Asia: Countries, Temples, Cities & Travel Highlights

Asia — The World's Largest Continent

Largest Continent 30% of Earth's Land 4.7 Billion People 49 Countries

Asia is the world's largest continent by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million km² (17 million sq mi) — about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. More than 4.7 billion people live on the continent, making it home to nearly 60% of all humanity.

44M+

km² Area

4.7B

Population

30%

Earth's Land

Countries

Largest Continent

Yangtze River, Wuhan, China. Image by inthesky from Pixabay

Fun Facts about Asia

One Timezone Giant
China borders 14 different countries yet operates on a single timezone. It is the largest country in Asia, while the Maldives is the smallest.

Longest River
The Yangtze River in China is the longest river on the Asian continent at 6,300 km (3,915 miles), flowing through some of the world's most spectacular landscapes.

Island Within an Island
Taal Lake in the Philippines contains an island, which has its own lake — and inside that lake sits yet another tiny island. Nature at its most recursive!

17,000+ Islands
Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 islands, making it the world's largest archipelago nation and one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.

Largest City on Earth
Tokyo, Japan is the largest city in Asia with a population of 38 million — larger than the entire population of Canada.

Interactive Map of Asia

Countries of Asia

There are 49 countries in Asia today. Here is the complete list with their current population and subregion.

#	Country	Population	Subregion
1	China	1,439,323,776	Eastern Asia
2	India	1,380,004,385	Southern Asia
3	Indonesia	273,523,615	South-Eastern Asia
4	Pakistan	220,892,340	Southern Asia
5	Bangladesh	164,689,383	Southern Asia
6	Japan	126,476,461	Eastern Asia
7	Philippines	109,581,078	South-Eastern Asia
8	Vietnam	97,338,579	South-Eastern Asia
9	Turkey	84,339,067	Western Asia
10	Iran	83,992,949	Southern Asia
11	Thailand	69,799,978	South-Eastern Asia
12	Myanmar	54,409,800	South-Eastern Asia
13	South Korea	51,269,185	Eastern Asia
14	Iraq	40,222,493	Western Asia
15	Afghanistan	38,928,346	Southern Asia
16	Saudi Arabia	34,813,871	Western Asia
17	Uzbekistan	33,469,203	Central Asia
18	Malaysia	32,365,999	South-Eastern Asia
19	Yemen	29,825,964	Western Asia
20	Nepal	29,136,808	Southern Asia
21	North Korea	25,778,816	Eastern Asia
22	Taiwan	23,816,775	Eastern Asia
23	Sri Lanka	21,413,249	Southern Asia
24	Kazakhstan	18,776,707	Central Asia
25	Syria	17,500,658	Western Asia
26	Cambodia	16,718,965	South-Eastern Asia
27	Jordan	10,203,134	Western Asia
28	Azerbaijan	10,139,177	Western Asia
29	United Arab Emirates	9,890,402	Western Asia
30	Tajikistan	9,537,645	Central Asia
31	Israel	8,655,535	Western Asia
32	Laos	7,275,560	South-Eastern Asia
33	Lebanon	6,825,445	Western Asia
34	Kyrgyzstan	6,524,195	Central Asia
35	Turkmenistan	6,031,200	Central Asia
36	Singapore	5,850,342	South-Eastern Asia
37	Oman	5,106,626	Western Asia
38	State of Palestine	5,101,414	Western Asia
39	Kuwait	4,270,571	Western Asia
40	Georgia	3,989,167	Western Asia
41	Mongolia	3,278,290	Eastern Asia
42	Armenia	2,963,243	Western Asia
43	Qatar	2,881,053	Western Asia
44	Bahrain	1,701,575	Western Asia
45	Timor-Leste	1,318,445	South-Eastern Asia
46	Cyprus	1,207,359	Western Asia
47	Bhutan	771,608	Southern Asia
48	Maldives	540,544	Southern Asia
49	Brunei	437,479	South-Eastern Asia

Non-Sovereign Territories

Hong Kong and Macao are two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. They are not governed as part of mainland China.

Territory	Population	Dependency of
Hong Kong	7,496,981	China
Macao	649,335	China

Is Russia European or Asian?

Russia is classified as European by the United Nations. Although the vast majority of Russia's landmass stretches across Asia, the bulk of its population lives in the European portion of the country — west of the Ural Mountains — where the major cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, are located.