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Asia Travel Information

Asia is the world's largest continent with nearly 30% of the earth's land area and nearly 60% of the world's population. With outlying islands, it covers an estimated 44,936,000 sq km (17,350,000 sq miles), or about one-third of the world's total land area.

Asia's population accounts for three-fifths of the world's population. In the early 1990's, Asia had more than 3.2 billion inhabitants. Asia is home to a diverse range of cultures and religions from the Arabic states in the West to the Asian states in the East.

While Asia is the largest continent, it only contains 47 countries. Its boundaries are the Pacific Ocean to the East, the Indian Ocean to the South, the Arctic Ocean to the North, and Europe to the West. The continent's greatest width from East to West is about 8500km (about 5300 miles). Asia also boasts both the lowest and highest points on the earth's surface. These include the shore of the Dead Sea which is 395 m (1296 ft) below sea level and Mount Everest which is 8848 m (29,028 ft).

Asia can be broken down into six separate sections:

Central Asia (including Kazakhstan Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), East Asia (including China, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, North and South Korea), North Asia (including Russia), India Subcontinent (including India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), South East Asia (including Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar - Burma, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), and South West Asia (including the Middle East, Turkey, Iran, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and sometimes Egypt).

With so many countries, it is hardly surprising to find a wide variety of religious practices in Asia. There are a wide variety of belief systems, but Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam have the largest number of adherents.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is located in central Asia and is landlocked by Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan. These days Afghanistan is know as a war zone but that wasn't always the case. . . . more about Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is located in south Asia and bordered by India to the north, west and east, Burma to the southeast and the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean to the South. Over 150,000,000 people call Bangladesh home with around 6. . . . more about Bangladesh

Bhutan

Bhutan is a small country in south Asia landlocked between India and the Tibetan region of China. The Himalayan mountain range runs through the north of Bhutan. . . . more about Bhutan

British Indian Ocean Territory

The British Indian Ocean Territory which was first discovered back in the 18th century and is neighboured by the islands of Maldives and Male with the closest neighbouring country's being Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The Chagos Archipelago is included wi . . . more about British Indian Ocean Territory

Brunei

Brunei is a small country in southeast Asia that is made up of two sections that are separated by Malaysia which completey surrounds both sections except for their northern coastlines of the South China Sea in the Indian Ocean. There are around 380, . . . more about Brunei

Cambodia

Cambodia is located in southest Asia between Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Gulf Of Thailand in the Indian Ocean. Cambodia has a population of just under 14,000,000 people with just over 2 milllion of these living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital . . . more about Cambodia

China

With a population of over 1,321,851,000 people, China is the world's most populated country. China is located in east Asia and is the 4th largest country in the world. . . . more about China

East Timor

East Timor is a small country situated in the southeast of Asia. East Timor is comprised of the eastern parts of Timor as well as surrounding islands Atauro and Jaco and the coastal enclave Oecussi-Ambeno. . . . more about East Timor

Hong Kong

HHong Kong is located in southeast Asia and is bordered by China to the north and the South China Sea to the south, east and west. Along with Macau, Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. . . . more about Hong Kong

India

India is the 7th largest country in the world and the 2nd most populated with over one billion people living there. India is located in southern Asia and the main section is bordered by Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Indian Ocean. . . . more about India

Indonesia

Indonesia is located in southern Asia and is made up of over 17,000 islands between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago state and has a population of over 234 million people making it the 4th most pop . . . more about Indonesia

Japan

Japan is an Asian country made up of over three thousand islands located in the Pacific Ocean. Japan is sometimes reffered to as "The Land of the Rising Sun" because the Japanese characters used to spell Japan mean 'sun-origin'. . . . more about Japan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is located in central Asia and bordered by Russia, China, Krygyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzebekistan and the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world and has a population of over 15,200,000 people. . . . more about Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is located in central Asia and is landlocked by Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzebekistan. Over 5,200,000 people live in Kyrgyzstan with around 900,000 living in Kyrgyzstan's capital city Bishkek. . . . more about Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Loas is located in southeast Asia and is landlocked between Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and China. Laos is a fairly isolated country so this is the perfect country to experience the traditional southeast Asian lifestyle. . . . more about Laos

Macau

Macau is loacted in eastern Asia bordering China on the north and the South China Sea elsewhere. Macau, like Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. . . . more about Macau

Malaysia

Malaysia is located in southeast Asia and is comprised of thirteen states and three territories. Malaysia lies between the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the South China Sea and is bordered by Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, the Phillapines and Thailand . . . more about Malaysia

Maldives

The Maldives is an island nation situated in the Indian Ocean that consists of 1,190 islets that are grouped into 26 atolls. Evenso, the Maldives are one of the smallest countries in the world with around 300,000 people living there. . . . more about Maldives

Mongolia

Mongolia is located in northern Asia and is landlocked between China on the east, south and west and Russia to the north. The southeast part of Mongolia has the Gobi Desert running through it. . . . more about Mongolia

Myanmar

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the largest country in southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by China, Laos, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean. . . . more about Myanmar

Nepal

Nepal is located in southern Asia and landlocked between Indian and the Tibetan region of China which is separated from Nepal by the Great Himalayan Range. Nepal has 8 of the10 tallest mountains in the world including Mount Everest. . . . more about Nepal

North Korea

North Korea is located in eastern Asia and is bordered by China on the north, Russia on the northeast and South Korea on the South. North Korea has two coastlines. . . . more about North Korea

Pakistan

Pakistan is located in southern Asia and is bordered by Iran and Afghanistan to the west, China to the far northeast, India to the east and the Arabian Sea to the south. Pakistan has a population of over 162,419,900 people making it the sixth most p . . . more about Pakistan

Philippines

The Philippines is found in southeast Asia and consists of over 7,100 islands that lie between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The Philippines has a population of about 91,077,287 people making it the 12th most popul . . . more about Philippines

Singapore

Singapore lies in the Indian Ocean and is located in southeast Asia. Singapoore is an island-state consisting of 60 small islands and the Singapore island which is connected by bridges to Malaysia. . . . more about Singapore

South Korea

South Korea is located in eastern Asia and is bordered by North Korea to the north, the Yellow Sea to the west, and the Sea of Japan and Korean Strait to the east. Until 1945 South Korea and North Korea were a united country. . . . more about South Korea

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, also known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean is an island nation located in southern Asia just south east of India in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka has a population of just over 20 million people. . . . more about Sri Lanka

Taiwan

Taiwan is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of China in eastern Asia. Taiwan is divided into five regions; Central Taiwan, Northern Taiwan, Eastern Taiwan, Southern Taiwan and The Outlying Islands. . . . more about Taiwan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan is a landlocked country found in Central Asia and is bordered to the west by Uzbekistan, to the north by Kyrgyzstan, to the east by China and to the south by Afghanistan. Tajikistan is a very mountainous country with the ancient Silk Road . . . more about Tajikistan

Thailand

Thailand is located in southeast Asia and borders Laos and Cambodia to the east, Malaysia and the Gulf Of Thailand to the south and Myanmar (Burma) and the Andaman Sea to the west. Thailand has a population of over 65,000,000 people and is visited b . . . more about Thailand

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is located in central Asia and is bordered by Kazahkstan, Uzebekistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the Caspian Sea. Turkmenistan has a population of around 5 million people. . . . more about Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia and is a landlocked country. Uzbekistan borders Kazahkstan to the west and north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, Afghanistan to the south east and Turkmenistan to the south and west. . . . more about Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Vietnam is located in central Asia. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, the Gulf Of Tonkin to the east, the South China Sea to the south and Cambodia and Laos to the west. . . . more about Vietnam

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