How many countries are in Asia?

YearMaps maps 50 countries and territories in Asia: India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey, Thailand, and others.

What is the largest country in Asia?

Russia is the largest by area at 17.08M km². India has the largest population, about 1.46 billion.

What is the largest city in Asia?

Tokyo is the largest city recorded for Asia, with a metropolitan population of about 35.68 million.

What is the highest mountain in Asia?

Mount Everest is the highest summit recorded for Asia in YearMaps, at 8,848 m.

What is the largest lake in Asia?

Caspian Sea is the largest lake recorded in Asia, at about 425,231 km².

What is the tallest dam in Asia?

Jinping-I Dam is the tallest dam recorded in Asia, at 305 m.

Continent · 50 countries

Map of Asia

Asia takes in 50 countries and territories with a combined population of about 4.96 billion across 49.07M km². The interactive map below shows the region, and the tables rank its largest cities, highest mountains, largest lakes, tallest dams and deepest ports.

Countries: 50
Population: 4.96 billion
Largest Country: 17.08M km²
Most Populous: 1.46 billion

About Asia

Asia ( AY-zhə, UK also AY-shə) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilisations. Its estimated 4.8 billion people in 2025 constituted approximately 59% of the world's population.

Asia shares the landmass of Eurasia with Europe, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. In general terms, it is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. 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.

Since the concept of Asia derives from the term for the eastern region from a European perspective, Asia is the remaining vast area of Eurasia minus Europe. Therefore, Asia is a region where various independent cultures coexist rather than sharing a single culture, and its boundary with Europe is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural differences, some of which vary on a spectrum.

China and India traded places as the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and many other religions.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Asia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Visiting Asia

Asia is the world's largest continent by land area and population, home to 4.6 billion people, which is more than half of the world's population.

The continent is too massive and diverse to conceptualize as a single digestible travel "destination". Travel options range widely, from the desert ruins and modern mega-malls of the Middle East to the magnificent ancient monuments and giant mountains of South Asia, from the beach bungalows and jungle treks of Southeast Asia to the mega-cities and technology capitals of East Asia.

Asia gets a tremendous number of travelers, both for tourism and business. Different publications give different figures and things change over time, but all agree that many of the world's most-visited cities are in Asia. One survey had eight of the top ten for 2025 in Asia. Their list, in order, was Bangkok, Hong Kong, London, Macau (mainly for gambling), Istanbul, Dubai, Mecca (mainly for the Hajj pilgrimage), Antalya (Turkish beaches), Paris and Kuala Lumpur, and even 10th place KL had over 17 million visitors that year.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Asia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Countries in Asia

Ranked by population. Each links to that country's own map.

