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How Many Countries Are there in Asia

Mary Smith
By Mary Smith. Updated: January 16, 2017
How Many Countries Are there in Asia

Asia is the most populous continent on the face of the Earth. India, Pakistan, Japan, China ... many countries make up this continent. They are gradually becoming strong economic powers allied with the West. In this OneHowTo article, we'll tell you how many countries there are in Asia. We will also go over the ongoing conflicts, which sometimes make it difficult to determine an exact number of countries. Read on to know a little more about how our world works.

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Asian countries

Asia is the most populous continent in the world. In fact, around 60% of the world's population live on this continent - more than half! It is also the largest as it extends over 44 million square kilometres, spreading over the eastern half of the Northern Hemisphere. It starts from the Artic Ocean in the North and reaches the Indian Ocean in the South.

Four billion people live on the continent of Asia. According to the United Nations, it is made up of 48 countries. However, this figure may vary for different reasons such as:

  • 10% of countries share space with Europe and are known as "Eurasian countries"
  • There are 6 countries that are not recognised as such and, as a result of this, the figure varies according to the official body. These countries are: Abkhazia, North Cyprus, Palestine, Taiwan, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia.
  • Also located in Asia are three territories such the Coco Islands (Australia), Christmas Island (Australia) and the 60 tropical islands which are known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, which are therefore managed by Britain.

Thus, following the guidelines issued by a prestigious official body such as the United Nations, Asia has 48 countries. These are as follows:

  • Afghanistan
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bahrain
  • Burma/Myanmar
  • Brunei
  • Bhutan
  • Cambodia
  • Taste
  • China
  • Cyprus
  • North Korea
  • South Korea
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Philippines
  • Georgia
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iraq
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Kuwait
  • Laos
  • Lebanon
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • Mongolia
  • Nepal
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • Syria
  • Sri Lanka
  • Thailand
  • Tajikistan
  • East Timor
  • Turkmenistan
  • Turkey
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vietnam
  • Yemen
How Many Countries Are there in Asia - Asian countries

Regions of Asia

So, you must have heard expressions such as "Southeast Asia" or "Western Asia". This is down to the sheer magnitude of the continent - 6 large regions that cover different countries have been differentiated. Below, we'll explain the socio-political organisation of the different areas:

  • Central Asia: this is formed by countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
  • West Central Asia: this includes countries such as Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, Gaza Strip, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Yemen.
  • Eastern Asia: this is made up of the People's Republic of China, Republic of China -Taiwan-, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and Mongolia.
  • Southeast Asia: this includes countries such as Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.
  • North Asia: this is made up of Siberia only.
  • South Asia: this is formed by countries are Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
How Many Countries Are there in Asia - Regions of Asia

Asian population

We mentioned above that Asia is the most populous continent in the world and, in fact, the two countries with the highest number of people are also found within this continent: China and India. To the contrary, the country with the fewest people is also found in Asia: Siberia. As you can see, Asia is a very varied continent with diverse populations and completely different cultures and religions.

Asian races

  • In the Far East, the prominent race is Mongolian. People of this race have distinctive features such as yellowish skin and slanted eyes. Regions of the Far East include Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, etc. When we see people with darker skin tone it is because they are indigenous and can be divided into different groups of people such as the Polynesians, the Tagalog, the Ilocano, etc.
  • In the Middle and Near East, Caucasians are prominent, e.g. in countries such as Turkey and Russia. However, there are also many black people due to immigration from other parts of the world.

In addition, the religions in these countries vary significantly between the different groups of people. Most common are Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism.

How Many Countries Are there in Asia - Asian population

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mosaddiq fateh
excellent article
MD. MOHON ALI.
How many countries are there in asia continenet ?
How Many Countries Are there in Asia
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How Many Countries Are there in Asia

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