Geography of Asia reviews geographical concepts of classifying Asia, the central and eastern part of Eurasia, comprising approximately

fifty countries. Geographic characteristics Boundary The land mass of Asia is not the sum of the land masses of each of its regions, which have been defined independently of the whole. For example, the borders of Central Asia and the Middle East depend on who is defining them and for what purpose. These varying definitions are not generally reflected in the map of Asia as a whole; for example, Egypt is typically included in the Middle East, but not in Asia, even though the Middle East is a division of Asia. The demarcation between Asia and Africa is the isthmus of Suez and theRed Sea. The border with Europe starts with the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, even though Turkey in the Near East extends partly into theAegean Islands and includes Istanbul on the European side of theBosphorus. On the north the boundary between the continents of Asia andEurope is commonly regarded as running through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, theCaspian Sea, the Ural River to its source, and a long border generally following the eastern side of the Ural Mountains to the Kara Sea, Russia. The Arctic Ocean is the northern border. The Bering Straits divide Asia from North America. On the southeast of Asia are the Malaysian 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. The Pacific islands northeast of Australia more remotely removed from Japan and Koreaare Oceania rather than Asia. From Indonesia the border runs along theIndian Ocean to the Red Sea. Most of the islands in the Indian Ocean are Asian.

Central Asia Central Asia can include: The Central Asian republics of UN Regional Code 143: Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan East Asia East Asia can include: The republics or quasi-autonomous areas of UN Regional Code 030:China, Hong Kong, Macao, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia Any other areas associated with the Far East, such as Taiwan Southeast Asia has been included in East Asia on some occasions. North Asia North Asia may mean The Asian part of the Russian Federation (Siberia). Although the Statistical Division informally recognizes the existence of this region, according to its one-nation, one-area rule, all of Russia is classified as belonging to Europe. The opposite view, that all of Russia is Asian (bringing Asia west to the limits of Scandinavia) is but rarely seen, as European Russia is the most densely populated. Northern Asia as a region of history includes approximately the same territory, with differences in the southern border varying according to historical circumstance. The Ural River and the Ural Mountains (east side) have been the traditional border. Transcaucasia was in theRussian Empire and was considered historically Asian. As the Urals border is internal to Russia and before its fall to the Soviet Union, and Afghanistan, Mongolia and the western regions of China in addition

therefore is an internal affair, no national or international agencies presume to make any official definitions of a "North Asia." Southeast Asia Southeast Asia comprises the countries of UN Regional Code 035, which may be further grouped: Mainland Southeast Asia which includes the countries Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Maritime Southeast Asia which includes Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste. West Asia or Southwest Asia West Asia (or Southwest Asia) can mean: The countries of UN Regional Code 145, Western Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jorda n, Kuwait,Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen The Middle East, Levant or Near East as they are called by Europeans and Americans, which are approximately synonymous terms. They are variously defined by different agencies for different purposes, as is West Asia when Code 145 is not meant. Some agencies include some countries in North Africa. West Asia can include Anatolia (i.e. Asia Minor), constituting the Asian part of Turkey, the island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, the Asian portion of Egypt, and part of the Caucasus region (which straddles both Asia and Europe), namely Transcaucasia. South Asia South Asia may mean:

The countries of UN Regional Code 034: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Iran. Geographically the term is as variable as any other. A common addition is Myanmar (Burma). Iran more typically goes with the Middle East. A common approximate synonym for South Asia is the Indian subcontinent, Subregions of Asia Geopolitical data for Asia [edit]Introduction The countries in this table are categorised mainly, but not entirely, according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations Statistics Division. For example, the UN geoscheme does not recognize a "North Asia," but problematic differences in point of view reach down to the country level elsewhere as well. Part of Egypt (Sinai Peninsula) is geographically in Western Asia, and the Australian external territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are often associated with Asia. However, these are not present in the UN geoscheme. There is no universally defined standard Asia. Traditional views are approximate at best. Even today borders are still being defined, as between Indonesia, Australia and Oceania. As long as conflict over territory remains a human trait there may well be "an eastern question," as the British Empire said of the Ottoman Empire. In evaluating the geographic position of nations of the edge of Asia some writers utilize the amorphous concept of "transcontinental countries," which has different meanings to different authorities. Merriam-Webster defines it as "going across a continent," as might a railroad.
[17]

With regard to Asia, there is only one such

country, the Russian Federation.

