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Continent

Asia

The largest and most populous continent, stretching from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south, and from the Mediterranean and Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It holds the Earth's highest point, the summit of Mount Everest in the Himalayas, and its lowest land exposure, the shore of the Dead Sea. Asia is conventionally divided from Europe along the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus, a boundary drawn by convention rather than by any single physical barrier. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Area (sq km)
44,579,000 1
National Geographic Atlas of the World figure; the Europe/Asia boundary is conventional, not physical, so the true dividing line between the two continents own areas is itself a matter of convention.
Population
4,694,576,167 1
2021 estimate, Wikipedia infobox (1st most populous continent).
Highest Point
Mount Everest 2
Highest Elevation (m)
8849 2
8,848.86 m per the 2020 joint Nepal-China survey; stored here as the nearest whole meter.
Lowest Point
Shore of the Dead Sea 3
Country Count
49 1
Five of the 49 (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) are transcontinental, also counted partly in Europe.
Tectonic Plate Context
Eurasian Plate (with the Arabian and Indian Plates adjoining to the south, and the North American Plate underlying easternmost Siberia) 1
Asia

Countries

Regions

Connections

Associated With

Africa, Continents

This source names Asia directly: "the west and south, and is joined to Asia at the Sinai Peninsula."

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Cairo, Cities

This source names Asia directly: "Sinai land route toward the Levant and Asia beyond."

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Central Asia, Regions
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
East Asia, Regions
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
Europe, Continents

This source names Europe directly: "Asia is conventionally divided from Europe along the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus, a boundary drawn by convention rather than by any single physical barrier."

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
North America, Continents

During glacial periods of the late Pleistocene, falling sea levels exposed Beringia, a land bridge across the present Bering Strait joining Siberia and Alaska. It existed intermittently until around 11,000 years ago, when rising seas submerged it and separated the two continents, closing the route early humans and animals had used to cross between them.

Source United States Geological Survey
Siberia, Regions
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
South Asia, Regions
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
The Caucasus, Regions
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
Source Asia (Wikipedia)

This source names Asia directly: "southern Europe, the Levant coast of Asia, and the Maghreb and Egyptian coast of North Africa."

Source National Geographic Atlas of the World

This source names The Mediterranean directly: "Indian Ocean in the south, and from the Mediterranean and Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east."

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

This source names Asia directly: "southern Europe, the Levant coast of Asia and the North African coast, and connected to the Atlantic Ocean only through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar."

