At home in Sweden agai

							Asia
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For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation).

                          Asia




                     44,579,000 km2
Area
                     (17,212,000 sq mi)[1]

Population           3,879,000,000 (1st)[2]

Pop. density         87/km2 (225/sq mi)

Demonym              Asian

Countries            48 (list of countries)

Dependencies         List[show]

Unrecognized
                     List[show]
regions

Languages            List of languages
Time Zones          UTC+2 to UTC+12

Internet TLD        .asia

                    List of metropolitan areas in Asia
                    by population
Largest cities
                    List[show]


Asia ( i/ˈeɪʒə/ or /ˈeɪʃə/) is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in
the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area (or 30% of
its land area) and with approximately 4.3 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current
human population. During the 20th century Asia's population nearly quadrupled.[3]

Asia is usually defined as comprising the eastwards four-fifths of Eurasia. It is located to the east
of the Suez Canal and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains (or the Kuma-
Manych Depression) and the Caspian and Black Seas.[4][5] 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.

Given its size and diversity, Asia – a toponym dating back to classical antiquity – "is more a
cultural concept" incorporating diverse regions and peoples than a homogeneous physical
entity.[6] Asia differs very widely among and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups,
cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems.

Contents
       1 Definition and boundaries
            o 1.1 Greek three-continent system
            o 1.2 Asia-Europe boundary
            o 1.3 Asia-Oceania boundary
            o 1.4 Ongoing definition
       2 Etymology
            o 2.1 Classical antiquity
            o 2.2 Bronze Age
       3 History
       4 Geography
       5 Economy
       6 Demographics
            o 6.1 Languages
            o 6.2 Religions
                      6.2.1 Abrahamic
                      6.2.2 Dharmic and Taoist
       7 Modern conflicts
       8 Culture
           o 8.1 Nobel prizes
      9 See also
      10 References
      11 Bibliography
      12 Further reading
      13 External links



Definition and boundaries
For more details on Asian borders, see Geography of Asia, Boundaries between continents, List of
transcontinental countries and Copenhagen criteria.

Greek three-continent system




Two-point equidistant projection of Asia and surrounding landmasses.

The original distinction between Europe and Asia was made by the ancient Greeks. They used
the Aegean Sea, the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, the Black Sea, the Kerch
Strait, and the Sea of Azov as the border between Asia and Europe. The Nile was often used as
the border between Asia and Africa (then called Libya), although some Greek geographers
suggested the Red Sea would form a better boundary.[7] Darius' canal between the Nile and the
Red Sea introduced considerable variation in opinion. Under the Roman Empire, the Don River
emptying into the Black Sea was the western border of Asia. It was the northernmost navigable
point of the European shore.[citation needed] In the 15th century the Red Sea became established as
the boundary between Africa and Asia, replacing the Nile. As exploration developed, the border
between Asia and Europe had to be redefined, as the borders of the time did not extend to the
arctic.[7]
Asia-Europe boundary

The Don River became unsatisfactory to northern Europeans when Peter the Great, king of the
Tsardom of Russia, defeating rival claims of Sweden and the Ottoman Empire to the eastern
lands, and armed resistance by the tribes of Siberia, synthesized a new Russian Empire extending
to the Ural Mountains and beyond, founded in 1721. The major geographical theorist of the
empire was actually a former Swedish prisoner-of-war, taken at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and
assigned to Tobolsk, where he associated with Peter's Siberian official, Vasily Tatishchev, and
was allowed freedom to conduct geographical and anthropological studies in preparation for a
future book.[citation needed]

At home in Sweden again, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 von Strahlenberg published a
new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia. The Russians were enthusiastic about the
concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography as well as other
cultural heritage. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg. The
latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various
proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th-century. The border had been
moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects.[8] In
the maps of the period, Transcaucasia was counted as Asian. The incorporation of most of that
region into the Soviet Union tended to push views of the border to the south. It also has many
mountainous terrains