In a second definition, Petrovsky refers to a new tendency to form transcontinental agencies, meaning agencies whose jurisdictions cross continental borders, rather than the whole continent.
[18]

Code 398 Kyrgyzstan, Code 417 Tajikistan, Code 762 Turkmenistan, Code 795 Uzbekistan, Code 860 199,951 143,100 5,587,443 7,627,200

2011 Jul 2011 Jul 2011 Jul 2011 Jul 2011 27.9 53.3 Bishkek Dushanbe

Petrovsky's examples put together widely scattered

sections of continents. There is no question of their trans- status. More precise views, however, require definitions of continents, which in the case of Asia are not quite so facile. A third definition emphasizes transformation in place from one continent to another. Fahey at first defines Turkey as transcontinental by virtue of being in both Anatolia and the Balkans, neglecting the historical circumstance that the Balkans as part of the Ottoman Empire were once Asian, as was much of North Africa. He then hypothesizes that Turkey, accepted into the European Union, is defined by that circumstance to be European.
[19]

488,100

4,997,503

10.2

Ashgabat

447,400

28,128,600

62.9

Tashkent

Eastern Asia, Code 030: Hong Kong , Code 344 Japan, Code 392 Macau , Code 446 Mongolia, Code 496 North Korea, Code 408 China 156 Republic of f[] China (Taiwan) , no code South Korea, Code 410
f[]g[] f[] f[]

1,104 377,947 25 1,565,000 120,540

7,122,508 127,920,000 460,823 2,996,082 23,479,095

Jul 6,451.5 2011 Jul 2011 338.5 18,473.3 1.7 184.4 134.0

Tokyo Ulaan Baatar Pyongyang Beijing

By this usage, the very region to

which "Asia" was first applied is now Europe. If it is, Turkey cannot be transcontinental by being split between two continents. This sort of paradox only underlines that Asia has no precise definiton in the same way that nations do, to whom a mere 100 yards of border may be of great concern. Data included in the table below are per sources in linked articles when available, the CIA World Factbook when not. No attempt is made to split populations. That of Russia is for the whole country; thus, the populations and areas cannot be summed to produce those of any defined Asia. The notes state which nations might be considered transcontinental by some agency, but there is little agreement generally. Table Name of region and territory, with flag Area (km) Pop. density Date (per km)

9,640,821 1,322,044,605

35,980

22,920,946

626.7

Taipei

98,480

49,232,844

490.7

Seoul

Population

Capital City

Northern Asia, no code: Russia , Code 643

d[]

17,075,400

142,200,000

26.8

Moscow

Central Asia, Code 143: Kazakhstan ,

b[]

Southeastern Asia, Code 035: 16,536,000 Jan 6.1 Astana Brunei, Code 5,770 381,371 66.1 Bandar Seri

2,724,927

096 Burma (Myanmar), Code 104 Cambodia Code 116

[20]

Begawan 676,578 47,758,224 70.3 Naypyidaw

Code 462 Nepal, Code 524 Pakistan , Code 586 Sri Lanka, Code 144
g[]

147,181 803,940

29,519,114 167,762,049

200.5 208.7

Kathmandu Islamabad Sri JayawardenapuraKotte

181,035

13,388,910

74

Phnom Penh

East Timor c[] (Timor-Leste) , Code 626 Indonesia , Code 360 Laos, Code 418 Malaysia, Code 458 Philippines, Code 608 Singapore, Code 702 Thailand, Code 764 Vietnam, Code 704
c[]