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
Source Asia (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Asia (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Geography section, country subdivision count
    Asia is subdivided into 49 countries, five of them (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) are transcontinental countries lying partly in Europe.
  • Definition section, plate description
    Almost all of Europe and a major part of Asia sit atop the Eurasian Plate, adjoined on the south by the Arabian and Indian Plate and with the easternmost part of Siberia (east of the Chersky Range) on the North American Plate.
  • Introduction, continent overview
    Asia is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population.
  • Lead paragraph, opening sentences
    Asia is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area.
  • Infobox, Area
    44,579,000 km2 (17,212,000 sq mi)
  • Infobox, Population (2021 estimate)
    4,694,576,167 (2021; 1st)
  • Associated With: The Pacific Ocean, Opening section, bordering oceans
    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.
  • Associated With: The Indian Ocean, Opening section, bordering oceans
    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.
  • Associated With: The Arctic Ocean, Opening section, bordering oceans
    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.
  • Associated With: Central Asia, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
  • Associated With: East Asia, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
  • Associated With: South Asia, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
  • Associated With: Southeast Asia, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
  • Associated With: Siberia, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
  • Associated With: The Middle East, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
  • Associated With: The Caucasus, Geography section, Main regions subsection
    North Asia (Siberia), Central Asia, West Asia (the Middle East or Near East and part of the Caucasus), South Asia (Indian subcontinent), East Asia (Far East), Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina).
View the Source
2. Mount Everest (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • opening paragraph, summit status
    Mount Everest...is the highest mountain on Earth above sea level.
  • opening paragraph, 2020 survey elevation
    8,848.86 m (29,031 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
View the Source
3. Dead Sea (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationInfobox, surface elevation
Quote, Infobox, surface elevation
Surface elevation: -439.78 m (-1,443 ft) (2025) ... making its shores the lowest land-based elevation on Earth
View the Source
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • britannica.com/place/Asia, main article body (Land section, boundaries paragraph)
    Asia is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, the Red Sea (as well as the inland seas of the Atlantic Ocean-the Mediterranean and the Black) to the southwest, and Europe to the west. Asia is separated from North America to the northeast by the Bering Strait and from Australia to the southeast by the seas and straits connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Isthmus of Suez unites Asia with Africa, and it is generally agreed that the Suez Canal forms the border between them. Two narrow straits, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, separate Anatolia from the Balkan Peninsula.
  • Home To: The Himalayas
  • Home To: Istanbul
  • Home To: Beijing
  • Home To: The Middle East
  • Home To: Japan
  • Home To: East Asia, East Asia
  • Home To: South Asia, South Asia
  • Home To: Vietnam
  • Home To: Philippines
  • Home To: Russia
  • Home To: China
  • Home To: Mount Everest
View the Source
National Geographic Atlas of the World
National Geographic Society, 2019World continents area table
The World Factbook
Central Intelligence AgencyAsia, population summaryView the Source
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationHome To: The Pacific OceanView the Source
United States Geological Survey
United States Geological SurveyAssociated With: North AmericaView the Source
New Delhi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: New DelhiView the Source
Ankara (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Ankara, Lead section/Geography
Quote, Home To: Ankara, Lead section/Geography
Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of over 5.3 million residents in its urban center.
View the Source
Mediterranean Sea (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Mediterranean Sea, Lead section
Quote, Home To: The Mediterranean Sea, Lead section
situated between Europe, Asia, and Africa
View the Source
K2 (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: K2, Lead section
Quote, Home To: K2, Lead section
K2, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). It lies in the Karakoram range, on the border between Baltistan, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Dafdar Township in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China.
View the Source
Kangchenjunga (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Kangchenjunga, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Kangchenjunga, Lead section
Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas, the Kangchenjunga Himal, which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies in the border region between Koshi Province of Nepal and Sikkim state of India, with the West and Kangbachen peaks located in Nepal's Taplejung District and the Main, Central and South peaks directly on the border.
View the Source
Mount Fuji (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Mount Fuji, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Mount Fuji, Lead section
Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of 3,776.24 m. It is the highest mountain in Japan and the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia.
View the Source
Kali Gandaki Gorge (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Kali Gandaki Gorge, Lead section and river-elevation passage
Quote, Home To: Kali Gandaki Gorge, Lead section and river-elevation passage
The Kali Gandaki Gorge, or Andha Galchi, is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki river in the Himalayas in Nepal, cut between the eight-thousander peaks of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I. The portion of the river directly between the two peaks, seven kilometres downstream from Tukuche, sits at an elevation 5,571 m (18,278 ft) lower than Annapurna I's own summit, making it, by some measures, one of the deepest gorges in the world.
View the Source
Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, Lead section and depth passage
Quote, Home To: Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, Lead section and depth passage
The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge, is a canyon along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Measured over its 504.6-kilometre (313.5 mi) length, its average depth is about 2,268 m (7,440 ft) and its deepest point reaches 6,009 m (19,714 ft), making it the deepest canyon in the world, cutting through the eastern Himalayas as the river bends around Namcha Barwa.
View the Source
Kashmir Valley (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Kashmir Valley, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Kashmir Valley, Lead section
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley or basin in the northern part of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is surrounded by the ranges of the Himalayas, bounded on the southwest by the lower Himalayan Pir Panjal Range and on the northeast by the Greater Himalayan Range. It is approximately 135 km (84 mi) long and 32 km (20 mi) wide, and drained by the Jhelum River. It falls entirely within the Kashmir Division of Jammu and Kashmir.
View the Source
The Arabian Desert (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Arabian Desert, Lead section
Quote, Home To: The Arabian Desert, Lead section
The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness in West Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula, with an area of 2,330,000 square kilometers (900,000 sq mi). It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It is the fourth-largest desert in the world and the largest in Asia. At its southern end is Ar-Rub' al-Khali, the largest continuous body of sand in the world. It is considered an extension of the Sahara Desert.
View the Source
The Deccan Plateau (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Deccan Plateau, Lead section
Quote, Home To: The Deccan Plateau, Lead section
The Deccan Plateau, or Peninsular Plateau, is a plateau that extends over an area of 422,000 km2 (163,000 sq mi) on the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats, and much of its bedrock is formed of ancient Deccan Traps flood basalt.
View the Source
Annapurna (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Annapurna, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Annapurna, Lead section
Annapurna is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal.
View the Source
Chocolate Hills (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Chocolate Hills, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Chocolate Hills, Lead section
The Chocolate Hills are a geological formation in the Philippine province of Bohol.
View the Source
Karakoram (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Karakoram, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Karakoram, Lead section
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Asia which spans the borders of Pakistan, China and India.
View the Source
Kamchatka Peninsula (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Kamchatka Peninsula, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Kamchatka Peninsula, Lead section
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometre-long (777 mi) peninsula in the Russian Far East.
View the Source
Tiger Leaping Gorge (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lead section
It is located 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Lijiang City, Yunnan in southwestern China.
View the Source
Ob River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Ob River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Ob River, Lead section
The Ob is a major river in Russia.
View the Source
Yenisei River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Yenisei River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Yenisei River, Lead section
Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through the Krasnoyarsk Dam
View the Source
Lena River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Lena River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Lena River, Lead section
The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East and is the easternmost river of the three great rivers of Siberia which flow into the Arctic Ocean.
View the Source
Amur River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Amur River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Amur River, Lead section
is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China.
View the Source
Indus River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Indus River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Indus River, Lead section
The 3,180 km (1,980 mi) river rises in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China where it is known as Sengge Zangbo, flows northwest through the disputed Kashmir region, first through the Indian-administered Ladakh, and then the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan
View the Source
Euphrates (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Euphrates River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Euphrates River, Lead section
Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab in Iraq, which empties into the Persian Gulf.
View the Source
Tigris (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Tigris River, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Tigris River, Lead section
1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey
View the Source
Black Sea (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Black Sea, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Black Sea, Lead section
The Black Sea is a marginal sea located between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia.
View the Source
Bay of Bengal (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Bay of Bengal, Lead section
Quote, Home To: Bay of Bengal, Lead section
Geopolitically, the bay is bound by mainland India on the west and northwest, Bangladesh in the north, Myanmar in the northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India in the east.
View the Source
Handan (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Handan, Infobox, subdivision_name
Quote, Home To: Handan, Infobox, subdivision_name
subdivision_name = People's Republic of China
View the Source
Zibo (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Zibo, Infobox, subdivision_name
Quote, Home To: Zibo, Infobox, subdivision_name
subdivision_name = People's Republic of China
View the Source
Hyderabad, Pakistan (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Hyderabad, Pakistan, Infobox, subdivision_name
Quote, Home To: Hyderabad, Pakistan, Infobox, subdivision_name
subdivision_name = Pakistan
View the Source
Dissenting Readings (2 dissenting readings)
In Category: Continents

