China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. Ĭhina and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. A commonly accepted division places Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from Africa and to the east of the Turkish Straits, the Ural Mountains and Ural River, and to the south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas, separating it from Europe. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.
Its 4.7 billion people constitutes roughly 60% of the world's population. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area.
It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe, and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa and Europe. Map of the most populous part of Asia showing physical, political and population characteristics, as per 2018Īsia ( / ˈ eɪ ʒ ə/ ( listen), also UK: / ˈ eɪ ʃ ə/) is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres.