What are the five regions of Asia and the countries of each?
REGIONS OF ASIA – This is the world’s largest continent, and its population comprises 59.69% of the world’s total population.
Asia is considered the largest continent in the world, but relatively speaking, it is a ‘young’ continent, with a median age of 30.7 years old, and it is expected that this will decrease in the coming years as the population continues to increase. Based on estimation, the population will reach a whopping 5,266,848,432 by 2050.
According to the World Atlas, it has five regions, and they are the following, with the population and land area:
| Region | Population | Land Area |
|---|---|---|
| Central Asia | 77 million | 2,487,629 km2 |
| East Asia | 1.69 billion | 7,356,459 km2 |
| South Asia | 1.99 billion | 3,218,688 km2 |
| Southeast Asia | 684 million | 2,792,406 km2 |
| Western Asia | 290 million | 3,886,565 km2 |
- Central Asia covers the countries Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. This is located west of China, south of Russia, and north of Afghanistan. With the countries all ending in “stan,” this region is also sometimes referred to as “The Stans.”
- East Asia covers China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. This region is divided into five sovereign states—China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan— and three administrative regions—Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao. The total population is 22% of the global population and 38% of Asia’s total population.
- South Asia covers Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, and Iran. This is bordered by three large bodies of water such as the Indian Ocean to the south, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is politically divided into nine autonomous countries: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Iran, and the Maldives.
- Southeast Asia covers Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. This is located north of Australia, south of East Asia, west of the Pacific Ocean, and east of the Bay of Bengal. This is the only Asian region that is located on both sides of the equator.
- Western Asia covers Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The majority is called “The Middle East.” West Asia is politically divided into 18 states: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen.