Asia (/ ˈ eɪ ʒ ə / ⓘ AY-zhə, UK also / ˈ eɪ ʃ ə / 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 kilometres, [note 2] about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area.
Jan 30, 2025 · Asia is the world’s largest and most diverse continent. It occupies the eastern four-fifths of the giant Eurasian landmass. Asia has both the highest and the lowest points on the surface of Earth, has the longest coastline of any continent, and is subject overall to the world’s widest climatic extremes.
Given its large size, Asia has been subdivided based on many factors, including cultural, political, etc. Physiographically, there are five major regions of Asia. These are Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Western Asia.
On the southeast of Asia are the Malay Peninsula (the limit of mainland Asia) and Indonesia ("Isles of India", the former East Indies), a vast nation among thousands of islands on the Sunda Shelf, large and small, inhabited and uninhabited. Australia nearby is a different continent.
Jan 31, 2025 · Asia - Regions, Geography, Culture: It is common practice in geographic literature to divide Asia into large regions, each grouping together a number of countries.