http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Category:Regions_of_Asia Central Asia is the core region of the Asian continent and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north. It is also sometimes referred to as Middle Asia, and, colloquially, "the 'stans" (as the five countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of")[3] and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent. In modern contexts, all definitions of Central Asia include these five republics of the former Soviet Union: Kazakhstan (pop. 16.6 million), Kyrgyzstan (5.5 million), Tajikistan (7.6 million), Turkmenistan (5.1 million), and Uzbekistan (29.5 million), for a total population of 64.7 million as of 2012. Other areas sometimes included are Afghanistan, Mongolia, eastern Iran and northern and western Pakistan, and sometimes Xinjiang and Tibet in western China, Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, and southern Siberia in eastern Russia. Various definitions of its exact composition exist, and no one definition is universally accepted. Despite this uncertainty in defining borders, it does have some important overall characteristics. For one, Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road.[4] As a result, it has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, West Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.[5] During pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was a predominantly Iranian[6][7] region that included the sedentary Eastern Iranic speaking Bactrians, Sogdians and Chorasmians, and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Alans. The ancient sedentary population played an important role in the history of Central Asia. After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for many Turkic peoples, including the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Kyrgyz and Uyghurs. Central Asia is sometimes referred to as Turkestan. From the 19th century, up to the end of the 20th century, most of Central Asia has been part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, both being Slavic majority countries. As of 2011, the "stans" are still home to about 7 million Russians and 500 thousand Ukrainians.[8][9][10]

Definitions

Three sets of possible boundaries for the region

Central Asia's location as a region of the world The idea of Central Asia as a distinct region of the world was introduced in 1843 by the geographer Alexander von Humboldt. The borders of Central Asia are subject to multiple definitions. The most limited definition was the official one of the Soviet Union, which defined Middle Asia as consisting solely of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. This definition was also often used outside the USSR during this period. However, the Russian culture has two distinct terms: (Srednjaja Azija or "Middle Asia", the narrower definition, which includes only those traditionally non-Slavic, Central Asian lands that were incorporated within those borders of historical Russia) and (Central'naja Azija or "Central Asia", the wider definition, which includes Central Asian lands that have never been part of historical Russia). Soon after independence, the leaders of the four former Soviet Central Asian Republics met in Tashkent and declared that the definition of Central Asia should include Kazakhstan as well as the original four included by the Soviets. Since then, this has become the most common definition of Central Asia. The UNESCO general history of Central Asia, written just before the collapse of the USSR, defines the region based on climate and uses far larger borders. According to it, Central Asia includes Mongolia, Tibet, northeast Iran (Golestan, North Khorasan and Razavi provinces), Afghanistan, Northern Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (also called N.W.F.P.), Azad Kashmir and Punjab provinces of Pakistan, Punjab, Kashmir and Ladakh of India, central-east Russia south of the Taiga, and the former Central Asian Soviet republics (the five "Stans" of the former Soviet Union).[citation needed] An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity, and in particular, areas populated by Eastern Turkic, Eastern Iranian, or Mongolian peoples. These areas include Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Turkic regions of southern Siberia, the five republics, and Afghan Turkestan. Afghanistan as a whole, the Northern Areas of Pakistan and the Kashmir Valley may also be included. The Tibetans and Ladakhi are also included. Insofar, most of the mentioned peoples are considered the "indigenous" peoples of the vast region. There are several places that claim to be the geographic center of Asia, for example Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva in the Russian Federation, and a village 200 miles (320 km) north of rmqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region of China.[11]

Geography

United Nations geoscheme for Asia: North Asia Central Asia Southwest Asia South Asia East Asia Southeast Asia Central Asia is an extremely large region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with the steppes of Eastern Europe as a homogeneous geographical zone known as the Eurasian Steppe. Much of the land of Central Asia is too dry or too rugged for farming. The Gobi desert extends from the foot of the Pamirs, 77 E, to the Great Khingan (Da Hinggan) Mountains, 116118 E. Central Asia has the following geographic extremes:

The world's northernmost desert (sand dunes), at Buurug Deliin Els, Mongolia, 5018 N. The Northern Hemisphere's southernmost permafrost, at Erdenetsogt sum, Mongolia, 4617 N. The world's shortest distance between non-frozen desert and permafrost: 770 km (480 mi). The Eurasian pole of inaccessibility.

A majority of the people earn a living by herding livestock. Industrial activity centers in the region's cities. Major rivers of the region include the Amu Darya, the Syr Darya, the Hari River and the Murghab River. Major bodies of water include the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash, both of which are part of the huge west-central Asian endorheic basin that also includes the Caspian Sea. Both of these bodies of water have shrunk significantly in recent decades due to diversion of water from rivers that feed them for irrigation and industrial purposes. Water is an extremely valuable resource in arid Central Asia and can lead to rather significant international disputes.

Divisions
The northern belt is part of the Eurasian Steppe. In the northwest, north of the Caspian Sea, Central Asia merges into the Russian Steppe. To the northeast, Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin may sometimes be included in Central Asia. Just west of Dzungaria, Zhetysu, or Semirechye, is south of Lake Balkhash and north of the Tian Shan Mountains. Khorezm is south of the Aral Sea along the Amu Darya. Southeast of the Aral Sea, Maveranahr is between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Transoxiana is the land north of the middle and upper Amu Darya (Oxus). Bactria included northern Afghanistan and the upper Amu Darya. Sogdiana was north of

Bactria and included the trading cities of Bukhara and Samarkhand. Khorasan and Margiana approximate northeastern Iran. The Kyzyl Kum Desert is northeast of the Amu Darya, and the Karakum Desert southwest of it.

Climate
Since Central Asia is not buffered by a large body of water, temperature fluctuations are more severe. According to the WWF Ecozones system, Central Asia is part of the Palearctic ecozone. The largest biome in Central Asia is the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Central Asia also contains the montane grasslands and shrublands, deserts and xeric shrublands and temperate coniferous forests biomes.

History
Main article: History of Central Asia

Geographical extent of Iranian influence in the 1st century BC. Scythia (mostly Eastern Iranian) is shown in orange. The history of Central Asia is defined by the area's climate and geography. The aridness of the region made agriculture difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus, few major cities developed in the region; instead, the area was for millennia dominated by the nomadic horse peoples of the steppe. Relations between the steppe nomads and the settled people in and around Central Asia were long marked by conflict. The nomadic lifestyle was well suited to warfare, and the steppe horse riders became some of the most militarily potent peoples in the world, limited only by their lack of internal unity. Any internal unity that was achieved was most probably due to the influence of the Silk Road, which traveled along Central Asia. Periodically, great leaders or changing conditions would organize several tribes into one force and create an almost unstoppable power. These included the Hun invasion of Europe, the Wu Hu attacks on China and most notably the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia.[12]

Uzbek men from Khiva During pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, southern Central Asia was inhabited predominantly by speakers of Iranian languages.[6][13] Among the ancient sedentary Iranian peoples, the Sogdians and Chorasmians played an

important role, while Iranian peoples such as Scythians and the later on Alans lived a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. The well-preserved Tarim mummies with Caucasoid features have been found in the Tarim Basin.[14] The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the 5th and 10th centuries, when they spread across most of Central Asia. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongols conquered and ruled the largest contiguous empire in recorded history. Most of Central Asia fell under the control of the Chagatai Khanate.

Kazakh man on a horse with golden eagle The dominance of the nomads ended in the 16th century, as firearms allowed settled peoples to gain control of the region. Russia, China, and other powers expanded into the region and had captured the bulk of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. After the Russian Revolution, the western Central Asian regions were incorporated into the Soviet Union. The eastern part Central Asia, known as East Turkistan or Xinjiang, was incorporated into the People's Republic of China. Mongolia remained independent but became a Soviet satellite state. Afghanistan remained relatively independent of major influence by the USSR until the Soviet invasion of 1979. The Soviet areas of Central Asia saw much industrialization and construction of infrastructure, but also the suppression of local cultures, hundreds of thousands of deaths from failed collectivization programs, and a lasting legacy of ethnic tensions and environmental problems. Soviet authorities deported millions of people, including entire nationalities,[15] from western areas of the USSR to Central Asia and Siberia.[16] According to Touraj Atabaki and Sanjyot Mehendale, "From 1959 to 1970, about two million people from various parts of the Soviet Union migrated to Central Asia, of which about one million moved to Kazakhstan."[17] With the collapse of the Soviet Union, five countries gained independence. In nearly all the new states, former Communist Party officials retained power as local strongmen. None of the new republics could be considered functional democracies in the early days of independence, although in recent years Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia have made further progress towards more open societies, unlike Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, which have maintained many Soviet-style repressive tactics.[18]

Culture

The rtogrul Gazy Mosque in Ashgabat named after the father of Osman Ghazi, the founder of the Ottoman Empire