Treating Asia as a continent separate from Europe is a convention, not a physical necessity: Europe and Asia share one uninterrupted landmass with no continuous water or tectonic boundary between them, only the historically drawn line along the Ural Mountains and Caucasus. Six-continent geography curricula, taught across Russia, much of Eastern Europe, Japan and elsewhere, combine the two into a single continent, Eurasia, and this atlas own description of Asia already notes the boundary is conventional rather than physical.

A dissenting reading, from Geography curricula of Russia, Eastern Europe, Japan and other six-continent-model traditionsEncyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Home To: The Caucasus

A widely used convention draws the Europe-Asia line along the Greater Caucasus watershed itself rather than around the whole range, which places Ciscaucasus (the northern slope, including southern Russia's Caucasus republics) in Europe and counts Mount Elbrus, on that northern slope, as the highest point in Europe rather than in Asia. Other sources instead draw the line at the Kuma-Manych Depression well north of the mountains, or along the Kura and Rioni rivers south of them, so the region's continental placement genuinely depends on which convention is followed rather than on any single physical boundary.

A dissenting reading, from a reviewerCaucasus (Wikipedia), Wikimedia Foundation
Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest continent?

Asia, both by land area and by population.

Asia is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population, covering more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30 percent of Earth's total land area, and home to roughly 4.7 billion people, about 60 percent of the world's population.

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