Asia

Asia

Largest Countries:
Russia, China
Number of Countries:
51
Land Area:
49.2M km² (33.06%)

Asia is the largest and most populous of Earth's continents, and is located in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Asia comprises 33.06% of the world's land area, along with 62.18% of the world's current population. It also has the fifth-highest ranked growth rate today, and its population almost quadrupled during the 20th century. The estimated population for Asia is 4,977,954,915.

4,977,954,915
Total Population
101.10/km²
Density
62.18%
% of World Population
29.5M 0.59%
Annual Growth

Asia Population by Country

< 1M
1M - 10M
10M - 50M
50M - 100M
100M - 300M
> 300M

51 countries

Country
Population
Density
India FlagIndia1,463,870,000445
China FlagChina1,416,100,000146
Indonesia FlagIndonesia285,721,000150
Pakistan FlagPakistan255,220,000289
Bangladesh FlagBangladesh175,687,0001,191
Russia FlagRussia143,997,0008
Japan FlagJapan123,103,000326
Philippines FlagPhilippines116,787,000341
Vietnam FlagVietnam101,599,000307
Iran FlagIran92,417,70056
Turkey FlagTurkey87,685,400112
Thailand FlagThailand71,619,900140
Myanmar FlagMyanmar54,850,60081
South Korea FlagSouth Korea51,667,000516
Iraq FlagIraq47,020,800107
Afghanistan FlagAfghanistan43,844,10067
Yemen FlagYemen41,773,90079
Uzbekistan FlagUzbekistan37,053,40083
Malaysia FlagMalaysia35,977,800109
Saudi Arabia FlagSaudi Arabia34,566,30016
Nepal FlagNepal29,618,100201
North Korea FlagNorth Korea26,571,000220
Syria FlagSyria25,620,400138
Sri Lanka FlagSri Lanka23,229,500354
Taiwan FlagTaiwan23,112,800639
Kazakhstan FlagKazakhstan20,843,8008
Cambodia FlagCambodia17,848,00099
Jordan FlagJordan11,520,700129
United Arab Emirates FlagUnited Arab Emirates11,346,000136
Tajikistan FlagTajikistan10,786,70075
Azerbaijan FlagAzerbaijan10,397,700120
Israel FlagIsrael9,517,180458
Laos FlagLaos7,873,05033
Turkmenistan FlagTurkmenistan7,618,85016
Hong Kong FlagHong Kong7,396,0806,699
Kyrgyzstan FlagKyrgyzstan7,295,03036
Singapore FlagSingapore5,870,7508,269
Lebanon FlagLebanon5,849,420560
Palestine FlagPalestine5,589,620899
Oman FlagOman5,494,69018
Kuwait FlagKuwait5,026,080282
Georgia FlagGeorgia3,806,67055
Mongolia FlagMongolia3,517,1002
Qatar FlagQatar3,115,890269
Armenia FlagArmenia2,952,36099
Bahrain FlagBahrain1,643,3302,148
Timor-Leste FlagTimor-Leste1,418,52095
Bhutan FlagBhutan796,68221
Macau FlagMacau722,00721,946
Maldives FlagMaldives529,6761,766
Brunei FlagBrunei466,33081

Asia Overview

Asia is the largest and most populous of earth’s continents and its located in both the northern and eastern hemispheres. Asia comprises a full 30% of the world’s land area with 60% of the world’s current population. It also has the highest growth rate today, and its population almost quadrupled during the 20th century. The estimated population for Asia in 2016 is 4.4 billion.

Asia comprises the eastern 4/5 of Eurasia, bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the east, the Indian Ocean on the south and the Arctic Ocean on the north. There are a total of 48 countries in Asia. In 2016, the population of Asia is estimated at 4,434,846,235. Russia is excluded from Asia’s population, although there are about 40 million Russians who live in Asia, or east of the Ural Mountains.

Most Populous Countries in Asia

Asia has the two most populous countries in its borders: China and India. China is currently the most populous country on earth with an estimated population in 2016 of 1,377,124,512. It accounts for 31.69% of Asia’s total population and over 18% of the world’s population. India is not too far behind with an estimated population of 1,285,800,000, accounting for 29.36% of the continent’s population amd 17.5% of the world’s population. It’s estimated that India’s population will surpass China’s by 2022, when each country will have a population of about 1.45 billion people.

Least Populous Countries in Asia

The least populous country in Asia is the Maldives, with an estimated population of 345,000. The Maldives is also one of the smallest countries on earth with just 298 square kilometers (115 square miles) of area, 99% of which is water. This tiny country has a population density of 1,065 people per square kilometer (2,758/square mile), which makes it the 12th most densely populated country on earth.

Following behind the Maldives is Brunei, the 50th least populous country in Asia with an estimated 2016 population of 421,000. Located in Southeast Asia, Brunei is surrounded by Sarawak, Malaysia, and it’s divided into two parts. It’s the only sovereign state fully on the island of Borneo, and one of the richest countries due to its natural gas and petroleum fields with a public debt that remains below 3%.

Asia's Population Growth

Asia Population

Asia’s growth rate is very high, quadrupling in the last century. Given its wealth of resources and ecological and biological variety, it’s in the perfect position to support this growth as well. Unfortunately, Asia’s rapid growth and fast economic development is threatening its limited resources through quick expansion, destruction of natural habits and urbanization.

It’s predicted that Asia’s population will continue to grow for quite some time, which will continue to strain its resources. Based on current estimates, it’s projected that national populations will grow in every country of Asia with the exception of Japan and Kazakhstan through 2050. Some countries, including Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan, will double in population during this time while India, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries will see especially high growth rates.

Unfortunately, it’s currently projected that the countries which will grow the fastest are the ones with the lowest income in the world, and these countries will be the least capable of handling the extra stress on resources.

Is Asia a Continent?

Yes, Asia is a continent. It is the largest and most populous continent. It borders the Indian Ocean to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Arctic Ocean to the north.

Regions of Asia

Central Asia

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 83.6M and covers about 4M square miles.

Eastern Asia

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 1.7B and covers about 11.9M square miles.

South Central Asia

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 2.1B and covers about 6.5M square miles.

Southeast Asia

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 700M and covers about 4.5M square miles.

Southern Asia

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 2.1B and covers about 6.9M square miles.

The Middle East

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 507.9M and covers about 7.3M square miles.

Western Asia

Some of the countries in this region include:

This area has a population size of 312.9M and covers about 4.8M square miles.

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.