Religions
Further information: Islam in Central Asia Islam is the religion most common in the Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan, Xinjiang and the peripheral western regions, such as Bashkortostan. Most Central Asian Muslims are Sunni, although there are sizable Shia minorities in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Zoroastrianism, a religion with origins in Afghanistan, was a major faith in Central Asia prior to the arrival of Islam. Its influence is still felt today in such celebrations as Nowruz, held in all five of the "core" Central Asian states. Buddhism was a prominent religion in Central Asia prior to the arrival of Islam, and the transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Road eventually brought the religion to China. Amongst the Turkic peoples, Tengrianism was the popular religion before arrival of Islam. Tibetan Buddhism is most common in Tibet, Mongolia, Ladakh and the southern Russian regions of Siberia, where Shamanism is also popular (including forms of divination, such as Kumalak). Contact and migration with Han people from China has brought Confucianism and other beliefs into the region. Nestorianism was the form of Christianity most practiced in the region in previous centuries, but now the largest denomination is the Russian Orthodox Church, with many members in Kazakhstan. The Bukharan Jews were once a sizable community in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but nearly all have emigrated since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Arts
At the crossroads of Asia, shamanistic practices live alongside Buddhism. Thus, Yama, Lord of Death, was revered in Tibet as a spiritual guardian and judge. Mongolian Buddhism, in particular, was influenced by Tibetan Buddhism. The Qianlong Emperor of China in the 18th century was Tibetan Buddhist and would sometimes travel from Beijing to other cities for personal religious worship. Central Asia also has an indigenous form of improvisational oral poetry that is over 1000 years old. It is principally practiced in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan by akyns, lyrical improvisationists. They engage in lyrical battles, the aitysh or the alym sabak. The tradition arose out of early bardic oral historians. They are usually accompanied by a stringed instrumentin Kyrgyzstan, a three-stringed komuz, and in Kazakhstan, a similar two-stringed instrument, the dombra. Photography in Central Asia began to develop after 1882, when a Russian Mennonite photographer named Wilhelm Penner moved to the Khanate of Khiva during the Mennonite migration to Central Asia led by Claas Epp, Jr.. Upon his arrival to Khanate of Khiva, Penner shared his photography skills with a local student Khudaybergen Divanov, who later became the founder of the Uzbek photography.[19] Some also learn to sing the Manas, Kyrgyzstan's epic poem (those who learn the Manas exclusively but do not improvise are called manaschis). During Soviet rule, akyn performance was co-opted by the authorities and subsequently declined in popularity. With the fall of the Soviet Union, it has enjoyed a resurgence, although akyns still do use their art to campaign for political candidates. A 2005 Washington Post article proposed a similarity between the improvisational art of akyns and modern freestyle rap performed in the West.[20] As a consequence of Russian colonization, European fine arts - painting, sculpture and graphics - have developed in Central Asia. The first years of the Soviet regime saw the appearance of modernism, which took inspiration from the Russian avant-garde movement. Until the 80's Central Asian arts had developed along with

general tendencies of Soviet arts. In the 90's, arts of the region underwent some significant changes. Institutionally speaking, some fields of arts were regulated by the birth of the art market, some stayed as representatives of official views, while many were sponsored by international organizations. The years of 1990 - 2000 were times for the establishment of contemporary arts. In the region, many important international exhibitions are taking place, Central Asian art is represented in European and American museums, and the Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale has been organized since 2005 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Far East is an English term (with equivalents in various other languages of Europe and Asia, Chinese yun dng literally translating to "far east") mostly describing East Asia (including the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia,[1] with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.[2] The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century, denoting East Asia as the "farthest" of the three "easts", beyond the Near East and the Middle East. For the same reason, Chinese people in the 19th and early 20th centuries called Western countries "Tix ()"i.e. anything further west than the Arab world. The term is less commonly used than in the past[3] as it allegedly connotes the "orientalism" of the 19th century more explicitly than East Asia. Since the 1960s, terms like East Asia and the Orient have become increasingly common.[4] East Asia remains the most common media term for the region today.[3]

Popularisation
The term Far East was popularized during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of British India. In pre-World War I European geopolitics, the Near East referred to the relatively nearby lands of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East denoted northwestern South Asia and Central Asia, and the Far East meant countries along the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean. Many European languages have analogous terms, such as the French Extrme-Orient, Spanish Extremo Oriente, Portuguese Extremo Oriente, German Ferner Osten, Italian Estremo Oriente, Polish Daleki Wschd, and Dutch Verre Oosten.

Cultural as well as geographic meaning

Significantly, the term evokes cultural as well as geographic separation; the Far East is not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic. It never refers, for instance, to the culturally Western nations of Australia and New Zealand, which lie even farther to the east of Europe than East Asia itself. This combination of cultural and geographic subjectivity was well illustrated in 1939 by Robert Menzies, the Prime Minister of Australia. Reflecting upon his country's geopolitical concerns with the onset of war, Menzies commented that: "The problems of the Pacific are different. What Great Britain calls the Far East is to us the near north."[5] Far East in its usual sense is comparable to terms such as the Orient, which means East; the Eastern world; or simply the East. Southeast Asia and the Russian Far East might now be included in the Far East to some extent. Concerning the term, John K. Fairbank and Edwin O. Reischauer, professors of East Asian Studies at Harvard University, wrote (in East Asia: The Great Tradition): "When Europeans traveled far to the east to reach Cathay, Japan and the Indies, they naturally gave those distant regions the general name 'Far East.' Americans who reached China, Japan and Southeast Asia by sail and steam across the Pacific could, with equal logic, have called that area the 'Far West.' For the people who live in that part of the world, however, it is neither 'East' nor 'West' and certainly not 'Far.' A more generally acceptable term for the area is 'East Asia,' which is

geographically more precise and does not imply the outdated notion that Europe is the center of the civilized world."[4] Today, the term remains in the names of some longstanding institutions, including the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Far Eastern University in Manila, and the Far East University in South Korea. Furthermore, the United Kingdom and United States have historically used Far East for several military units and commands in the region: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia

Area 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi) Population 610,000,000 Density 118.6 /km2 (307 /sq mi) Countries 11[show] Territories 4+2[show] GDP (2011) $2.158 trillion (exchange rate) GDP per capita $3,538 (exchange rate) (2011) Languages [show] UTC+5:30 (Andaman and Nicobar Time Zones Islands) to UTC+9:00 (Indonesia) Capital cities [show] Largest cities [show] Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia.[citation needed] The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions: Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprises Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia, and Maritime Southeast Asia, comprises Brunei, East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, Philippines, Christmas Island, and Singapore.[1][dead link] Austronesian peoples predominate in this region. The major religions are Islam and Buddhism, followed by Christianity. However, a wide variety of religions are found throughout the region, including many Hindu and animist-influenced practices.[2]

Political
Definitions of "Southeast Asia" vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries and territories listed below. All of the countries excluding East Timor are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are considered part of Southeast Asia though they are governed by Australia. Sovereignty issues exist over some islands in the South China Sea. Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer.[3][4]

Countries
Country Brunei Area (km2)[5] 5,765 Population(2011)[6] 425,890 62,417,000 15,103,000 1,093,000 241,030,522 6,556,000 28,731,000 95,856,000 5,274,700 64,076,000 89,316,000 GDP Density GDP (nominal), (nominal) per HDI (/km2) USD (2011)[7] capita, USD (2011)[8] 74 92 84 74 127 28 87 320 7,285 125 270 15,533,000,000 $36,584 51,925,000,000 $832 12,861,000,000 $852 4,315,000,000 $3,949 0.838 Capital

Burma 676,578 Cambodi 181,035

Bandar Seri Begawan 0.483 Naypyidaw 0.523 Phnom Penh 0.495 Dili 0.617 Jakarta 0.524 Vientiane 0.761 Kuala Lumpur 0.644 Manila 0.866 Singapore 0.682 Bangkok 0.593 Hanoi

East 14,874 Timor Indonesi 1,904,569 a 236,800 Laos Malaysia 329,847 Philippin 300,000 es Singapor 724 e Thailand 513,120 Vietnam 331,210

845,680,000,000 $3,509 7,891,000,000 $1,204 278,680,000,000 $10,466 213,129,000,000 $2,223 259,849,000,000 $49,271 345,649,000,000 $5,394 122,722,000,000 $1,374

Geographical

Orographic map of Southeast Asian nations.

Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia (or Indochina) and Maritime Southeast Asia (or the similarly defined Malay Archipelago) (Indonesian: Nusantara). Mainland Southeast Asia includes:

Cambodia Laos Burma (Myanmar) Thailand Vietnam Peninsular Malaysia

Maritime Southeast Asia includes:

East Malaysia Brunei Indonesia The Philippines Singapore[citation needed] East Timor

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia and sometimes considered both South Asian and Southeast Asian. The Seven Sister States of India are also geographically part of Southeast Asia.[citation needed] The rest of New Guinea is sometimes included so are Palau, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, which were all part of the Spanish East Indies.[citation needed] The eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor (east of Wallace Line) are considered to be ecologically part of Oceania while the Indonesian part of New Guinea is both ecologically and geographically part of Oceania.[citation
needed]

History
Main article: History of Southeast Asia

Pre-indianization

A golden vestment similar to those worn by the Hindu Brahmin Caste, found in Butuan (Philippines) Archeological Digs. This artifact shows the influence of Indian culture in Southeast Asia, also through trade. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, having moved eastward from the Indian subcontinent.[13] Homo floresiensis seems to have shared some islands with modern humans until only 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct.[14] One theory, which has received much criticism in recent years is that Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor, and the Philippines, migrated to Southeast Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE, and as they spread through the archipelago, confined the native Melanesian peoples to the far eastern regions.[15] Contrary to the above, studies presented by HUGO (Human Genome Organization) through genetic studies of the Asian races, scientifically points out to a single Asian migration from Southeast Asia travelling northwards slowly populating Southern parts of East Asia and then East Asia itself instead of the other way around.[16] Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao (Nusantara) maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BCE to 1 CE.[17] The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years, some reaching the island of Madagascar. Their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellan's voyage records how much more maneuvreable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships.[18] Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonization of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome, while a slave from the Sulu Sea was believed to have been used in Magellan's voyage as a translator. Originally most people were animist. This was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525. In 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali. In Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture.

Indianized kingdoms
Main article: Greater India

Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia Very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the main religions in Southeast Asia.

The Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra existed around 200 BCE. The history of the Malayspeaking world begins with the advent of Indian influence, which dates back to at least the 3rd century BCE. Indian traders came to the archipelago both for its abundant forest and maritime products and to trade with merchants from China, who also discovered the Malay world at an early date. Both Hinduism and Buddhism were well established in the Malay Peninsula by the beginning of the 1st century CE, and from there spread across the archipelago. Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Funan kingdom. Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions. Cambodia is the home to one of the only two temples dedicated to Brahma in the world.[citation needed] Angkor Wat is also a famous Hindu temple of Cambodia. The Champa civilization was located in what is today central Vietnam, and was a highly indianized Hindu Kingdom. The Vietnamese committed genocide against the Cham people during the 1471 Vietnamese invasion of Champa, ransacking and burning Champa, slaughtering thousands of Cham people, and forcibly assimilating them into Vietnamese culture.[19] The Majapahit Empire was an Indianized kingdom based in eastern Java from 1293 to around 1500. Its greatest ruler was Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked the empire's peak when it dominated other kingdoms in the southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali. Various sources such as the Nagarakertagama also mention that its influence spanned over parts of Sulawesi, Maluku, and some areas of western New Guinea and the Philippines, making it the largest empire to ever exist in Southeast Asian history. The Cholas excelled in maritime activity in both military and the mercantile fields. Their raids of Kedah and the Srivijaya, and their continued commercial contacts with the Chinese Empire, enabled them to influence the local cultures. Many of the surviving examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia are the result of the Chola expeditions.[20]

Spread of Islam
Main articles: Spread of Islam in Southeast Asia and Islam in Southeast Asia

Children studying Koran in Java during colonial period. In the 11th century, a turbulent period occurred in the history of Maritime Southeast Asia, the Indian Chola navy crossed the ocean and attacked the Srivijaya kingdom of Sangrama Vijayatungavarman in Kadaram (Kedah), the capital of the powerful maritime kingdom was sacked and the king was taken captive. Along with Kadaram, Pannai in present day Sumatra and Malaiyur and the Malayan peninsula were attacked too. Soon after that, the king of Kedah Phra Ong Mahawangsa became the first ruler to abandon the traditional Hindu faith, and converted to Islam with the Sultanate of Kedah established in year 1136. Samudera Pasai converted to Islam in the year 1267, the King of Malacca Parameswara married with princess of Pasai, the son became the first sultan of Malacca, soon Malacca became the center of Islam study and maritime trade, other rulers followed suit. Indonesian religious leader and Islamic scholar Hamka (19081981) wrote in 1961: "The development of Islam in Indonesia and Malaya is intimately related to a Chinese Muslim, Admiral Zheng He."[21]

There are several theories to the Islamization process in Southeast Asia. The first theory is trade. The expansion of trade among West Asia, India and Southeast Asia helped the spread of the religion as Muslim traders brought Islam to the region. The second theory is the role of missionaries or Sufis.[citation needed] The Sufi missionaries played a significant role in spreading the faith by syncretising Islamic ideas with existing local beliefs and religious notions. Finally, the ruling classes embraced Islam and that further aided the permeation of the religion throughout the region. The ruler of the region's most important port, Malacca Sultanate, embraced Islam in the 15th century, heralding a period of accelerated conversion of Islam throughout the region as the religion provided a unifying force among the ruling and trading classes.[citation needed]

Trade and colonization

China
See also: List of tributaries of Imperial China and Imperialism in Asia Chinese merchants have traded with the region for a long time as evidence of Magellan's voyage records that Brunei possessed more cannon than the European ships so it appears that the Chinese fortified them.[18] Malaysian legend has it that a Chinese Ming emperor sent a princess, Hang Li Po, to Malacca, with a retinue of 500, to marry Sultan Mansur Shah after the emperor was impressed by the wisdom of the sultan. Han Li Po's well (constructed 1459) is now a tourist attraction there, as is Bukit Cina, where her retinue settled. The strategic value of the Strait of Malacca, which was controlled by Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th and early 16th century, did not go unnoticed by Portuguese writer Duarte Barbosa, who in 1500 wrote "He who is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice".

Europe

Strait of Malacca, (narrows). Western influence started to enter in the 16th century, with the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish in Maluku and the Philippines. Later the Dutch established the Dutch East Indies; the French Indochina; and the British Strait Settlements. Later, all Southeast Asian countries were colonized except for Thailand. European explorers were reaching Southeast Asia from the west and from the east. Regular trade between the ships sailing east from the Indian Ocean and south from mainland Asia provided goods in return for natural products, such as honey and hornbill beaks from the islands of the archipelago. Europeans brought Christianity allowing Christian missionaries to become widespread. Thailand also allowed Western scientists to enter its country to develop its own education system as well as start sending Royal members and Thai scholars to get higher education from Europe and Russia.

Japan
See also: Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Slavery in Japan, Japanese occupation of Indonesia, and Japanese war crimes During World War II, the Imperial Japan invaded most of the former western colonies. The Shwa occupation regime committed violent actions against civilians such as the Manila massacre and the implementation of a system of forced labor, such as the one involving 4 to 10 million romusha in Indonesia.[22] A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour during the Japanese occupation.[23]

Present
See also: Japanese foreign policy on Southeast Asia Most countries in the region enjoy national autonomy. Democratic forms of government and the recognition of human rights are taking root. ASEAN provides a framework for the integration of commerce. Conflicting claims over the Spratly Islands are made by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Geography
See also: Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), List of Southeast Asian mountains, and Zomia (geography)

Mayon Volcano in the Philippines Geologically, the Malay archipelago is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. Geological uplifts in the region have also produced some impressive mountains, culminating in Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia at 5,030 metres (16,024 ft), on the island of New Guinea, it is the only place where ice glacier can be found in Southeast Asia. While the second tallest peak is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo with a height of 4,095 meters (13,435 ft). The highest mountain in the Southeast Asia is Hkakabo Razi at 5,967 meters and can be found in northern Burma sharing the same range of its parent peak, Mount Everest. The largest archipelago in the world by size is Indonesia (according to the CIA World Factbook). Mayon Volcano despite being dangerously active, holds the record of the world's most perfect cone which built from past and continuous eruption.[24]

Boundaries
See also: Austronesia

Southeast Asia is bounded to the southeast by the Australian continent, a boundary which runs through Indonesia. But a cultural touch point lies between Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian region of Papua and West Papua, which shares the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea.

Climate
The climate in Southeast Asia is mainly tropicalhot and humid all year round with plentiful rainfall (Northern Vietnam is the only major region in Southeast Asia that features a subtropical climate, which has cold winter). Southeast Asia has a wet and dry season caused by seasonal shift in winds or monsoon. The tropical rain belt causes additional rainfall during the monsoon season. The rain forest is the second largest on earth (with the Amazon being the largest). An exception to this type of climate and vegetation is the mountain areas in the northern region, where high altitudes lead to milder temperatures and drier landscape. Other parts fall out of this climate because they are desert like.

Environment
See also: Southeast Asian coral reefs and Wallace line

Komodo Dragons in Komodo National Park All of Southeast Asia falls within the warm, humid tropics, and its climate generally can be characterized as monsoonal. The animals of Southeast Asia are diverse; on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the Orangutan (man of the forest), the Asian Elephant, the Malayan tapir, the Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Bornean Clouded Leopard can be also found. Six subspecies of the Binturong or bearcat exist in the region, though the one endemic to the island of Palawan is now classed as vulnerable. Tigers of three different subspecies are found on the island of Sumatra (the Sumatran tiger), in peninsular Malaysia (the Malayan tiger), and in Indochina (the Indochinese tiger); all of which are endangered. The Komodo Dragon is the largest living species of lizard and inhabits the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in Indonesia.

The Philippine Eagle The Philippine Eagle is the national bird of the Philippines. It is considered by scientists as the largest Eagle in the world[25], and is endemic to the Philippines' forests. The Wild Asian Water Buffalo, and on various islands related dwarf species of Bubalus such as Anoa were once widespread in Southeast Asia, nowadays the Domestic Asian Water buffalo is common across the region, but its remaining relatives are rare and endangered. The mouse deer, a small tusked deer as large as a toy dog or cat, can be found on Sumatra, Borneo and Palawan Islands (Philippines). The gaur, a gigantic wild ox larger than even wild Water buffalo, is found mainly in Indochina. Birds such as the peafowl and drongo live in this subregion as far east as Indonesia. The babirusa, a four-tusked pig, can be found in Indonesia as well. The hornbill was prized for its beak and used in trade with China. The horn of the rhinoceros, not part of its skull, was prized in China as well.

Wallace's hypothetical line between Australasian and Southeast Asian fauna. The Malay Archipelago is split by the Wallace Line. This line runs along what is now known to be a tectonic plate boundary, and separates Asian (Western) species from Australasian (Eastern) species. The islands between Java/Borneo and Papua form a mixed zone, where both types occur, known as Wallacea. As the pace of development accelerates and populations continue to expand in Southeast Asia, concern has increased regarding the impact of human activity on the region's environment. A significant portion of Southeast Asia, however, has not changed greatly and remains an unaltered home to wildlife. The nations of the region, with only few exceptions, have become aware of the need to maintain forest cover not only to prevent soil erosion but to preserve the diversity of flora and fauna. Indonesia, for example, has created an extensive system of national parks and preserves for this purpose. Even so, such species as the Javan rhinoceros face extinction, with only a handful of the animals remaining in western Java.

The shallow waters of the Southeast Asian coral reefs have the highest levels of biodiversity for the world's marine ecosystems, where coral, fish and molluscs abound. According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world. The whale shark, the world's largest species of fish and 6 species of sea turtles can also be found in the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean territories of the Philippines. The trees and other plants of the region are tropical; in some countries where the mountains are tall enough, temperate-climate vegetation can be found. These rainforest areas are currently being logged-over, especially in Borneo. While Southeast Asia is rich in flora and fauna, Southeast Asia is facing severe deforestation which causes habitat loss for various endangered species such as orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in the 21st century.[26] At the same time, haze has been a regular occurrence. The two worst regional hazes were in 1997 and 2006 in which multiple countries were covered with thick haze, mostly caused by "slash and burn" activities in Indonesia. In reaction, several countries in Southeast Asia signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in order to combat haze pollution.