15,007

1,108,777

73.8

Dili

65,610

21,128,773

322.0

Western Asia, Code 145: 1,919,440 236,800 329,847 300,000 704 514,000 331,690 230,512,000 6,677,534 27,780,000 92,681,453 4,608,167 65,493,298 86,116,559 120.1 28.2 84.2 308.9 6,545.7 127.4 259.6 Jakarta Vientiane Kuala Lumpur Manila Singapore Bangkok Iraq, Code 368 Hanoi 364 32,738,775 153,546,901 682,321 42.9 1040.5 17.8 349.2 1,263.3 Kabul Dhaka Thimphu New Delhi Mal Israel, Code 376 Jordan, Code 147,570 38,394 400 Kuwait, Code 414 Lebanon, Code 422 Oman, Code Iran, Code 437,072 1,648,195 20,770 92,300 17,820 10,452 212,460 28,221,181 70,472,846 7,112,359 6,198,677 2,596,561 3,971,941 3,311,640 54.9 42.8 290.3 57.5 118.5 353.6 12.8 Baghdad Tehran Jerusalem
h[]

Armenia , Code 051 Azerbaijan Code 031

a[]b[]

e[]

29,800

3,299,000

280.7

Yerevan

86,660

8,845,127

102.736

Baku

Bahrain, Code 048 Cyprus , Code 196 Georgia , Code 268

a[] e[]

665 9,250 69,700

718,306 792,604 4,636,400

987.1 83.9 65.1

Manama Nicosia Tbilisi

Southern Asia, Code 034: Afghanistan, Code 004 Bangladesh, Code 050 Bhutan, Code 064 India , Code 356 Maldives,
g[]

647,500

Amman Kuwait City Beirut Muscat

3,287,263 1,147,995,226 300 379,174

512 Palestinian territories, Code 275 Qatar, Code 634 Saudi Arabia, Code 682 Syria, Code 760 Turkey Code 792
a[]b[]

transcontinental regions. ^ c: Indonesia is often considered a transcontinental country with territory in both 6,257 4,277,000 683.5 Ramallah Asia and Oceania, and East Timor can be placed in either Asia or Oceania. Population and area figures for Indonesia do not include Irian Jaya and Maluku 11,437 1,960,582 185,180 , 928,635 23,513,330 19,747,586 69.4 12.0 92.6 Doha Riyadh Damascus Ankara Islands, frequently reckoned in Oceania. ^ d: Russia is considered a transcontinental country with territory in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia; population and area figures are for the entire state. ^ e: The island of Cyprus is located on the Asian Anatolian plate, of European organisations such as the Council of Europe Union.
[24] [23] [23] [25]

but is a member

and the European

Armenia is similarly located fully within Asia, but is a member of the

United Arab Emirates, Code 784 Yemen, Code 887 Asia, Code 142 (not the sum) [edit]Table notes

Council of Europe. 82,880 4,621,399 29.5 Abu Dhabi

^ f: Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of China. The Republic of China is a de facto state claimed by the PRC. Figures given for China

527,970

23,013,376

35.4 89.07

Sana

do not include these areas. ^ g: The area of India includes Jammu and Kashmir, a territory contested between

43,810,582 4,162,966,086

India, Pakistan, and China. ^ h: In 1980, Jerusalem was proclaimed Israel's united capital, following its annexation of Arab-dominant East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. The United Nations and many countries do not recognize this claim, with most countries maintaining embassies in Tel Avivinstead.

^ a: Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey are often considered to be transcontinental countries, spanning both Asia and Europe. Many organisations, such as the BBC
[21] [22]

place them in Europe, while others such as the CIA

include them in

Asia. All are included in European organisations such as the Council of Europe
[23]

and are considered to be European, and thus eligible to join, by

[24]

the European Union.

^ b: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey are considered split by some between two continents: Azerbaijan north of the Caucasus, Kazakhstan west of the Ural River and Turkey west of the Bosphorus might be construed as in Europe. Only national data is presented. Splitting a nation would be more problematic; for example, the Ural River is not a well-defined boundary in places; moreover, some geopolitical units straddle it. The UN convention is followed here, which does not define any