Asia is the Earth's largest and most populous continent,
located primarily in the eastern and northern
hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and comprises 30% of its land area. With approximately 4.3 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. Like most of the world, Asia has a high growth rate in the modern era. For instance, during the 20th century, Asia's population nearly quadrupled, as did the world population. The boundaries of Asia are culturally determined, as there is no clear geographical separation between it and Europe, which together form one continuous landmass called Eurasia. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains (or the KumaManych Depression) and the Caspian and Black Seas.It 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 Don River became unsatisfactory to northern Europeans when Peter the Great, king of the Tsardom of Russia, defeating rival claims of Sweden and the Ottoman Empire to the eastern lands, and armed resistance by the tribes of Siberia, synthesized a new Russian Empire extending to the Ural Mountains and beyond, founded in 1721. The major geographical theorist of the empire was actually a former Swedish prisoner-of-war, taken at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and assigned to Tobolsk, where he associated with Peter's Siberian official, Vasily Tatishchev, and was allowed freedom to conduct geographical and anthropological studies in preparation for a future book In Sweden, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia. The Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg. The latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century. The border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. In the maps of the period, Transcaucasia was counted as Asian. The incorporation of most of that region into the Soviet Union tended to push views of the border to the south. Asian cultures had no say in this system of determining the imaginary boundaries separating them from Europe. Fast Facts Population:3,033,000 Capital: Yerevan; 1,079,000 Area:29,743 square kilometers (11,484 square miles) Language: Armenian, Russian Religion: Armenian Apostolic Currency: Dram Life Expectancy:72 GDP per Capita: U.S. $3,600 Literacy Percent:99 Smallest of the former Soviet republics, Armenia lies landlocked and earthquake ridden in rugged mountains. In A.D. 301, Armenia became the first Christian nation; today it is almost surrounded by Islamic nations. During World War I the Ottoman Turks brutally forced out Armenians, causing a diaspora to foreign havens. ECONOMY: Industry: Metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires Agriculture: Fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock Exports: Diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy Fast Facts Population:29,929,000 Capital: Kabul; 2,956,000 Area:652,090 square kilometers (251,773 square miles) Language: Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Uzbek, Turkmen, 30 minor language. Religion: Sunni and Shiite Muslim Currency: Afghani Life Expectancy:46 GDP per Capital: U.S. $700 Literacy Percent:36 Since Alexander the Great, invading armies and peaceful migrations have brought in diverse peoples to this Central Asian crossroads. As a result, Afghanistan is a country of ethnic minorities: Pashtun (38 percent), Tajik (25 percent), Hazara (19 percent), and Uzbek (6 percent). The towering Hindu Kush range dominates and divides Afghanistan. ECONOMY Industry: Small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes Agriculture: Opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool Exports: Opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton Fast Facts Population:8,388,000 Capital:Baku; 1,816,000 Area:86,600 square kilometers (33,436 square miles) Language:Azerbaijani, Russian Religion:Muslim, Russian Orthodox Currency:Azerbaijani manat Life Expectancy:72 GDP per Capita:U.S. $3,700 Literacy Percent:97 South of Russia, Azerbaijan is on the west coast of the Caspian Sea; the Caucasus Mountains define the northwestern border of this republic. South and west of Baku, the oil-rich capital, there are extensive lowlands, often below sea level. To the west, separated from the main part of the country by Armenia, is the autonomous region of Naxivan with about 300,000 people. ECONOMY Industry: Petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment, steel Agriculture: Cotton, grain, rice, grapes; cattle Exports: Oil and gas, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs
Fast Facts Population:731,000 Capital: Manama; 139,000 Area:717 square kilometers (277 square miles) Language: Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu Religion: Shiite and Sunni Muslim Currency: Bahraini dinar Life Expectancy:74 GDP per Capita: U.S. $15,100 Literacy Percent:89 Bahrain consists of 33 islands in the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf). The islands are mostly desert, and most of the population lives in or near Manama, the capital. Since the 1930s the oil industry has replaced pearl diving, and Bahrain has become a financial and communications hub. ECONOMY Industry: Petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing, tourisma Agriculture: Fruit, vegetables; poultry; shrimp Exports: Petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles
Fast Facts Population:69,515,000 Capital: Tehran; 7,352,000 Area:1,648,000 square kilometers (636,296 square miles) Language: Persian, Turkic, Kurdish, various local dialects Religion: Shiite and Sunni Muslim Currency: Iranian Rial Life Expectancy:69 GDP per Capita: U.S. $6,800 Literacy Percent:79 Iran is a southwest Asian country of mountains and deserts. Eastern Iran is dominated by a high plateau, with large salt flats and vast sand deserts. The plateau is surrounded by even higher mountains, including the Zagros to the west and the Elburz to the north. Farming and settlement are largely concentrated in the narrow plains or valleys in the west or north, where there is more rainfall. Iran's huge oil reserves lie in the southwest, along the Persian Gulf. ECONOMY Industry: Petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials Agriculture: Wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets; dairy products; caviar Exports: Petroleum, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals