Asia
Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ ⓘ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈeɪʃə/ AY-shə) is the largest continent[note 1][10][11] in the world by both land area and population.[11] It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometers,[note 2] 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,[12] was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people[13] constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.[14]
This article is about the continent. For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation).Area
100/km2 (260/sq mi)
- Islam (28.0%)
- Hinduism (22.8%)
- No religion (13.9%)
- Buddhism (11.1%)
- Chinese folk religion (9.7%)
- Christianity (8.4%)
- Ethnic religions (3.5%)
- New religions (1.3%)
- Other (1.3%)[7]
142 – Asia001 – World
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. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. 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.[15]
China and India traded places as the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power for much of recorded history, with the highest GDP per capita until 1500.[16][17][18] The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen.[19] Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions.
Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties, and government systems. It also has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot deserts in West Asia, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia.
The threefold division of the Old World into Europe, Asia and Africa has been in use since the 6th century BCE, due to Greek geographers such as Anaximander and Hecataeus.
![Map of western, southern, and central Asia in 1885[67]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/A_Map_of_the_Countries_between_Constantinople_and_Calcutta-_Including_Turkey_in_Asia%2C_Persia%2C_Afghanistan_and_Turkestan_WDL11753.png/120px-A_Map_of_the_Countries_between_Constantinople_and_Calcutta-_Including_Turkey_in_Asia%2C_Persia%2C_Afghanistan_and_Turkestan_WDL11753.png)
1890 map of Asia
The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Yellow River shared many similarities. These civilizations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other innovations, such as writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.
The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into West Asia, South Asia, and the borders of China, where the Tocharians resided. The northernmost part of Asia, including much of Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, climate and tundra. These areas remained very sparsely populated.
The center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus and Himalaya mountains and the Karakum and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While the urban city dwellers were more advanced technologically and socially, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons, the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.
The Islamic Caliphate's defeats of the Byzantine and Persian empires led to West Asia and southern parts of Central Asia and western parts of South Asia under its control during its conquests of the 7th century. The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe. Before the Mongol invasion, Song dynasty reportedly had approximately 120 million citizens; the 1300 census which followed the invasion reported roughly 60 million people.[49]
The Black Death, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, is thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road.[50]
The Russian Empire began to expand into Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire controlled Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the mid 16th century onwards. In the 17th century, the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing dynasty. The Islamic Mughal Empire and the Hindu Maratha Empire controlled much of India in the 16th and 18th centuries respectively.[51]
Western European colonisation of Asia coincided with the Industrial Revolution in the West and the dethroning of India and China as the world's foremost economies.[52] The British Empire became dominant in South Asia, with large parts of the region first being conquered by British traders before falling under direct British rule; extreme poverty doubled to over 50% during this era.[53] The Middle East was contested and partitioned by the British and French,[54] while Southeast Asia was carved up between the British, Dutch and French.[55] Various Western powers dominated China in what later became known as the "century of humiliation", with the British-supported opium trade and later Opium Wars resulting in China being forced into an unprecedented situation of importing more than it exported.[56][57] Foreign domination of China was furthered by the Empire of Japan, which controlled most of East Asia and much of Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Pacific islands during this era; Japan's domination was enabled by its rapid rise that had taken place during the Meiji era of the late 19th century, in which it applied industrial knowledge learned from the West and thus overtook the rest of Asia.[58][59]
With the end of World War II in 1945 and the wartime ruination of Europe and imperial Japan, many countries in Asia were able to rapidly free themselves of colonial rule.[60] The independence of India came along with the carving out of a separate nation for the majority of Indian Muslims, which today has become the countries Pakistan and Bangladesh.[61]
Some Arab countries took economic advantage of massive oil deposits that were discovered in their territory, becoming globally influential.[62] East Asian nations (along with Singapore in Southeast Asia) became economically prosperous with high-growth "tiger economies",[63] with China regaining its place among the top two economies of the world by the 21st century.[64] India has grown significantly because of economic liberalisation that started in the 1990s,[65] with extreme poverty now below 20%.[66]
Druze dignitaries celebrating the Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu'ayb festival at the tomb of the prophet in Hittin
Buddhist Monks performing traditional Sand mandala made from coloured sand
Some of the events pivotal in Asia related to the relationship with the outside world in the post-Second World War were:
Led to the creation of India and Pakistan, shaping the political landscape in South Asia.
Fought over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, setting the stage for future conflicts.
Culminated in the establishment of the People's Republic of China under the Communist Party.
Involved international forces and led to the division of the Korean Peninsula.
Ended with the defeat of French colonial forces and the partition of Vietnam.
A protracted conflict with significant global implications, especially during the Cold War.
Conflict between China and Vietnam following Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia.
Involved Indonesia's annexation and subsequent independence through a UN-backed referendum.
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, contributing to the rise of the mujahideen.
Long-lasting conflict with regional and international implications.
Resulted from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, with international intervention.
Marked the end of the Cold War and the emergence of independent states.
U.S.-led intervention post-9/11 with long-lasting consequences.
Led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and subsequent instability.
Series of uprisings and protests across the Arab world, influencing regional dynamics.
Ongoing conflict with widespread humanitarian implications.
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