Countries in Asia
#	Country	Population	Area	Capital
1	India	1.46 billion	3.29M km²	New Delhi
2	China	1.41 billion	9.60M km²	Beijing
3	Indonesia	285.72 million	1.90M km²	Jakarta
4	Pakistan	255.22 million	881,913 km²	Islamabad
5	Bangladesh	175.69 million	147,570 km²	Dhaka
6	Russia	143.51 million	17.08M km²	Moscow
7	Japan	123.37 million	377,974 km²	Tokyo
8	Philippines	116.79 million	343,448 km²	Manila
9	Vietnam	101.60 million	331,690 km²	Hanoi
10	Iran	92.42 million	1.65M km²	Tehran
11	Turkey	85.88 million	783,562 km²	Ankara
12	Thailand	71.62 million	513,120 km²	Bangkok
13	Myanmar	54.85 million	676,577 km²	Naypyidaw
14	South Korea	51.68 million	100,295 km²	Seoul
15	Iraq	47.02 million	437,072 km²	Baghdad
16	Afghanistan	43.84 million	652,230 km²	Kabul
17	Yemen	41.77 million	455,503 km²	Aden
18	Uzbekistan	37.05 million	448,978 km²	Tashkent
19	Saudi Arabia	36.97 million	2.25M km²	Riyadh
20	Malaysia	35.98 million	330,803 km²	Kuala Lumpur
21	Nepal	29.62 million	147,181 km²	Kathmandu
22	North Korea	26.57 million	120,540 km²	Pyongyang
23	Syria	25.62 million	185,180 km²	Damascus
24	Taiwan	23.32 million	36,193 km²	Taipei
25	Sri Lanka	21.76 million	65,610 km²	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
26	Kazakhstan	20.84 million	2.72M km²	Astana
27	Cambodia	17.85 million	181,035 km²	Phnom Penh
28	Jordan	11.52 million	89,341 km²	Amman
29	United Arab Emirates	11.51 million	83,600 km²	Abu Dhabi
30	Tajikistan	10.79 million	143,100 km²	Dushanbe
31	Azerbaijan	10.25 million	86,600 km²	Baku
32	Israel	10.12 million	20,770 km²	Jerusalem
33	Laos	7.87 million	236,800 km²	Vientiane
34	Turkmenistan	7.62 million	491,210 km²	Ashgabat
35	Hong Kong S.A.R.	7.50 million	2,755 km²	—
36	Kyrgyzstan	7.34 million	199,951 km²	Bishkek
37	Singapore	6.11 million	719 km²	Singapore
38	Lebanon	5.85 million	10,452 km²	Beirut
39	Oman	5.49 million	309,500 km²	Muscat
40	Palestine	5.41 million	6,020 km²	East Jerusalem
41	Kuwait	4.87 million	17,818 km²	Kuwait City
42	Mongolia	3.57 million	1.56M km²	Ulaanbaatar
43	Armenia	3.09 million	29,743 km²	Yerevan
44	Qatar	2.97 million	11,437 km²	Doha
45	Bahrain	1.60 million	787 km²	Manama
46	Timor-Leste	1.42 million	14,919 km²	Dili
47	Bhutan	796,682	38,394 km²	Thimphu
48	Macau S.A.R	685,900	115 km²	—
49	Maldives	529,676	298 km²	Malé
50	Brunei	466,330	5,765 km²	Bandar Seri Begawan

Largest Cities in Asia

Top 15 of 2,366 recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Asia
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Tokyo	35.68 million	Tokyo	National capital
2	Mumbai	18.98 million	Maharashtra	Admin-1 capital
3	Delhi	15.93 million	Delhi	Populated place
4	Shanghai	14.99 million	Shanghai	Admin-1 capital
5	Kolkata	14.79 million	West Bengal	Admin-1 capital
6	Dhaka	12.80 million	Dhaka	National capital
7	Karachi	12.13 million	Sind	Admin-1 capital
8	Ōsaka	11.29 million	Osaka	Admin-1 region capital
9	Beijing	11.11 million	Beijing	National capital
10	Manila	11.10 million	Metropolitan Manila	National capital
11	Moscow	10.45 million	Moskva	National capital
12	Istanbul	10.06 million	Istanbul	Admin-1 capital
13	Seoul	9.80 million	Seoul	National capital
14	Jakarta	9.13 million	Jakarta Raya	National capital
15	Guangzhou	8.83 million	Guangdong	Admin-1 capital

Highest Mountains in Asia

Top 15 of 212 recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.

Highest Mountains in Asia
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Mount Everest	8,848 m	29,029 ft	Asia
2	K2	8,611 m	28,251 ft	Asia
3	Kanchenjunga	8,586 m	28,169 ft	Asia
4	Dhaulagiri	8,172 m	26,811 ft	Asia
5	Nanga Parbat	8,125 m	26,657 ft	Asia
6	Nanda Devi	7,817 m	25,646 ft	Asia
7	Batura Mustagh I	7,795 m	25,574 ft	Asia
8	Namcha Barwa	7,782 m	25,531 ft	Asia
9	Tirich Mir	7,708 m	25,289 ft	Asia
10	Kongkoerh	7,649 m	25,095 ft	Asia
11	Gangkar Punsum	7,570 m	24,836 ft	Asia
12	Gongga Shan	7,556 m	24,790 ft	Asia
13	Pik Imeni Ismail Samani	7,495 m	24,590 ft	Asia
14	Nowshak	7,492 m	24,580 ft	Asia
15	Pik Pobeda	7,439 m	24,406 ft	Asia

Major Dams in Asia

Top 15 of 92 recorded. Ranked by structural height.

