Asia

Asia is the largest continent. The northern part is taken up entirely by Siberia, part of Russia, where icy tundra and coniferous forests dominate the landscape. Farther south are...

Southwest and Central Asia

Southwest Asia is often called the Middle East, a region that covers 18 countries. The Middle East includes the Arabian Peninsula and extends to Iran in the east and Egypt, in...

South Asia

South Asia is the most densely populated region in the world, with 326 people per square kilometre (844 per square mile). It includes eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh...

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia lies south of China, east of India and north of Australia. The region has more than 675 million inhabitants, living on the mainland peninsula or across the 24,000...

East Asia

Over 1.65 billion people, around a fifth of the world's population, live in East Asia. It is one of the world's most populated regions, with, on average, 143 inhabitants per square...

Asian nations: flags and statistics

Asia A-Z

Afghanistan

Most of the land in Afghanistan is high mountain or desert. The Hindu Kush mountain range, extending southwestwards from the Himalayas, covers almost three-quarters of the country...

Bahrain

This tiny island country is made up of a main island—Bahrain—and a number of smaller ones, including Muharraq, Sitrah, Umm an Nasan and the Hawar Islands, close to the coast of...

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the most densely populated large country on Earth, with over 1000 people living in every square kilometre (0.39 square miles). Most of Bangladesh is green, fertile...

Bhutan

The tiny mountain kingdom of Bhutan lies high on the slopes of the eastern Himalayas. Nearly the entire country is covered by rugged, steep mountains; in the far north, some peaks...

Brunei

The tiny nation of Brunei lies on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. It is surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. A narrow strip of Malaysian land separates Brunei...

Cambodia

A thousand years ago, Cambodia was at the centre of the vast Khmer kingdom which stretched across most of mainland Southeast Asia. Gently rolling lowlands, the Cambodian Plain...

China

The third largest country in the world by area after Russia and Canada, the People's Republic of China, was until recently, home to more people than any other country: about 17.5%...

Hong Kong

Once a British colony, Hong Kong—officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China—is now an autonomous territory of China. It is located...

East Timor

East Timor is one of the world’s newest countries: it became independent from Indonesia in 2002. It consists of the eastern half of the island of Timor in the Indonesian...

India

Home to more than 1.43 billion people, India now has a largest population in the world (it overtook China in 2023). This vast country is a land of extreme contrasts: from the snowy...

Indonesia

With more than 17,000 islands scattered along the equator, Indonesia is the largest group of islands—or archipelago—on Earth. It is home to 282 million people, making it the...

Iran

Once the centre of the great Persian Empire, Iran sits at a geographical crossroads where the Arab states of the Middle East meet Asia. Much of the country consists of a high...

Iraq

In ancient times, the fertile plains between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates—known as Mesopotamia—were ruled by the great Babylonian and Assyrian empires. Today, this land is...

Israel

The state of Israel was created in 1948. Since then, Israel has rarely been at peace with its Arab neighbours and today its borders have still not been fixed. Israel is part of an...

Japan

Japan is made up of four main islands, where most of the population lives, and nearly 7000 smaller ones. The four large islands are, in order of size: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and...

Jordan

Much of eastern and southern Jordan is a desert plateau, marked by ridges and cut through by deep valleys. In the east, sandy plains, dunes and salt flats merge into the Syrian and...

Kazakhstan

Roughly the size of Western Europe, Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country by area. Most of it lies within Asia, but the far west reaches into Europe. Much of Kazakhstan...

Kuwait

The small, oil-rich country of Kuwait lies at the head of the Persian Gulf. Here, a deep, natural harbour, Kuwait Bay, extends 40 kilometres (25 miles) inland to the port of Kuwait...

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan once lay astride the Silk Road, an ancient trading route between China and the Middle East. Nearly all of its land is made up of high mountains, the Tien Shan range, cut...

Laos

Laos is a land of steep, forested mountains. The highest peaks are in the north, where the rugged landscape is criss-crossed by deep river gorges. In the east, the mountains of the...