Economy

The Keppel Container Terminal in the Port of Singapore. The Port of Singapore is the busiest transshipment and container port in the world, and is an important transportation and shipping hub in Southeast Asia. Even prior to the penetration of European interests, Southeast Asia was a critical part of the world trading system. The Ryukyu Kingdom often participated in maritime trade in Southeast Asia. A wide range of commodities originated in the region, but especially important were such spices as pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The spice trade initially was developed by Indian and Arab merchants, but it also brought Europeans to the region. First Spaniards (Manila galleon) and Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British and French became involved in this enterprise in various countries. The penetration of European commercial interests gradually evolved into annexation of territories, as traders lobbied for an extension of control to protect and expand their activities. As a result, the Dutch moved into Indonesia, the British into Malaya, the French into Indochina, and the Spanish and the U.S. into the Philippines. While the region's economy greatly depends on agriculture, manufacturing and services are becoming more important. An emerging market, Indonesia is the largest economy in this region. Newly industrialized countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, while Singapore and Brunei are affluent developed economies. The rest of Southeast Asia is still heavily dependent on agriculture, but Vietnam is notably making steady progress in developing its industrial sectors. The region notably manufactures textiles, electronic high-

tech goods such as microprocessors and heavy industrial products such as automobiles. Reserves of oil are also present in the region. Seventeen telecommunications companies have contracted to build a new submarine cable to connect Southeast Asia to the U.S.[27] This is to avoid disruption of the kind recently caused by the cutting of the undersea cable from Taiwan to the U.S. in a recent earthquake. Tourism has been a key factor in economic development for many Southeast Asian countries, especially Cambodia. According to UNESCO, tourism, if correctly conceived, can be a tremendous development tool and an effective means of preserving the cultural diversity of our planet.[28] Since the early 1990s, even the nonASEAN nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Burma, where the income derived from tourism is low, are attempting to expand their own tourism industries.[29] In 1995, Singapore was the regional leader in tourism receipts relative to GDP at over 8%. By 1998, those receipts had dropped to less than 6% of GDP while Thailand and Lao PDR increased receipts to over 7%. Since 2000, Cambodia has surpassed all other ASEAN countries and generated almost 15% of its GDP from tourism in 2006.[30] Indonesia is the only member of G-20 major economies and considered to be the largest economy in the region. [31] Indonesia's estimated gross domestic product (nominal) for 2008 was US$511.7 billion with estimated nominal per capita GDP was US$2,246, and per capita GDP PPP was US$3,979 (international dollars).[32] Stock markets in Southeast Asia have performed better than other bourses in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010, with the Philippines' PSE leading the way with 22 percent growth, followed by Thailand's SET with 21 percent and Indonesia's JKSE with 19 percent.[33][34]

Demographics

Pie chart showing the distribution of population among the nations of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia has an area of approximately 4,000,000 km2 (1.6 million square miles). As of 2007, more than 593 million people lived in the region, more than a fifth of them (125 million) on the Indonesian island of Java, the most densely populated large island in the world. Indonesia is the most populous country with 230 million people and also 4th most populous country in the world. The distribution of the religions and people is diverse in Southeast Asia and varies by country. Some 30 million overseas Chinese, not including the heritage, also live in Southeast Asia, most prominently in Christmas Island, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and also, as the Hoa, in Vietnam.

Ethnic groups
Main article: Ethnic groups of Southeast Asia

According to a recent Stanford genetic study, the Southeast Asian population is far from being homogeneous. Although primarily descendants of Austronesian, Tai, and MonKhmer-speaking immigrants who migrated from Southern China during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, there are overlays of Arab, Chinese, Indian, Polynesian and Melanesian genes. There are large pockets of intermarriage between indigenous Southeast Asians and those of Chinese descent. They form a substantial part of everyday life in countries such as Vietnam (southern part), Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Indonesia and Malaysia also has mixed Southeast Asian-Chinese populations.

Ati woman the Negritos were the earliest inhabitants of Southeast Asia Remnants of the Mon group are found in parts of Burma and Thailand; the ethnic mixture there has been produced by overlaying Tibeto-Burman and Tai, Lao, and Shan peoples. The contemporary Vietnamese population originated from the Red River area in North Vietnam and from the South Eastern provinces of Southern China and may have intermixed with Tai and Malay peoples.[citation needed] Added to these major ethnic groups are such less numerous peoples as the Karens, Chins, and Nagas in Burma, who have affinities with other Asiatic peoples. Insular Southeast Asia contains a mixture of descendants of Proto-Malay (Nesiot) and Pareoean peoples who were influenced by Malayo-Polynesian and other groups. In addition, Arabic, Indian, and Chinese influences have affected the ethnic pattern of the islands. In modern times, the Javanese are the largest ethnic group in Southeast Asia, with more than 86 million people, mostly concentrated in Java, Indonesia. In Burma, the Burmese account for more than two-thirds of the ethnic stock in this country, while ethnic Thais and Vietnamese account for about four-fifths of the respective populations of those countries. Indonesia is clearly dominated by the Javanese and Sundanese ethnic groups, while Malaysia is more evenly split between the Malays and the Chinese. Within the Philippines, the Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, and Hiligaynon groups are significant.

Religions
See also: Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Hinduism in Southeast Asia, Islam in Southeast Asia, Muslim Southeast Asia, and Christianity in Asia

Thai Theravada Buddhists in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Southeast Asia, numbering approximately 240 million adherents which translate to about 40% of the entire population, with majorities in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Countries in Southeast Asia practice many different religions. Buddhism is predominant in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Singapore. Ancestor worship and Confucianism are also widely practiced in Vietnam and Singapore. Christianity is predominant in the Philippines, eastern Indonesia, East Malaysia and East Timor. The Philippines has the largest Roman Catholic population in Asia. East Timor is also predominantly Roman Catholic due to a history of Portuguese rule. The religious composition for each country is as follows. Some values are taken from the CIA World Factbook:
[35]

Religions and peoples are diverse in Southeast Asia and not one country is homogeneous. In the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, Hinduism is dominant on islands such as Bali. Christianity also predominates in Philippines, New Guinea and Timor. Pockets of Hindu population can also be found around Southeast Asia in Singapore, Malaysia etc. Garuda (Sanskrit: Garua), the phoenix who is the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, is a national symbol in both Thailand and Indonesia; in the Philippines, gold images of Garuda have been found on Palawan; gold images of other Hindu gods and goddesses have also been found on Mindanao. Balinese Hinduism is somewhat different from Hinduism practiced elsewhere, as Animism and local culture is incorporated into it. Christians can also be found throughout Southeast Asia; they are in the majority in East Timor and the Philippines, Asia's largest Christian nation. In addition, there are also older tribal religious practices in remote areas of Sarawak in East Malaysia and Papua in eastern Indonesia. In Burma, Sakka (Indra) is revered as a nat. In Vietnam, Mahayana Buddhism is practiced, which is influenced by native animism but with strong emphasis on Ancestor Worship.

Culture
See also: Southeast Asian cinema, Southeast Asian Games, and Southeast Asian music

The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines The culture in Southeast Asia is very diverse, on mainland Southeast Asia, the culture is a real mix of Indian and Chinese, in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, the culture is a mix of Arab, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Indian and the indigenous Malay culture. Also Brunei shows a strong influence from Arabia. Rice paddy agriculture has existed in Southeast Asia for thousands of years, ranging across the subregion. Some dramatic examples of these rice paddies populate the Banaue Rice Terraces in the mountains of Luzon in the Philippines. Maintenance of these paddies is very labor-intensive. The rice paddies are well-suited to the monsoon climate of the region. Stilt houses can be found all over Southeast Asia, from Thailand and Laos, to Borneo, to Luzon in the Philippines, to Papua New Guinea. The region has diverse metalworking, especially in Indonesia. This include weaponry, such as the distinctive kris, and musical instruments, such as the gamelan.

Influences
The region's chief cultural influences have been from either China or India or both, with Vietnam considered by far the most Chinese-influenced. Western cultural influence is most pronounced in the Philippines, derived particularly from the period of Spanish and American rule. Due to long periods of Chinese influence on the Vietnamese civilisation, Vietnam is considered to be a part of the East Asian Cultural Sphere.The Vietnamese practice many East Asian philosophies and religions such as Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism which all originated in China. Just like other East Asian civilizations the Vietnamese used chopsticks as their traditional eating utensils. Vietnamese cuisine was influenced a lot by Chinese and French cuisine As a rule, the peoples who ate with their fingers were more likely influenced by the culture of India, for example, than the culture of China, where the peoples first ate with chopsticks; tea, as a beverage, can be found across the region. The fish sauces distinctive to the region tend to vary.

The arts

"Buffalo boy plays a flute", ng H painting, Vietnam.

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia (Paris, France 2010). The arts of Southeast Asia have no affinity with the arts of other areas. Dance in much of Southeast Asia also includes movement of the hands, as well as the feet to express the emotion and meaning of dance upon the story that the ballerina going to tell the audience. Most of Southeast Asian confirmed the Dance into their court, according to Cambodian royal ballet represent them in earlier of 7th century before Khmer Empire which highly influenced by Indian Hinduism. Apsara Dance, famous for strongly hand and feet movement, is a great example of Hindism symbol dance. Puppetry and shadow plays were also a favoured form of entertainment in past

centuries as the famous one known as Wayang from Indonesia. The arts and literature in some of Southeast Asia is quite influenced by Hinduism brought to them centuries ago. The Tai, coming late into Southeast Asia, brought with them some Chinese artistic traditions, but they soon shed them in favour of the Khmer and Mon traditions, and the only indications of their earlier contact with Chinese arts were in the style of their temples, especially the tapering roof, and in their lacquerware. In Indonesia, despite conversion to Islam opposed to certain forms of art, has retained many forms of Hindu influenced practices, cultures, arts and literatures. An example will be the *Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) and literatures like the Ramayana. This is also true for mainland Southeast Asia (excluding Vietnam). Dance movements, Hindu gods, arts were also fused into Thai, Khmer, Lao and Burmese cultures. It has been pointed out that Khmer and Indonesian classical arts were concerned with depicting the life of the gods, but to the Southeast Asian mind the life of the gods was the life of the peoples themselvesjoyous, earthy, yet divine.

