| |
| Click
on the image for larger version |
|
The continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe
and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries
are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet
somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and Europe
runs via the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, the Black
Sea, the ridges of the Caucasus (according to others, through the
Kuma-Manych Depression), the Caspian Sea, the Ural River (according
to others, the Emba River) and the Ural Mountains to Novaya Zemlya.
About 60% of the world's population live in Asia.
The region of Asia is the continent of
Asia plus nearby islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Subregions
Asia itself is often divided in the following subregions:
| |
| Click
on the image for larger version |
|
North Asia
- This term is rarely used by geographers, but usually it refers to
the Asian part of Russia, also known as Siberia. Sometimes the northern
parts of other Asian nations like Kazakhstan are also included in Northern
Asia.
Central
Asia -There is no absolute consensus in the usage of
this term. Usually, Central Asia includes: the Central Asian Republics
of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Afghanistan, Mongolia, and the western regions of China are also sometimes
included.
East Asia
- This term includes: The Pacific islands of Taiwan
and Japan. North and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula. China, but
sometimes only the eastern regions. Sometimes the nation of Mongolia
is also included with East Asia.
Southeast
Asia - This region contains the Malay Peninsula, Indochina
and islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The countries it
contains are: In Mainland Southeast Asia, the countries of Myanmar,
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In Maritime Southeast Asia, the
countries of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei
and East Timor. The country of Malaysia is divided in two by the South
China Sea, and thus has both a mainland and island part.
South Asia
- South Asia is also referred to as the Indian Subcontinent. It includes:
the Himalayan States of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh
the Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Southwest Asia
It can also be called the Middle East, although that term is occasionally
used to also refer to countries in North Africa. Southwest Asia can
be further divided into: Anatolia, which includes the nation of Turkey.
The island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. The Levant or
Near East, which includes Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. The
Arabian peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain,
Qatar, Oman, Yemen and occasionally Kuwait. The Caucasus region, including
the nations of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Iranian Plateau,
containing Iran and parts of other nations.