Lebanon

Once the centre of the ancient Phoenician civilization, Lebanon is a small, mountainous country bordering the Eastern Mediterranean. Along the coast is a wide, flat plain. Inland...

Malaysia

Malaysia is in two parts. West Malaysia (Peninsula Malaysia) shares the long, narrow Malay Peninsula with Thailand and Burma. East Malaysia lies over 600 kilometres (400 miles)...

Maldives

The Maldives are a double chain of 1192 coral islands. They are spread over a distance of 885 kilometres (550 miles) north to south. Many of the islands are grouped rings, called...

Mongolia

During the 13th and 14th centuries, Mongolia was the centre of one of the world’s greatest empires, the Mongol Empire. High, rugged mountains cover much of northern and western...

Myanmar (Burma)

Myanmar is a land of mountains and river valleys. The Irrawaddy River (also known as the Ayeyarwady) runs north to south through the country, forming a wide valley, where most...

Nepal

Much of Nepal lies among the steep, snowy peaks of the Himalayan mountain range. Eight of the world’s ten highest peaks are found along its northern border, including Mount...

North Korea

North Korea (officially called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula. Rugged uplands and mountains cover most of the...

Oman

Oman lies in the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Its location at the mouth of the Persian Gulf has given it great power during thousands of years of shipping trade, and...

Pakistan

With over 241 million people, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world. Northern Pakistan is mountainous; its Hindu Kush range joins with the Himalayas and includes...

Palestine

The State of Palestine (Palestinian Territories) is made up of two, geographically separate parts: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The West Bank lies between Israel and the River...

Philippines

The Philippines is made up of about 7600 islands lying between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, many of these islands were formed and...

Qatar

Qatar occupies a small peninsula that juts out into the Persian Gulf. Sandy desert plains cover most of the country. In the southeast is the Khawr al 'Udayd (“Inland Sea”), a...

Saudi Arabia

Occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula is the oil-rich nation of Saudi Arabia. Since oil was discovered along the Persian Gulf in 1938 it has become one of the world’s...

Singapore

The island city of Singapore forms a country all of its own called a city-state. With over 6 million people crowded into just 736 square kilometres (284 square miles), it is the...

South Korea

Since 1948, the Korean Peninsula has been split into two countries, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). North Korea is...

Sri Lanka

The island of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast coast of India, in the Indian Ocean. Flat, grassy plains cover most of the island; these lowland regions have a hot, humid climate...

Syria

Lying at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, Syria has been at the centre of great trading civilizations for thousands of years. Its rich history includes periods of rule by...

Taiwan

Located around 180 kilometres (110 miles) off the coast of China is the island of Taiwan. Taiwan’s status is complicated: China regards it as Chinese territory, but it has its...

Tajikistan

Nearly all of Tajikistan is mountainous. The highest mountains are the snow-capped peaks of the Pamirs, which rise in the east near the borders with Kyrgyzstan and China. This...

Thailand

Lying close to the Equator, Thailand has a tropical climate, with hot, humid weather all year round and a rainy season between May and October. High, forested mountains mark its...

Turkey

The modern country of Turkey is all that remains of the once-mighty Ottoman Empire. It once stretched from Iran in the east almost as far as Vienna in the west. Turkey is divided...

Turkmenistan

Most of Turkmenistan is covered by desert, the Karakum, or “black sand” desert. The Karakum is one of the world’s driest deserts: some places receive just 12 millimetres (0.5...

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), sometimes known simply as the Emirates, is a country on the Persian Gulf. It is made up of seven emirates (states), each ruled by an emir with...

Uzbekistan

Most of Uzbekistan is made up of a dry desert called the Kyzyl Kum. Its vast, sandy plains stretch into neighbouring Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as well. The high, snow-capped...

Vietnam

The long, narrow country of Vietnam curves round the eastern rim of the Indochina Peninsula. The mountains of the Annam range stretch along its border with Laos. In the south, the...

Yemen

In 1990 two countries, North and South Yemen, united to become a single country: the Republic of Yemen. One of the poorest countries in the Middle East, Yemen’s wealth depends on...