Music

A Thai boy plays the khim, a traditional Thai instrument similar to the yangqin from China.*Khim audio Traditional music in Southeast Asia is as varied as its many ethnic and cultural divisions. Main styles of traditional music can be seen: Court music, folk music, music styles of smaller ethnic groups, and music influenced by genres outside the geographic region. Of the court and folk genres, Gong-chime ensembles and orchestras make up the majority (the exception being lowland areas of Vietnam). Gamelan orchestras from Indonesia, Piphat /Pinpeat ensembles of Thailand and Cambodia and the Kulintang ensembles of the southern Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi and Timor are the three main distinct styles of musical genres that have influenced other traditional musical styles in the region. String instruments also are popular in the region.

Writing
Main articles: Baybayin, Jawi script, S.E.A. Write Award, and Thai alphabet

Balinese writing on palm leaf. Artifacts can be seen in the Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois. The history of Southeast Asia has led to a wealth of different authors, from both within and without writing about the region. Originally, Indians were the ones who taught the native inhabitants about writing. This is shown through Brahmic forms of writing present in the region such as the Balinese script shown on split palm leaf called lontar (see image to the left magnify the image to see the writing on the flat side, and the decoration on the reverse side). The antiquity of this form of writing extends before the invention of paper around the year 100 in China. Note each palm leaf section was only several lines, written longitudinally across the leaf, and bound by twine to the other sections. The outer portion was decorated. The alphabets of Southeast Asia tended to be abugidas, until the arrival of the Europeans, who used words that also ended in consonants, not just vowels. Other forms of official documents, which did not use paper, included Javanese copperplate scrolls. This material would have been more durable than paper in the tropical climate of Southeast Asia. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ North Asia or Northern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the Asian portion of Russia. The Phillips Illustrated Atlas of the World 1988 defines it as being most of the former USSR, the part that is to the east of the Ural Mountains.[1] A definition pre-dating the USSR is an 1882 one by Keane and Temple, who defined it as "the two great administrative divisions of West and East Siberia, whose capitals are Omsk and Irkutsk respectively". It was, according to them "one vast political system, comprising nearly one-third of the whole continent, and, with a few trifling exceptions, directly administered by Russia".[2]

Geography

Gulf of Ob Novaya Zemlya Kara Sea Yenisei Ob

Taymyr Peninsula Severnaya Zemlya Arctic Ocean Central Siberian Plateau Siberian Federal District

Lena Sakha Republic Laptev Sea New Siberian Islands Kolyma Verkhoyansk Range

Urals Federal District Kazakhstan Stanovoy Range Ob Irtysh Lake Baikal Manchuria Korea Altai Mongolia Tian Shan Gobi Sakhalin Amur Syr Darya North China Plain Taklamakan Yangtze Plain Sea of Okhotsk Japan Himalayas Plateau Pamir Pacific Ocean Hindukush Tibetan Physical map of Northern Asia.

There are no mountain chains in Northern Asia to prevent air currents from the Arctic flowing down over the plains of Siberia and Turkestan.[3] The plateau and plains of Northern Asia comprise the West Siberian lowlands; the Angara Shield, with the Taimyr Peninsula, the coastal lowlands, the Putorana Plateau, the Anabar Plateau, the Tunguska Plateau, and the Angara Plateau; and the Lena-Vilyuy Basin. [7]

Geomorphology
See also: Geology of Asia The geomorphology of Asia in general is imperfectly known, although the deposits and mountain ranges are well known.[7] To compensate for new sea floor having been created in the Siberian basin, the whole of the Asian Plate has pivoted about a point in the New Siberian Islands, causing compression in the Verkhoyansk mountains, which were formed along the eastern margin of the Angara Shield by tectonic uplift during the Mesozoic Era. There is a southern boundary to this across the northern margin of the Alpine folds of Iran, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, which at the east of Brahmaputra turns to run south towards the Bay of Bengal along the line of the Naga hills and the Arakan Yoma, continues around Indonesia, and follows the edge of the continental shelf along the eastern seaboard of China. The Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate meet across the neck of Alaska, following the line of the Aleutian Trench, rather than meeting at the Bering Straits.[7] Northern Asia is built around the Angara Shield, which lies between the Yenisey River and the Lena River. It developed from fragments of Laurasia, whose rocks were mainly pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks, gneisses, and schists, and Gondwana. These rocks can be found in the Angara Shield, the Inner Mongolian-Korean Shield, the Ordes Shield and the South-East Asia Shield. The fragments have been subject to orogenesis around their margins, giving a complex of plateaux and mountain ranges. One can find outcrops of these rocks in unfolded sections of the Shields. Their presence has been confirmed below Mesozoic and later sediments.[7] There are three main periods of mountain building in Northern Asia, although it has occurred many times. The outer fold mountains, that are on the margins of the Shields and that only affected Asia north of the line of the

Himalayas, are attributed to the Caledonian and Hercynian orogenies of the late Palaeozoic Era. The Alpine origeny caused extensive folding and faulting of Mesozoic and early Tertiary sediments from the Tethys geosyncline. The Tibetan and Mongolian plateaux, and the structural basins of Tarim, Qaidam, and Junggar, are delimited by major east-west lithospheric faults that were probably the results of stresses caused by the impact of the Indian Plate against Laurasia. Erosion of the mountains caused by this orogeny has created a large amount of sediment, which has been transported southwards to produce the alluvial plains of India, China, and Cambodia, and which has also been deposited in large amounts in the Tarim and Dzungarian basins.[7] Northern Asia was glaciated in the Pleistocene, but this played a less significant part in the geology of the area compared to the part that it played in North America and Europe. The Scandinavian ice sheet extended to the east of the Urals, covering the northern two thirds of the Ob Basin and extending onto the Angara Shield between the Yenesei River and the Lena River. There are legacies of mountain glaciation to be found on the east Siberian mountains, on the mountains of the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the Altai, on Tien Shan, and on other small areas of mountains, ice caps remain on the islands of Severnaya Zemlya and Novaya Zemlya, and several Central Asian mountains still have individual glaciers. Siberia itself has permafrost, ranging in depths from 30m to 600 m and covering an area of 9.6 million km.[7] Several of the mountainous regions are volcanic, with both the Koryat mountains and the Kamchatka Peninsula having active volcanoes. The Anadyr plateau is formed from igneous rocks. The Mongolian plateau has an area of basaltic lavas and volcanic cones.[7] The Angara Shield also underlies the lowlands of the Ob River, but to the south and east in the Central Asian mountains and in the East Siberian mountains there are folded and faulted mountains of Lower Palaeozoic rocks.[7] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ South Asia or Southern Asia is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the subHimalayan countries and, for some authorities, also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land (clockwise, from west) by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Different sources vary in their statements of which nations are part of the region. For example, according to the United Nations geographical region classification,[2] Southern Asia comprises the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. However, the United Nations notes that the "assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories."[3] By some definitions, some of those nations are not part of the region, and by some definitions, Iran, Burma and Tibet are also included in the region (see below). South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and most densely populated geographical region in the world.[4] The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organization in the region Although there is a distinct core of countries that were formerly part of the British Empire, there is much variation as to which (if any) other countries are included.[5] The current territories of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh form the core, but Sri Lanka and Burma are often added.[6] The Aden Colony, British Somaliland and Singapore, though administered at various times under the Raj have not been proposed as any part of South Asia.[7]

The Raj also encompassed the 562 protected princely states that were not directly ruled by the Raj,[8] some of which joined the Union of India while some joined the Dominion of Pakistan.[9][10] The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a contiguous block of countries, started in 1985 with seven countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but was extended to include Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2006.[11][12] The World Bank grouping includes only the original seven members of SAARC, and leaves Afghanistan out.[13] This bloc of countries include three independent countries that were not under the British rule - Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement endorsed by SAARC has been signed by the seven original members of the organization, though it has a special provision for the Maldives.[14] The United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN) includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of South Asia, while Maldives, in view of its characteristics, was admitted as a member country of the Pacific POPIN subregional network in principle. [15] The British Indian Ocean Territory is connected to the region by a publication of Jane's for security considerations.[16] The United Nations scheme of sub-regions include all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia, along with Iran,[17] while the Hirschmann-Herfindahl Index of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region includes only the original seven signatories of SAARC.[18] A lack of coherent definition for South Asia has resulted in not only a lack of academic studies, but also in a lack interest for such studies.[19] Identification with a South Asian identity was also found to be significantly low among respondents in a two-year survey across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[20] See also: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and South Asian Economic Union

Indian subcontinent
Main article: Indian subcontinent

The "Indian subcontinent" is a semantic term referring to the large, self-contained landmass which covers most of South Asia. By dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent,[21] or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision of a continent."[22] The terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are used interchangeably.[23][24][25][26][27] Due to political sensitivities, some prefer to use the terms "South Asian Subcontinent",[28][28][29] the "Indo-Pak Subcontinent",[30] "the Subcontinent", or simply "South Asia"[31] over the term "Indian subcontinent". According to historians

Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, Indian Subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance."[31] Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term "South Asia" is getting more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia;[32] some academics hold that the term "South Asia" is in more common use in Europe and North America, rather than the terms "Subcontinent" or the "Indian Subcontinent".[33][34] Like South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of Indian subcontinent varies. Physiographically, it is a peninsular region in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east,[35] and extending southward into the Indian Ocean. Geopolitically, it has historically formed the whole territory of Greater India, and now it generally comprises the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh;[36] prior to 1947, the three nations were historically combined and constituted British India. It almost always also includes Nepal, Bhutan, and the island country of Sri Lanka[37] and may also include Afghanistan and the island country of Maldives.[23][38][39] The region may also include the disputed territory of Aksai Chin, which was part of the British Indian princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, but is now administered as part of the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang.[40] A booklet published by the United States Department of State in 1959 includes Afghanistan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, Nepal, and Pakistan (including East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) as part of the "Subcontinent of South Asia".[41] When the term Indian subcontinent is used to mean South Asia, the islands countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives may sometimes not be included,[23] while Tibet and Nepal may be included[42] or excluded[43] intermittently, depending on the context.