Major Dams in Asia
#	Name	Height	River	Capacity	Completed
1	Jinping-I Dam	305 m	Yalong	3,600 MW	2013
2	Nurek Dam	300 m	Vakhsh	3,015 MW	1980
3	Xiaowan Dam	292 m	Mekong (Lancang)	4,200 MW	2010
4	Baihetan Dam	289 m	Jinsha	16,000 MW	2021
5	Xiluodu Dam	285.5 m	Jinsha (Yangtze)	13,860 MW	2013
6	Nuozhadu Dam	261.5 m	Mekong (Lancang)	5,850 MW	2014
7	Tehri Dam	260 m	Bhagirathi	2,400 MW	2006
8	Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam	242 m	Yenisey	6,400 MW	1978
9	Wudongde Dam	240 m	Jinsha (Yangtze)	10,200 MW	2021
10	Goupitan Dam	232.5 m	Wu River (Yangtze)	3,000 MW	2009
11	Bhakra Dam	226 m	Sutlej	1,325 MW	1963
12	Three Gorges Dam	181 m	Yangtze	22,500 MW	2012
13	Idukki Dam	169 m	Periyar	780 MW	1976
14	Atatürk Dam	169 m	Euphrates	2,400 MW	1992
15	Sardar Sarovar Dam	163 m	Narmada	1,450 MW	2017

Largest Lakes in Asia

Top 15 of 295 recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.

Largest Lakes in Asia
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Caspian Sea	425,231 km²	Inland Sea / Endorheic Lake
2	Lake Baikal	32,120 km²	Lake
3	Aral Sea	18,580 km²	Alkaline Lake
4	Lake Ladoga	17,744 km²	Lake
5	Lake Balkhash	17,551 km²	Lake
6	Lake Onega	10,104 km²	Lake
7	Issyk-Kul	6,252 km²	Alkaline Lake
8	Samara Reservoir	5,757 km²	Reservoir
9	Rybinsk Reservoir	4,712 km²	Reservoir
10	Lake Taymyr	4,622 km²	Lake
11	Qinghai Hu	4,457 km²	Alkaline Lake
12	Lake Urmia	4,382 km²	Alkaline Lake
13	Vilyuy Reservoir	4,352 km²	Reservoir
14	Lake Zaysan	4,195 km²	Reservoir
15	Bratsk Reservoir	4,078 km²	Reservoir

Ports in Asia

Top 15 of 723 recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.

Ports in Asia
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Masao	56.7 m	Very Small	Philippine, Sulu & Celebes Seas	medium vessels
2	Huangpuxingang	56.7 m	Small	South China Sea & Gulf of Thailand	large vessels
3	Tan-Shui	56.7 m	Very Small	Yellow Sea & East China Sea	medium vessels
4	Azov	56.7 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
5	Anapa	56.7 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
6	Azhikal (Azhikkal)	56.7 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
7	Kantang Harbor	56.7 m	Very Small	Strait of Malacca & Singapore	medium vessels
8	Dabo	56.7 m	Very Small	South China Sea & Gulf of Thailand	medium vessels
9	Labuhanhaji	56.7 m	Very Small	Java Sea & Indonesian Archipelago	point_of_interest
10	Namlea	56.7 m	Very Small	Java Sea & Indonesian Archipelago	point_of_interest
11	Fakfak	56.7 m	Very Small	Java Sea & Indonesian Archipelago	medium vessels
12	Sorsogon	56.7 m	Very Small	Philippine, Sulu & Celebes Seas	point_of_interest
13	Hinatuan	56.7 m	Very Small	Philippine, Sulu & Celebes Seas	point_of_interest
14	Moulmein Harbor	56.7 m	Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
15	Bengkulu	56.7 m	Very Small	Java Sea & Indonesian Archipelago	medium vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia

Top 15 of 384 recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Ancient City of Damascus	1979	Cultural	(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (vi)
2	Chogha Zanbil	1979	Cultural	(iii) (iv)
3	Kathmandu Valley	1979	Cultural	(iii) (iv) (vi)
4	Naqsh-e Jahan Square	1979	Cultural	(i) (v) (vi)
5	Persepolis	1979	Cultural	(i) (iii) (vi)
6	Sagarmatha National Park	1979	Natural	(vii)
7	Ancient City of Bosra	1980	Cultural	(i) (iii) (vi)
8	Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol	1980	Cultural	(iv)
9	Mohenjo-daro	1980	Cultural	(ii) (iii)
10	Palmyra	1980	Cultural	(i) (ii) (iv)
11	Taxila	1980	Cultural	(iii) (vi)
12	Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore	1981	Cultural	(i) (ii) (iii)
13	Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta	1981	Cultural	(iii)
14	Anuradhapura	1982	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (vi)
15	Polonnaruwa	1982	Cultural	(i) (iii) (vi)

Largest Islands of Asia

Top 15 of 117 recorded. Ranked by mapped area. An island divided between countries is listed under each, with the area of the whole island.

Largest Islands of Asia
#	Name	Area	Type
1	Malay Archipelago	3.91M km²	Island group
2	Greater Sunda Islands	969,929 km²	Island group
3	New Guinea	785,443 km²	Island
4	Borneo	733,858 km²	Island
5	Japan	492,487 km²	Island group
6	Sumatra	430,052 km²	Island
7	Philippines	377,943 km²	Island group
8	RyüKyü Isands	274,056 km²	Island group
9	Honshü	228,403 km²	Island
10	Nampö-Shotö	197,934 km²	Island group
11	Spratly Islands	188,559 km²	Island group
12	Sulawesi	170,803 km²	Island
13	Lesser Sunda Islands	152,621 km²	Island group
14	Moluccas	140,372 km²	Island group
15	Novaya Zemlya	139,842 km²	Island group

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Asia

Top 15 of 194 recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Asia
#	Name	Area	Type	Region
1	Asia	46.28M km²	Continent	Asia
2	Europe	11.24M km²	Continent	Europe
3	Siberia	8.73M km²	Geoarea	Asia
4	India	3.27M km²	Pen/cape	Asia
5	Plateau of Tibet	3.05M km²	Plateau	Asia
6	Central Siberian Plateau	2.18M km²	Plateau	Asia
7	Indochina Peninsula	1.90M km²	Pen/cape	Asia
8	Gobi Desert	1.09M km²	Desert	Asia
9	Turan Lowland	873,039 km²	Plain	Asia
10	Northern European Plain	774,604 km²	Plain	Europe
11	Rub’ al Khali	596,502 km²	Desert	Asia
12	North China Plain	463,774 km²	Plain	Asia
13	Tarim Basin	423,249 km²	Basin	Asia
14	Tian Shan	414,352 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
15	Altay Mountains	404,274 km²	Range/mtn	Asia

Asia: Quick Answers

How many countries are in Asia?: YearMaps maps 50 countries and territories in Asia: India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey, Thailand, and others.
What is the largest country in Asia?: Russia is the largest by area at 17.08M km². India has the largest population, about 1.46 billion.
What is the largest city in Asia?: Tokyo is the largest city recorded for Asia, with a metropolitan population of about 35.68 million.
What is the highest mountain in Asia?: Mount Everest is the highest summit recorded for Asia in YearMaps, at 8,848 m.
What is the largest lake in Asia?: Caspian Sea is the largest lake recorded in Asia, at about 425,231 km².
What is the tallest dam in Asia?: Jinping-I Dam is the tallest dam recorded in Asia, at 305 m.