ASIA AT A

GLANCE

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Asia,

largest of the Earths

seven continents, lying
almost entirely in the
Northern Hemisphere. It is
four times larger than Europe.
With outlying islands, it covers
an estimated 44,391,000 sq
km (17,139,000 sq mi), or
about 30 percent of the
worlds total land area.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Because

of its vast size and diverse

character, Asia is divided into five major
realms: East Asia (China, South Korea, Japan,
etc.), Southeast Asia (Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore, etc.), South Asia (India, Pakistan,
etc.), Southwest Asia (UAE, Qatar, etc.) or the
Middle East, and Central Asia (Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, etc.).

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The

largest Asian countries are:

China

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The

largest Asian countries are:

India

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The

largest Asian countries are:

Kazakhstan

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The

largest Asian countries are:

Saudi Arabia

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Different

land forms can be

found in Asia. There are
mountain ranges, valleys,
plains and plateaus,
peninsulas and archipelagos.
The highest peak in the world
is the Mount Everest, located
inn the border of Nepal and
China. It has an average
height of 29,002 feet.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Asia

is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to

the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east,
the Indian Ocean to the south, the Red
Sea (as well as the inland seas of the
Atlantic Oceanthe Mediterranean
and the Black) to the southwest, and
Europe to the west.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The

lowest place on Earths land surface is in

Asia. The Dead Sea is a salt lake on the
border between Israel and Jordan, in
southwestern Asia. Its surface, at 400 m/1,312
ft below sea level, marks the lowest point on
Earth.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Lake

Baikal, in southern Siberia, Russia, is

the world's deepest lake and the largest
freshwater lake in Europe and Asia.
Its area is 31,500 sq km/12,200 sq mi1,637
m/5,371 ft.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Caspian

Sea is a large landlocked salt

lake lying between southeastern Europe
and Asia. It is the world's largest inland
body of water. Area is 371,000 sq
km/143,000 sq.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Asias

peoples account for three-fifths of

the worlds population; in 2008, Asia had
an estimated 4.05 billion inhabitants.
Shanghai, Karachi, Beijing, New Delhi,
Tianjin, Tokyo, Guangzhou, and Mumbai
8 of the worlds 10 largest cities (by
population) can be found in Asia.

Shanghai, China

Beijing, China

Karachi, Pakistan

Mumbai, India

Guangzhou, China

Tokyo, Japan

Tianjin, China

New Delhi, India

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
The

continent may also be divided into

two broad cultural realms: that which is
predominantly Asian in culture (East Asia,
Southeast Asia, and South Asia) and that
which is not (Southwest Asia and Central
Asia). There is enormous cultural diversity
within both regions.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
The

high degree of cultural diversity

characterizing Asian regions result from
receptivity to economic development and
influence of civilization while preserving the
indigenous ethnic culture.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Islam

is the dominant religion

in most countries of
Southwest Asia and in
Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Hinduism is the chief religion
of India and on the island of
Java in Indonesia.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT

Buddhism,

which originated in
northeastern India, has only a few
adherents there but is now one of the
principal religions of Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
Thailand, Cambodia, South Korea,
Vietnam, and Japan.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Confucianism,

which is more a
social and moral code than a
religion, developed in China but
has been largely suppressed by
the Communist government.
Japan has a native religion
called Shinto. Shinto, which has
been mixed with many practices
of Buddhism, centers on the
worship of ancestors and natural
spirits.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Roman

Catholic missionaries carried

Christianity to the Philippines. Roman
Catholic and Protestant missionaries also
converted many people in Korea, Japan,
India, and among the hill peoples of
Myanmar.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Based

on the traditional classification of

race on color, there are three principal
races that inhabit the continent of Asia.

The yellow or Mongolian race makes up

about 2 of the population of Asia and it is
principally found in Japan, Korea, China,
most of Central Asia and Indo China
peninsula.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT

The white or Caucasian race

predominates in India, Pakistan, and
most of the countries in South Asia.
The brown or Malay race prevails in
the Philippines, Indonesia, Malay
Peninsula, and other islands in the
south sea.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
The

black race has few representatives in

Asia. They are found in dwindling numbers
in the Philippines where they are called
Negritos, and several tribes in the Malay
Peninsula.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Because

of Asian colonial history, mixed

marriages produced the Eurasian (part
European and part Asian).

In the Philippines, Eurasians are called

mestizos.
Filipinos have intermingled and shared
cultural influences from four different
cultures: Asian, European, Latin (Mexican)
and American.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
Rice

culture is a common ecological

feature of the region, particularly in
Continental Asia, Japan, and Indonesia.

The system of agriculture can be observed

in the way of life of the people.

SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT

Asian is home to several language

families and many language
isolates. Most Asian countries have
more than one language that is
natively spoken.
Asian culture has strong ties with the
sea.
The proportion of seafood in the
total consumption of animalbased food is higher in this region
than in any other.