Definition by South Asian Studies programs

See also: Indology When the Centre of South Asian Studies at the University of Cambridge established in 1964, it was primarily responsible for promoting within the University the study of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Himalayan Kingdoms (Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim[44]), and Burma (now officially Myanmar). But, over the years it has also extended its activities to include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong.[45] The Centers for South Asian Studies at both University of Michigan and University of Virginia include Tibet along with seven members of SAARC in their research programs, but leave the Maldives out.[46][47] The South Asian Studies Program of Rutgers University and the University of California, Berkeley Center for South Asia Studies do the same without leaving out the Maldives,[48][49] while the South Asian Studies Program of Brandeis University defines the region as comprising "India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and in certain contexts Afghanistan, Burma, Maldives and Tibet".[50] The similar program of Columbia University also includes Tibet, but leaves out both Afghanistan and the Maldives.[51]

Geography
See also: Geography of India, Geography of Pakistan, Geography of Bangladesh, Geography of Bhutan, Geography of Sri Lanka, Geography of Nepal, and Geography of the Maldives

United Nations geoscheme for Asia: North Asia Central Asia Western Asia South Asia East Asia Southeast Asia

Natural vegetation zones of South Asia, loosely based on a Grolier map[52] While South Asia had never been a coherent geopolitical region, it has a distinct geographical identity.[53] The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how the region is defined. South Asia's northern, eastern, and western boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean is the southern periphery. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers.[54][55] The Indian Plate includes most of South Asia, forming a land mass which extends from the Himalayas into a portion of the basin under the Indian Ocean, including parts of South China and Eastern Indonesia, as well as Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges,[56][57][58] and extending up to but not including Ladakh, Kohistan, the Hindu Kush range and Balochistan.[59][60][61] It may be noted that geophysically the Yarlung Tsangpo River river in Tibet is situated at the outside of the border of the Subcontinental structure, while the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan are situated inside that border.[62] Much of the region comprises a peninsula in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east,[63] and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast.[23][36] Per the UN, the wider subregion's northern frontier is the Himalayas and southerly post-Soviet states of Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, bordering northern Afghanistan and Iran), its western boundary is the westerly border of Iran (with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, and Iraq), and its eastern boundary is the westerly border of Burma (with India and Bangladesh).

Most of this region is a subcontinent resting on the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separated from the rest of the Eurasian Plate. It was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50-55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast). The region is home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only the altitude, but also by factors such as proximity to the sea coast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons. Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon period(s). The northern belt of IndoGangetic plains also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalyan ranges. As the Himalayas block the north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For most part, the climate of the region is called the Monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favors the cultivation of jute, tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region.

History
Further information: History of South Asia

Map of South Asia illustrating stability and historical permanency of the regional cultural frontiers and areas. The pre-history of South Asia culminates in the Indus Valley Civilization, which is followed by the legends of ancient Vedic period and the sketchy references to the rise and fall of Mahajanapadas - the precursors of regional kingdoms and later ancient empires. Proto-Indo-Europeans migrated from Eastern Europe and Central Asia 3,0008,000 years ago.[64][65] Almost all South Asian countries were under direct or indirect Muslim and European Colonial subjugation at some point. Much of modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma were gradually occupied by Great Britain - starting from 1757, reaching their zenith in 1857 and ruling till 1947. Nepal and Bhutan were to some extent

protectorates of Great Britain until after World War II. In the millennia long history of South Asia, this European occupation period is rather short, but its proximity to the present and its lasting impact on the region make it prominent. The network of means of transportation and communication as well as banking and training of requisite workforce, and also the existing rail, post, telegraph, and education facilities have evolved out of the base established in the colonial era, often called the British Raj. As an aftermath of World War II, most of the region gained independence from Europe by the late 1940s. Since 1947, most South Asian countries have achieved tremendous progress in all spheres.[citation needed] Most notable achievements are in the fields of education; industry; health care; information technology and other services based on its applications; research in the fields of cutting edge sciences and technologies; defence related self-reliance projects; international/global trade and business enterprises and outsourcing of human resources. Areas of difficulty remain, however, including religious extremism, high levels of corruption, disagreements on political boundaries, and inequitable distribution of wealth

Demographics
Total population of South Asia is about 1.70 billion.[74]

Ethnic groups
South Asia, which consists of the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries - including various Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups - and amalgamation of Dravidian, IndoAryan and native societies has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs. But, the traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged throughout earlier times, sometimes giving rise to strong local traditions such as the distinct South Indian culture. Other ethnic groups, successively streaming in later mainly from Central Asia and Iran, e.g. Sakas, Kushans, Huns etc. influenced pre-existing South Asian cultures. Among the last of these new arrivals were the Arabs followed by the Turks, the Pashtuns and the Moghuls. However, Arab influence remained relatively limited in comparison to that of the Turks, Pashtuns and Moghuls, who brought in much cultural influence and contributed to the birth of Urdu, a syncretic language of combined Indo-Persian heritage, which is widely spoken today. Ethnic Englishmen and other Britons are now practically absent after their two centuries long colonial presence, although they have left an imprint of western culture in the elite society.

Languages
See also: Languages of South Asia The largest spoken language in this region is now Hindustn, its speakers numbering almost 422 million;[75] the second largest spoken language is Bengali, with about 210 million speakers.[76] Urdu is also a major language spoken in the subcontinent, especially in Pakistan and India, and is similar linguistically to Hindi; Hindi and Urdu together make up Hindustn. Hindi is spoken in some states of India, and is similar linguistically to Urdu. Many people are not aware of the fact that most of the Indians speak local languages and are not familiar with Hindi. Other languages of this region fall into a few major linguistic groups: the Dravidian languages and the Indo-Aryan languages, a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages.

The other great sub-branch of Indo-Iranian, the Iranian languages, also have significant minority representation in South Asia, with Pashto and Balochi being widely spoken along the northwestern fringes of the region, in modern-day Pakistan. Many Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups, who are speakers of their language-group, are found in northeast India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Other small groups, speaking Austro-Asiatic languages, are also present in South Asia. English is another language which dominates South Asia, especially as a medium of advanced education and government administration. Most of South Asia writes using various abugidas of Brhm origin while languages such as Urdu, Pashto, and Sindhi use derivatives of the Perso-Arabic script. Not all languages in South Asia follow this strict dichotomy though. For example, Kashmiri is written in both the Perso-Arabic script and in the Devanagari script. The same can be said for Punjabi, which is written in both Shahmukhi and Gurmukh. Dhivehi is written in a script called Tna that shows characteristics of both the Arabic alphabet and of an abugida.

Religions
Further information: Religion in Bangladesh, Religion in Bhutan, Religion in India, Religion in Nepal, Religion in Pakistan, and Religion in Sri Lanka

Hindu priest saluting the sun in the Ganges, Varanasi, India

Jama Masjid, the main mosque in Delhi, India. About 64% of the South Asia population is Hindu, 33% is Muslim, 2% is Buddhist and 1% is Christians.[74] In South Asia Hinduism and Islam and in some of its countries Buddhism are the dominant religions. Other Indian religions and Christianity are practiced by significant number of people. Historically, fusion of Indo-Aryan Vedic religion with native South Asian non-Vedic Shramana traditions and other Dravidian and local tribal beliefs gave rise to the ancient religions of Hinduism and Jainism. As a consequence, these two religions share many similar cultural practices, festivals and traditions. Arabs brought the Abrahamic religion of Islam to South Asia, first in the present day Kerala, Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands and later in Sindh, Balochistan and much of Punjab. Subsequently, Muslim Turks/Pashtuns/Moghuls furthered it not only among the Punjabi and Kashmiri people but also throughout the Indo-Gangetic plains and farther east, and deep south up to the Deccan. Afghanistan[1] Islam (99%), Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity (1%)

Bangladesh[77] British Indian Ocean Territory[78] Bhutan[79] Burma[80] India[79][81] Maldives[82] Nepal[85] Pakistan[86] Sri Lanka[87]

Islam (89.5%), Hinduism (9.5%), Buddhism (0.7%), Christianity (0.3%) Christianity (45.55%), Hinduism (38.55%), Islam (9.25%), Others (6.65%) Buddhism (75%), Hinduism (25%) Theravada Buddhism (89%), Islam (4%), Christianity (Baptist and Roman Catholic) (4%), Animism (1%), Others (including Hinduism) (2%) Hinduism (80.5%), Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%), Jainism (0.4%), Others (0.6%) Sunni Islam (100%) (One must be a Sunni Muslim to be a citizen on the Maldives[83] [84] ) Hinduism (80.6%), Buddhism (10.7%), Islam (4.2%), Kirat (1.5%) Islam (96.28%), Hinduism (1.85%), Christianity (1.59%), Ahmaddiyya (0.22%) Theravada Buddhism (70.19%), Hinduism (12.61%), ), Islam (9.71%), Christianity ( 7.45%).

Genetics
See also: Y-DNA haplogroups in South Asian populations

Economy
Further information: Economy of Bangladesh, Economy of India, Economy of Nepal, Economy of Pakistan, and Economy of Sri Lanka South Asia is the poorest region on the earth after Sub-Saharan Africa. Three South Asian nations Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal are characterized as least developed country. Poverty is commonly spread within this region. According to the poverty data of World Bank, more than 40% of the population in the region lived on less than the International Poverty Line of $1.25 per day in 2005, compared to 50% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa.[88] Sri Lanka has the highest GDP per capita in the region, while Afghanistan has the lowest. India is the largest economy in the region (US$ 1.54 trillion) and makes up almost 82% of the South Asian economy; it is the world's 11th largest in nominal terms and 3rd largest by purchasing power adjusted exchange rates. Pakistan has the next largest economy and the 5th highest GDP per capita in the region,[89] followed by Bangladesh. According to a World Bank report in 2007, South Asia is the least integrated region in the world; trade between South Asian states is only 2% of the region's combined GDP, compared to 20% in East Asia. The Economist has blamed this on Indian neglect of its neighbors.[90]

Governance
India[91] and Pakistan[92][93] are the dominant political powers in the region. India is by far the largest country in the area covering around three-fourths the land area of the subcontinent.[94] It also has the largest population of around three times the combined population of the 6 other countries in the subcontinent.[95] India is also the most populous democracy in the world[96] and is a nuclear power. The second largest country in the subcontinent in terms of area and population is Pakistan and has traditionally maintained the balance of power in the region due to its strategic relationships with nearby Arab states[97] and neighboring China.[98] Pakistan is the 6th[99] most populous country in the world and is also a nuclear power.

Bangladesh is the third largest populous country in the region. The single largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations is Pakistan.[100] Diplomacy among the countries of South Asia has been mainly driven by populist politics, with the center stage taken by India-Pakistan conflict ever since their independence in 1947, and then the creation of Bangladesh under tense circumstances in 1971. While the elite rulers of Pakistan chose the USA led bloc during the cold war era, India formed the Non-Aligned Movement. The political situation in Sri Lanka has been dominated by an increasingly assertive Sinhalese nationalism, and the emergence of a Tamil separatist movement under LTTE, which was suppressed recently. Burma's politics is dominated by a military Junta, which has sidelined the democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Health and nutrition

There are 421 million MPI-poor people in eight Indian states alone - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal - while there are 410 million in the 26 poorest African countries combined.[101] Roughly 42 percent of all Indian children under age 5 suffer from malnutrition.
[102]

According to the World Bank, 70% of the South Asian population and about 75% of South Asia's poor live in rural areas and most rely on agriculture for their livelihood.[103] According to the Global Hunger Index, South Asia has one of the highest child malnutrition rates in the world.[104] In a latest report published by UNICEF in 2008 on global hunger shows that the actual number of child deaths was around 2.1 million.[105] As of 2008 India is ranked 66th on the global hunger index.[citation needed] The 2006 report stated that "the low status of women in South Asian countries and their lack of nutritional knowledge are important determinants of high prevalence of underweight children in the region". Corruption and the lack of initiative on the part of the government has been one of the major problems associated with nutrition in India. Illiteracy in villages has been found to be one of the major issues that need more government attention. The report mentioned that, although there has been a reduction in malnutrition due to the Green Revolution in South Asia, there is concern that South Asia has "inadequate feeding and caring practices for young children".[ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Western Asia
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Western Asia

Area Population Density Countries Nominal GDP GDP per capita Time zones Demonym Languages

6,255,160 km2 (2,415,131 sq mi) 1 313,428,000 1 50.1 /km2 (130 /sq mi) 19 to 21 (see text)[show] $2.742 trillion (2010) 2 $8748 (2010) 2 UTC+2 to UTC+5 West Asian Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Balochi Istanbul* Tehran Baghdad Riyadh Jerusalem
1

Largest cities

Notes

Area and population figures include the UN subregion, Iran, and Sinai. 2 GDP figures include the UN subregion and Iran. * Partly located in Europe.

Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which, however, also includes all of part of North Africa and describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within the continent. Due to this perceived Eurocentrism, international organizations such as the United Nations,[1] have replaced such terms as the Middle East and Near East with Western Asia. This region and Europe are collectively referred to as Western Eurasia.

History
See also: History of Western Asia and Ancient Western Asia The world's earliest civilizations developed in Western Asia. For most of the last three millennia, the region has been united under one or two powerful states; each one succeeding the last, and at times, eastern and western based polities. The main states in this regard were the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire, the Seleucid Empire, the Parthian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Sassanid Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Safavid Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Western Asia is the birthplace of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and other monotheistic religions.

Geography
See also: Geography of Asia

Western Asia is located directly south of Eastern Europe. The region is surrounded by seven major seas; the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. To the north, the region is delimited from Europe by the Caucasus Mountains, to the southwest, it is delimited from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez, while to the east, the region adjoins Central Asia and South Asia. The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran somewhat naturally delimit the region from Asia itself.

Climate

Cedar forest in winter, located in Lebanon Western Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid, and can be subject to drought, but it also contains vast expanses of forest and fertile valleys. The region consists of grasslands, rangelands, deserts, and mountains. Water shortages are a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water, while salinization and pollution threaten water supplies.[2] Major rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates, provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture. There are two wind phenomena in Western Asia: the sharqi and the shamal. The sharqi (or sharki) is a wind that comes from the south and southeast. It is seasonal, lasting from April to early June, and comes again between late September and November. The winds are dry and dusty, with occasional gusts up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) and often kick up violent sand and dust storms that can carry sand a few thousand meters high, and can close down airports for short periods of time. These winds can last for a full day at the beginning and end of the season, and for several days during the middle of the season. The shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year.[3]

Topography
Western Asia contains large areas of mountainous terrain. The Anatolian Plateau is sandwiched between the Pontus Mountains and Taurus Mountains in Turkey. Mount Ararat in Turkey rises to 5,137 meters. The Iranian plateau Alburz mountain range in northern Iran is stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea. Mount Damvand as the highest peak in West Asia with 5,610[4][5] meters, is located in the middle Alborz Range. The Zagros Mountains located in West Iran are in areas along its border with Iraq. The Central Plateau of Iran is divided into two drainage basins. The northern basin is Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert), and Dasht-e-Lut is the southern basin. In Yemen, elevations exceed 3,700 meters in many areas, and highland areas extend north along the Red Sea coast and north into Lebanon. A fault-zone also exists along the Red Sea, with continental rifting creating trough-like topography with areas located well-below sea level.[6] The Dead Sea, located on the border between

the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan, is situated at 418 m (1371 ft) below sea level, making it the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.[7] Rub' al Khali, one of the world's largest sand deserts, spans the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, parts of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Jebel al Akhdar is a small range of mountains located in northeastern Oman, bordering the Gulf of Oman.

Geology
Plate tectonics
Three major tectonic plates converge on Western Asia, including the African, Eurasian, and Arabian plates. The boundaries between the tectonic plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge, extending across North Africa, the Red Sea, and into Iran.[8] The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate (Turkey) at the East Anatolian Fault,[9] and the boundary between the Aegean and Anatolian plate in eastern Turkey is also seismically active.[8]

Water resources
Several major aquifers provide water to large portions of Western Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers of Palaeozoic and Triassic origins are located beneath the Jabal Tuwayq mountains and areas west to the Red Sea. [10] Cretaceous and Eocene-origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia and Biyadh which contain amounts of both fresh water and saline water.[10] Flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used for irrigation, covering nearly 90,000 km across Western Asia for agriculture.[11]

Demographics
The population of Western Asia is over 300 million. The most populous countries in the region are Iran and Turkey, each with around 75 million people, followed by Iraq with around 32 million people. The major languages are Arabic, which is an official language in 14 regional countries, followed by Turkish, and Persian. Islam is the major faith in Western Asia.

Economy
See also: Economy of Western Asia The economy of Western Asia is diverse and the region experiences high economic growth. Turkey has the largest economy in the region, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Petroleum is the major industry in the regional economy, as more than half of the world's oil reserves and around 40 percent of the world's natural gas reserves are located in the region ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific (abbreviated as Asia-Pac, Asia Pac, AsPac, Aspac, Apac, APAC, APNIC, APJ, JAPA or JAPAC) is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The region varies in size depending on context, but it typically includes at least much of East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The term may also include Russia (on the North Pacific) and countries in the Americas which are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Alternatively, the term sometimes comprises all of Asia and Australasia as well as small/medium/large Pacific island nations - for example when dividing the world into large regions for commercial purposes (e.g. into Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific). Even though imprecise, the term has become popular since the late 1980s in commerce, finance and politics[citation needed] though the economies within the region are heterogeneous, they are mostly emerging markets experiencing rapid growth. (Compare the concept/acronym APEJ or APeJ - Asia-Pacific excluding Japan.[1]) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

List of transcontinental countries

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Transcontinental country) Jump to: navigation, search

Map of where the transcontinental states are located states with a contiguous boundary states with a noncontiguous boundary states with a territory that is transcontinental This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent, known as transcontinental states.[dubious discuss] While there are many countries with non-contiguous overseas territories fitting this definition, only a limited number of countries have territory spanning an overland continental boundary:

Asian-European boundary: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey; African-Asian boundary: Egypt.

Listed further below, separately, are countries with distant non-contiguous parts (overseas territories) on separate continents.

Contiguous boundary
Africa and Asia

Asian part of Egypt The Rest of Asia African part of Egypt The Rest of Africa For more details about the geographical border between Africa and Asia, see Boundaries between continents. The land border between Asia and Africa is considered to go along the Isthmus of Suez and the Suez Canal in Egypt. The border continues through the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Egypt
Two of 27 governorates of Egypt lie entirely on the Asian Sinai Peninsula and two are transcontinental: Ismailia Governorate is nearly equally divided by the Suez Canal, and Suez Governorate, which is coterminous with the transcontinental city of Suez, has a small portion east of the Canal.

Asia and Europe

For more details about the geographical border between Europe and Asia, see Borders of the continents. See also: Geographic criteria for EU membership and Transcontinental states with territory in Europe

Transcontinental states, European territory Transcontinental states, Asian territory The modern definition of Europe (e.g. National Geographic Society) has the Europe-Asia boundary follow the watershed of the Ural Mountains to the source of the Ural River, then follows that river to the Caspian Sea. The border then follows the Greater Caucasus watershed from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. According to this mainstream definition, there are five states with territory across the continental boundary:

Russia: with most of its population situated in Europe, has significant territory in Central and Northern Asia (Siberia in the Russian Far East). About 75% of the Russian population lives in the European part. Turkey: mostly situated in Asia Minor, with some territory in Southeastern Europe (Turkish Thrace). About 88% of the Turkish population lives in the Asian part. Kazakhstan: mostly situated in Central Asia, with the western parts of two of its provinces west of the Ural River in Europe. About 96% of the Kazakh population lives in the Asian part. Azerbaijan: primarily situated in Transcaucasia, with five northeastern districts ("rayons") in European Ciscaucasia, north of the Greater Caucasus watershed. About 98% of the Azerbaijani population lives in Transcaucasia.

Georgia: primarily situated in Transcaucasia, with a small area just north of the Greater Caucasus watershed. More than 99% of the Georgian population lives in Transcaucasia.

A convention in Russian geography draws the continental boundary along the Manych River to the Caspian, excluding Georgia and Azerbaijan from transcontinental status. A historical convention used in the 19th century followed the lower Volga instead of the Ural river, which would also exclude Kazakhstan from being transcontinental.

Azerbaijan
The northeastern Azerbaijan district borders run mostly along the main Caucasus watershed. Five districts are entirely within Europe, and the transcontinental Khizi district is almost equally divided on the two sides of the watershed. Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe.

Georgia

Topography of Georgia The Terek and Sulak rivers both originate in Georgia and both empty into the Caspian Sea in Dagestan; their upper basins in Georgia are north of the Greater Caucasus watershed (the modern day Europe-Asia divide), including northern parts of the Tusheti and Khevsureti historical regions and Kazbegi District. A total of 2,650 square kilometers, or 4% of Georgia's territory, is north of the Caucasus Mountains and thus in Europe.

Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's provincial borders do not follow the Ural River, although some of its western district borders do so. Two of the provinces are transcontinental, Atyrau Province and West Kazakhstan Province. The capital of the former, Atyrau, is split by the mouth of the Ural and is a transcontinental city. Almost all of it is in Asia with a small portion in Europe. Two of Atyrau Province's districts are entirely in Europe, three of its districts are entirely in Asia, and its Inderskiy and Makhambetskiy districts are transcontinental.[1] Five of West Kazakhstan's districts and the province's capital city of Oral are entirely in Europe, five of its districts are entirely in Asia, and its Akzhaikskiy district is transcontinental.[2]

Russia
Russian regions' borders follow the continental divide (Ural Mountains and Ural River) more often than not. There is also the relatively small 2600 square kilometer Sochi area of Russia in Asia, bordering Georgia and located south of the main Caucasus watershed. Orenburg on the Ural River is a transcontinental city. More detail on the political divisions through which the intercontinental boundary runs can be found here. Russia is a member of the Council of Europe.

Turkey
Main article: Turkish Thrace

Three of Turkey's provinces are entirely in Europe while anakkale and Istanbul are transcontinental provinces. Three of anakkale's districts are entirely in Europe and its other nine districts are entirely in Asia. Nineteen of Istanbul's districts are entirely in Europe and its other twelve districts (forming Anatolia) are entirely in Asia.

North and South America

See Borders of the continents for more details about the geographical border between the two Americas.

Non-contiguous
Asia and Europe
For more details about the geographical border between Europe and Asia, see Borders of the continents. The territory of Greece includes a number of islands just off the coast of Asia Minor, such as Rhodes, Samos, Chios and Lesbos.

Europe and North America

Greenland: Greenland is a territory of Denmark, fully located on the North American tectonic plate and close to the mainland, and is considered to be geographically part of North America. Although it is politically associated with Europe and internationally represented by a European country (including in the Council of Europe), it is largely autonomous. Historically and ethnically, its native population is of American tradition, although it also shares cultural links with other native peoples bordering the Arctic Sea in Northern Europe and Asia (today in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia), as well as in North America (Alaska in the U.S., Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada). Greenland was part of the Danish territory and within the territory of the European Union, but voted for a larger autonomy and is now excluded from it. Iceland: Iceland is on the fracture line splitting the Northern Atlantic Ocean between the North American plate and the Eurasian plate. Geographically, it is much closer to North America than it is to Europe. Under a pure geological definition, Iceland would qualify as a transcontinental country ; however, ethnically, historically, and culturally, this country, well defined by the borders of its main island which was never split in separate cultural areas, is commonly considered to be European. Iceland is a full member of the Council of Europe (but still not in the European Union, to which it could qualify). The Netherlands are mostly in Europe. However, since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 2010-10-10, the country includes the three "special municipalities" of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (collectively known as the BES islands) in the Caribbean area. Portugal: Continental Portugal is in Europe, while the Azores archipelago (also associated with Europe) has two islands (Corvo and Flores) that are part of the American plate (which makes it a tricontinental country, see Africa and Europe section below).

Europe, North America, South America and Africa

France: Metropolitan France is in Europe, while the five Overseas Departments are in other continents. Guadeloupe & Martinique are in North America, French Guiana is in South America, and Mayotte and Runion are in Africa. These five French Overseas Departments are legally and administratively an integral part of France. There are other island possessions associated with North America, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica that are French overseas collectives or part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, but these are not integral parts of France.[dubious discuss]

Africa and Europe

See Borders of the continents for more details about the geographical border between Africa and Europe. Italy: Although mainland Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, the Aegadian Islands, Ustica, and the Aeolian Islands are associated with Europe, the closest land to Pantelleria and the Pelagie Islands (Lampedusa, Linosa and Lampione) is Tunisia on the African mainland. Nevertheless, Pantelleria and Linosa are considered part of Europe, Lampedusa and Lampione part of Africa. Malta: Malta has been geopolitically European in modern times, but may be considered geographically associated with Africa. More detail may be found here. Portugal: Continental Portugal is in Europe, while the archipelago of Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal (including Porto Santo Island, the Desertas Islands and the Savage Islands), is associated with Africa. If we consider that the Azores autonomous region of Portugal have two islands that are part of North America (see Europe and North America section above), Portugal is a tricontinental country. Spain: Although its mainland is in Europe, Spain has holdings (the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla on mainland North Africa and its Plazas de soberana close to those cities) that are geographically part of Africa. Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are three of the 17 Autonomous Communities that form Spain, while the Plazas de Soberana are under different military status. The African Mediterranean island of Isla de Alborn belongs to the transcontinental city of Almera and the transcontinental province of Almera.

Asia and Africa

Yemen: Although mainland Yemen is in the southern Arabian Peninsula and thus part of Asia, and its Hanish Islands and Perim in the Red Sea are associated with Asia, Yemen controls the archipelago of Socotra, which lies east of the horn of Somalia and is much closer to Africa than Asia. Socotra and the Hadramawt region constitute the transcontinental Hadramawt Governorate.

Asia and Oceania

Australia: The Commonwealth of Australia consists of its namesake continent and island possessions associated with Oceania, Asia, and Antarctica. Its Indian Ocean island possessions of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are associated with Asia. The majority of Australia's Asian island residents have Asian ancestry and are Muslim or Buddhist. Japan: All of Japan consists of Asian islands except for the remote Bonin Islands, which are a few islands located in the Pacific, and administratively part of the city of Tokyo and the subdivision of Ogasawara Village.[citation needed] Papua New Guinea: Anthropologically Papua New Guinea is a part of Melanesia and is sometimes included in the Malay Archipelago. It is an observer in ASEAN and has contemplated full membership.
[3]

Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Brunei and Singapore: The Malay Archipelago lies on the border of Oceania and Asia. Depending on the interpretation of the border, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia can be considered transcontinental countries and East Timor, Brunei and Singapore can be in either side.

North America, Oceania and Asia

United States: While the territory of the United States lies overwhelmingly in North America, it includes the state of Hawaii in Oceania, as well as other Oceanian island possessions and Alaskan islands on NE Asia's continental shelf.

North and South America

Aruba, Bonaire, Curaao and Trinidad and Tobago: The sea islands division of South America and North America is complicated. All Caribbean islands are often labeled as North American, but the Dutch dependencies of Aruba and Curaao, the Dutch special municipality of Bonaire lie on the continental shelf of South America, and can be considered South American as well. What complicates it even further is that The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago lie on two Continental shelves. The south half of Trinidad lies in South America and the north half of Trinidad, and Tobago, lie on the Caribbean plate. Note that all these islands have closer cultural ties with North America. Colombia: Mainland Colombia is in northwestern South America and Malpelo Island in the Pacific Ocean is also associated with South America, but the nation also controls the San Andrs and Providencia archipelago, 640 kilometres (400 mi) WNW of Colombia's Caribbean coast, near the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. This archipelago is coterminous with the department of the same name. Venezuela: Mainland Venezuela is on South America, but Isla Aves are geographically North American. Isla Aves is one of the Federal dependencies of Venezuela under the administration of the transcontinental city of Caracas.

North American Caribbean islands belonging to South American countries: