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Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ (listen), also UK: /ˈeɪʃə/) is a continent which is part of Eurasia. It is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population and shares the landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Europe and Africa. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% 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 civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population, having more people than all other continents combined.

In general terms, Asia 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.

China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1,800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of a trans-Atlantic route from Europe to America by Columbus while in search for a route to India demonstrates this deep fascination. 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 (particularly East Asia) as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. 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. (Full article...)

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Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ; MLCTS: pu.gam, IPA: [bəɡàɰ̃]; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas survive.

The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main attraction for the country's nascent tourism industry. (Full article...)

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Sri Lanka (UK: /sri ˈlæŋkə, ʃriː -/, US: /- ˈlɑːŋkə/ (listen); Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා, romanized: Śrī Laṅkā (IPA: [ʃriː laŋkaː]); Tamil: இலங்கை, romanized: Ilaṅkai (IPA: [ilaŋɡaj])), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre.

Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers, the Malays, the Chinese, and the indigenous Vedda. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Albertus Soegijapranata, SJ (Indonesian: [alˈbərtʊs suˈɡijapraˈnata]; Perfected Spelling: Albertus Sugiyapranata; 25 November 1896 – 22 July 1963), better known by his birth name Soegija, was a Jesuit priest who became the Apostolic Vicar of Semarang and later its archbishop. He was the first native Indonesian bishop and known for his pro-nationalistic stance, often expressed as "100% Catholic 100% Indonesian".

Soegija was born in Surakarta, Dutch East Indies, to a Muslim courtier and his wife. The family moved to nearby Yogyakarta when Soegija was still young; there he began his education. Known as a bright child, around 1909 he was asked by Father Frans van Lith to enter Xaverius College, a Jesuit school in Muntilan, where Soegija slowly became interested in Catholicism. He was baptised on 24 December 1910. After graduating from Xaverius in 1915 and spending a year as a teacher there, Soegija spent two years at the on-site seminary before going to the Netherlands in 1919. He began his two-year novitiate with the Society of Jesus in September 1920 in Grave, and finished his juniorate there in 1923. After three years studying philosophy at Berchmann College in Oudenbosch, he was sent back to Muntilan as a teacher for a further two years. In 1928, he returned to the Netherlands to study theology at Maastricht, where he was ordained by Bishop of Roermond Laurentius Schrijnen on 15 August 1931; Soegija then added the word "pranata" to the back of his name. He was then sent back to the Indies to preach and became a parochial vicar at the parish in Kidul Loji, Yogyakarta, and in 1934 he was given his own parish in Bintaran. There he focused on creating a sense of Catholicism within the native community, emphasising the need for strong bonds between Catholic families. Soegijapranata was consecrated as the vicar apostolic of the newly established Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang in 1940. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 2A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 3Expansion of Hinduism in Southeast Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 4The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 7The 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 8Detail 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 9India'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 10Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 11A map of the Bronze Age collapse, c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 12Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 13Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 14The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 15Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 16The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 17Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 18A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 19The 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 20Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 21Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 23Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 24The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 26Some 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 27The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. (from Asian Century)
Image 28The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 29The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 30A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 31Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 32Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 34The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 35The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 36Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 38Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 40The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 41Detail 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 42the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 43Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 44Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 47Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 48East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 49The first King of Goryeo, as known as Taejo of Goryeo (918–943) (from History of Asia)
Image 50The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51The 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 52Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 54Korean 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 55Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 56Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050. (from Asian Century)
Image 57Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 58Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 59The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 60A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)

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Featured picture

Burj Khalifa

Credit: Donaldytong

The Burj Khalifa (/ˈbɜːrdʒ kəˈliːfə/; Arabic: برج خليفة, Arabic pronunciation: [bʊrd͡ʒ xaˈliːfa], Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world's tallest building. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding antenna, but including a 242.6 m spire) of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, supplanting Taipei 101, the previous holder of that status. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

... that a few months after Lü Peijian was appointed China's auditor general, he announced the discovery of more than US$1.6 billion worth of tax evasion, fraud, and waste?
... that comedian Atsugiri Jason became the first non-Japanese finalist on the R-1 Grand Prix in 2014?
... that a collection of kimono assembled by Nasser Khalili covers four periods of Japanese history?
... that the anandalahari is an Indian chordophone musical instrument used by religious singers of the Baul faith?
... that Liang Baibo and Yu Feng were among China's first female cartoonists?
... that the yawara is a Japanese weapon that is used for martial arts and was used by American police?
... that Gongnyong Ridge in Seoraksan National Park, South Korea, acquired its name (lit. 'Dinosaur Ridge') from its peaks looking as "vigorous and dynamic as a dinosaur rising from the ground"?
... that students participating in the 1968–69 Japanese university protests were known for ruthlessly interrogating and verbally abusing professors, sometimes for days on end?
... that the death of Uyghur writer Nurmuhemmet Tohti has been linked to mistreatment in the Xinjiang internment camps, a claim China denies?
... that Pennsylvania Treasurer-elect Stacy Garrity was nicknamed "The Angel of the Desert" in the Iraq War?

Updated: 1:33, 20 March 2022

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In the news

7 February 2023 – Crime in Japan: Two of four Japanese gang leaders based in the Philippines are deported on suspicion of ordering around 2,300 robberies and phone fraud activities with a total value of ¥3.5 billion (US$26.4 million) in Japan. (AFP via The Manila Times)
7 February 2023 – Nduga hostage crisis: The Free Papua Movement led by Egianus Kogoya burn and take 15 passengers of Susi Air plane on Paro Airport, Nduga Regency in Highland Papua, Indonesia. (SCNOW)
7 February 2023 – 2023 Solomon Islands protests: Police use tear gas to disperse protesters after the governor of Malaita province, Daniel Suidani, is removed in a no-confidence vote. Suidani was one of the strongest critics of the government's approach to China. (The Guardian)
6 February 2023 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Five Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades members are killed, three others are injured, and eight members are arrested during a raid by Israeli soldiers and subsequent gunbattle at a refugee camp near Jericho, in the West Bank. (BBC News)
6 February 2023 – 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake: At least 5,434 people are killed in Turkey and more than 1,832 others are killed in Syria as a magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Gaziantep Province, Turkey. (AFP via RFI)(Reuters); A second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 occurs in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, nine hours after the first earthquake. (Bloomberg)

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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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