Asia: continent, vegetation & population

With a population of billions, many countries and advanced innovations, Asia is the largest and an economically very important continent.

Asia – History & Countries

The name «Asia» is probably derived from the Assyrian word «Assu», which means «sunrise» in German. Assyria was in and around what is now Iraq. Seen from there, Asia was in the east, which is also where the sun rises.

Asia history

finds of Homo erectuswho about 1.8 million years are old, show that Asia early on populated by settlers from Africa has been. The first cultures of village settlements and the associated animal husbandry are said to be around 5000 BC in Iraq have given. Around 3000 BC in China, India and other parts of Asia the first approaches to urban development were made.

in the 13th Century began in Mongolia for the first time cross-continental trade to Central Asia, which previously only took place with the Middle East and India. Little by little, the continent of Asia also gained in importance in western countries.

The discovery of Asia was rounded off with the East India companies of England and the Netherlands in the 17th century. England plays a major role, especially around India, and has also shaped the language very much. Therefore, to this day, English is a recognized official language in and around India.

The Dutch settled on the Indonesian islands of Java, Celebes and Borneo. There they ruled over the inhabitants of Indonesia until the War of Independence and the independence of Indonesia that came with it in 1949.

Due to the size of the continent alone, Asia has a long and eventful history, which also includes many international and internal conflicts and wars.

Asia – countries

There are 47 internationally recognized countries in Asia. So it is, on a par with Europe, the continent with the second largest set of countries – to Africa.

You can find an alphabetical list of countries in Asia here:

• Afghanistan
• Egypt (the Sinai Peninsula)
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• brunei
• Georgia
• India
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Iran
• Israel
• Japan
• Yemen
• Jordan
• Cambodia
• Kazakhstan
• Qatar
• Kyrgyzstan
• North Korea
• South Korea
• Kuwait
• Laos
• Lebanon
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mongolia
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Nepal
• Oman
• East Timor (Timor-Leste)
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Taiwan/Republic of China
• Russia
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Syria
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan
• United Arab Emirates
• Vietnam
• People’s Republic of China
• Cyprus.

Asia map

The map below shows you the different countries in Asia and their geographic location on the continent and in relation to other continents. The oceans that are important for Asia are also shown.

Figure 1: Map of AsiaSource: diercke.westermann.de

Asia – Vegetation & Geography

Asia occupies an area of ​​approx 45 million square kilometersof which Russia alone accounts for about 13 million square kilometers.

There are different approaches to dividing the large continents into smaller regions. The most common approach, however, is to

• Near East
• North Asia
• Central Asia
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia and
• East Asia

to subdivide. Here too, however, there are deviations, depending on the context in which the subdivision is used.

Of the 47 recognized countries in Asia, there are three – Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey – which are partly counted as part of Europe because there are no clear borders here. In Indonesia an island is counted to the continent Australia, Egypt is mostly part of the African continent. Asia is the only continent whose territory is also separated by seas.

Located in East Asia Pacific Ocean, which as the largest ocean in the world stretches from Asia to North and South America. South of Asia is the Indian ocean, which also borders Africa and Australia. North of Russia there is also the cold one arctic ocean.

Asia – vegetation & fauna

Due to the enormous size of Asia and the extension from the equator to the north pole, the continent has a very diverse nature, which – depending on the region – can differ greatly. So is from treeless tundra around the Arctic Circle over steppes and mountain landscapes up to tropical savannah and monsoon areas everything at the equator.

In the north of Asia – in Siberia and Russia – are the tundras and coniferous forests. Temperate climates prevail in parts of Mongolia and China steppes and deciduous and mixed forests in front of what is already happening in Southeast China and Japan wet forest and to wet savannah changes towards. Southeast Asia and part of India is where most of the tropical rainforest.

Figure 2: Earth’s vegetation zonesSource: Klett.de

According to the variety of vegetation zones, Asia has a diverse fauna. This ranges from polar bears and wolves in the cold north to orangutans, snakes and elephants in the rainforests of Indonesia.

Asia – Mountains

Since different plates meet in Asia, numerous mountains have formed over the years that are known worldwide. The best known are Mount Everest in the Himalayas, the Caucasus or the Urals.

Mount Everest

The highest and most famous mountain in the world at 8,848 m is the Mount Everest. This is part of Himalaya Mountains, which is also the highest mountain range on earth. Located in south-central Asia, it stretches in an arc from Pakistan in the west to Myanmar in the east.

Figure 3: Location of the Himalaya Mountains in AsiaSource: lexas.de

Caucasus

The Caucasus is a high mountain range in Eurasia between the Black and the Caspian Sea runs from northwest to southeast. It is 1100 km long in total and is 5642 m above sea level at its highest peak called «Elbrus». The mountain range stretches across parts of Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Iran and Azerbaijan.

About 32 million people in 50 peoples live in the mountains and in some adjacent areas, speaking a total of about 100 languages.

Ural mountains

The high and medium mountain ranges called the Urals or Ural Mountains are located in central western Russia, crossing it from north to south. It is significant in that this is simultaneously partly the border between Europe and Asia represents.

The Urals are about 2400 km long but only 50 km wide, making it a very narrow mountain range. The highest peak of the Urals is 1895 m and is called Narodnaja. The Ural Mountains are also inhabited in places and are even used to mine ores such as iron and platinum.

Asia – Volcanoes

As a large continent, Asia also has a number of volcanoes. In Central and East Asia alone, there are around 600 dormant volcanoes, divided between China, Korea and Japan.

Indonesia has around 150 active volcanoes spread across all its islands, making it the most volcanic country in the world. This is because south of Indonesia, the Indo-Australian Plate is sliding under the Eurasian Plate, causing intense volcanic activity due to friction.

Asia has a very large and diverse population who also live in different cultures and walks of life. These cultures have also influenced other cultures on earth for thousands of years. However, the population density differs depending on the region.

Asia – Population Development

In the 1950s, the number was even lower: 1.5 billion people lived in Asia as a whole, and 1 billion of them were in China and India alone. Overall, the number of inhabitants has increased at an annual growth rate of 2.9%. In Figure 4 you will find the exact population development of Asia shown in the diagram.

Figure 4: Population development in Asia (1950-2020) Source: bib.bund.de

The UN expects one in the second half of this century population decline in Asia. This is partly due to the demographics of many Asian countries. Japan is currently the country with the highest average age, which is mainly due to the health system and the typical diet of the Japanese. Therefore, elderly people currently make up a large part of the Japanese population – similar in countries like South Korea or China. However, since this generation will die soon, the UN therefore assumes that the population in Asia will soon decrease.

Asia – Life Expectancy & Quality of Life

The quality of life and expectations of people in Asia differs greatly depending on which part you look at. Accordingly, there are often many disparities between the poor and the rich, both internationally and within countries.

Life expectancy

Asia has a diverse number of cultures and peoples, who also have very different lifestyles and qualities depending on the region and religion. the Afghanistan has the lowest life expectancy, whereby the average number of years of life varies depending on the source. the Japan has the highest life expectancy at around 86 years old.

The huge differences in life expectancy are also partly related to quality of life.

Afghanistan has been a crisis area for many years, suffering from wars and the poor infrastructure that goes with them. The healthcare system offers many citizens little or inadequate care.

Japan, on the other hand, has a very advanced infrastructure and offers all citizens good access to the healthcare system. In addition, there are also many innovations and scientific advances. With the tendentially rather healthy diet of the Japanese, all this leads to a high life expectancy.

life quality

In some countries, especially in South Asia, are found due to overpopulation and poverty many Slums before. Most live in these many people in a small space, who share inadequate sanitary facilities and poor water and sewage systems. Most of these slums are found near or on the outskirts of major cities, since residents can commute to work quickly and cheaply from there. Children who live in slums usually have no or only limited opportunities to go to school, for example because they work in factories to help the household financially.

Even if not all slums are the same and there are also better equipped slums, the health conditions and general living conditions tend to be poor.