrian civil war: The remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by Islamic State militants are found in a search by Qatar and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in the remote town of Dabiq, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (CTV News)
12 May 2025 –: Unknown gunmen attack a Chinese artisanal gold mine in Narena, Koulikoro Region, Mali, killing one Malian and two others from Ghana, and abducting two Chinese nationals. (AP)

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Caucasus

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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