Asia

Asia is the largest continent on Earth. It takes up about one-third of all land and is home to more than half the world’s people. The land stretches from icy Siberia in the north to tropical Indonesia in the south, and from the deserts of the Middle East to Japan on the Pacific Ocean. To make this huge area easier to study, geographers divide it into six regions: Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Northern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, Southern Asia, and Western Asia. Asia also has record-setting places such as Mount Everest (the highest peak), the Dead Sea shore (the lowest land point), and big rivers like the Yangtze and the Ganges. Scroll down to see each region and the countries in it.

Central Asia

Central Asia sits in the middle of the continent, far from any ocean. It has five land-locked countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Most of the land is wide, dry steppe or high mountains like the Tian Shan and Pamirs. Long ago, traders crossed this region on the Silk Road, and today it is still important for oil, natural gas, and cotton. People here speak Turkic and Persian-based languages, and most follow Islam. Winters can be bitterly cold, while summers are hot and dry.

Eastern Asia

Eastern Asia lies on the Pacific side of the continent and is home to six main countries—China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. The land ranges from Mongolia’s dry Gobi Desert and China’s high Himalaya edge to Japan’s green islands and South Korea’s hilly peninsula. Huge cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo lead the world in technology and trade, while farming areas still grow rice, wheat, and tea. Most people speak Chinese, Japanese, or Korean languages, and belief systems such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shinto shape daily life. Earthquakes, typhoons, and snowy winters show how varied the climate can be across this busy region.

Northern Asia

Northern Asia covers the vast Siberian part of Russia and stretches up to the Arctic Ocean. It is Asia’s biggest region by land but has very few people, with endless taiga forests, frozen tundra, and huge rivers like the Ob, Yenisei, and Lena. Winters last many months and can drop far below freezing. The ground holds rich resources—oil, natural gas, gold, and timber—so workers live in remote towns to mine or log. Russian is the main language, but Indigenous groups such as the Yakuts and Nenets speak their own languages and follow traditional ways. Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake, and the snow-capped volcanoes of Kamchatka show how wild and varied this region is.

South-eastern Asia

South-Eastern Asia is the warm, humid corner of the continent that stretches from Myanmar down to Indonesia and the Philippines. It includes eleven countries—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Much of the land is covered by thick rainforests, rice paddies, and hundreds of active volcanoes, while long rivers like the Mekong and Irrawaddy help farmers grow rice and fruit. Busy shipping routes connect big port cities like Singapore, Bangkok, and Jakarta, so trade and tourism bring in much of the region’s money. People speak many languages, such as Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, and Filipino, and most follow Buddhism, Islam, or Christianity. Heavy monsoon rains and strong tropical storms happen often, but the rain keeps the forests green and the soil rich for farming.

Southern Asia

Southern Asia covers the Indian subcontinent and nearby lands, stretching from Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east and down to the Maldives and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. It holds nine countries—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—together home to over one-quarter of the world’s people. Towering mountains like the Himalayas and Hindu Kush sit beside huge river plains fed by the Ganges and Indus. The yearly summer monsoon brings heavy rain that farmers need for rice, wheat, and tea, but can also cause floods. Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Persian, Nepali, and many other languages are spoken, and Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity are the main faiths. Cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Dhaka are busy centers of industry and technology, while the region’s beaches, temples, and wildlife parks draw millions of visitors.

Western Asia

Western Asia is a clear part of Asia. Don’t confuse it with the Middle East, a larger region that usually includes Western Asia and Egypt, or with the Arab World, a group of Arabic-speaking countries that overlaps the Middle East and stretches across much of North Africa. The Western Asia stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf and includes countries such as Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Cyprus. Most of the land is hot and dry desert or rocky plateau, but there are green river valleys along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Jordan, and snowy peaks in the Caucasus Mountains. Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew, and many other languages are spoken here. Islam is the largest religion, and Christianity and Judaism also have deep roots. Oil and natural gas bring in much of the region’s money, while farming depends on precious water from rivers and oases. Long ago, caravans crossed these lands on trade routes such as the Silk Road; today, busy ports and pipelines still link Western Asia to the rest of the world.