As the world’s largest and most populous continent, Asia has an area of 44,579,000 square kilometers which represents 29.4 percent of the Earth’s land area. With population of around 4.46 billion (2020), Asia constitutes about 60 percent of the world’s population. Politically, Asia is often divided into 6 regions: North Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia.
How Many Countries in Asia
As of 2020, Asia consists of 48 countries, of which two (Turkey and Russia) are also located in Europe. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia can also be considered to be located in both continents.
The largest country in Asia is China, followed by India. And the smallest is the Maldives.
Location Map of Asia
Alphabetical List of All Countries in Asia
The following table lists 48 independent nations in Asia in alphabetical order. Hong Kong and Macao are two special cities of China. Taiwan, formerly known as Republic of China, is now widely recognized as a province of China.
| # | Flag | Country Name | Official Name | Independence Date | Population |
| 1 |  |
Afghanistan | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | 1919/8/19 | 38,928,357 |
| 2 |  |
Armenia | Republic of Armenia | 1991/9/21 | 2,963,254 |
| 3 |  |
Azerbaijan | Republic of Azerbaijan | 1991/10/18 | 10,139,188 |
| 4 |  |
Bahrain | Kingdom of Bahrain | 1971/12/16 | 1,701,586 |
| 5 |  |
Bangladesh | People’s Republic of Bangladesh | 1971/3/26 | 164,689,394 |
| 6 |  |
Bhutan | Kingdom of Bhutan | – | 771,619 |
| 7 |  |
Brunei | Brunei Darussalam | 1984/1/1 | 437,490 |
| 8 |  |
Burma | Republic of the Union of Myanmar | 1948/1/4 | 54,409,811 |
| 9 |  |
Cambodia | Kingdom of Cambodia | 1953/11/9 | 16,718,976 |
| 10 |  |
China | People’s Republic of China | 1949/10/1 | 1,439,323,787 |
| 11 |  |
Cyprus | Republic of Cyprus | 1960/10/1 | 1,207,370 |
| 12 |  |
Georgia | Georgia | 1991/4/9 | 3,989,178 |
| 13 |  |
India | Republic of India | 1947/8/15 | 1,380,004,396 |
| 14 |  |
Indonesia | Republic of Indonesia | 1945/8/17 | 273,523,626 |
| 15 |  |
Iran | Islamic Republic of Iran | 1979/4/1 | 83,992,960 |
| 16 |  |
Iraq | Republic of Iraq | 1932/10/3 | 40,222,504 |
| 17 | |
Israel | State of Israel | 1905/5/1 | 40,222,504 |
| 18 |  |
Japan | Japan | – | 126,476,472 |
| 19 |  |
Jordan | Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | 1946/5/25 | 10,203,145 |
| 20 |  |
Kazakhstan | Republic of Kazakhstan | 1991/12/16 | 18,776,718 |
| 21 |  |
Kuwait | State of Kuwait | 1961/2/25 | 4,270,582 |
| 22 |  |
Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz Republic | 1991/8/31 | 6,524,206 |
| 23 |  |
Laos | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 1953/10/22 | 7,275,571 |
| 24 |  |
Lebanon | Lebanese Republic | 1943/11/22 | 6,825,456 |
| 25 |  |
Malaysia | Malaysia | 1957/8/31 | 32,366,010 |
| 26 |  |
Maldives | Republic of Maldives | 1965/7/26 | 540,555 |
| 27 |  |
Mongolia | Mongolia | 1911/12/29 | 3,278,301 |
| 28 |  |
Nepal | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | – | 29,136,819 |
| 29 |  |
North Korea | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | 1945/8/15 | 25,778,827 |
| 30 |  |
Oman | Sultanate of Oman | 1650/11/18 | 5,106,637 |
| 31 |  |
Pakistan | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | 1947/8/14 | 220,892,351 |
| 32 |  |
Palestine | – | – | 5,101,425 |
| 33 |  |
Philippines | Republic of the Philippines | 1898/6/12 | 109,581,089 |
| 34 |  |
Qatar | State of Qatar | 1971/12/18 | 2,881,064 |
| 35 |  |
Saudi Arabia | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | – | 34,813,882 |
| 36 |  |
Singapore | Republic of Singapore | 1965/8/9 | 5,850,353 |
| 37 |  |
South Korea | Republic of Korea | 1945/8/15 | 51,269,196 |
| 38 |  |
Sri Lanka | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | 1948/2/4 | 21,413,260 |
| 39 |  |
Syria | Syrian Arab Republic | 1946/4/17 | 17,500,669 |
| 40 |  |
Tajikistan | Republic of Tajikistan | 1991/9/9 | 9,537,656 |
| 41 |  |
Thailand | Kingdom of Thailand | – | 69,799,989 |
| 42 |  |
Timor-Leste | Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste | 2002/5/20 | 1,318,456 |
| 43 |  |
Turkey | Republic of Turkey | – | 84,339,078 |
| 44 |  |
Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan | 1991/10/27 | 6,031,211 |
| 45 |  |
United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 1971/12/2 | 9,890,413 |
| 46 |  |
Uzbekistan | Republic of Uzbekistan | 1991/9/1 | 33,469,214 |
| 47 |  |
Vietnam | Socialist Republic of Viet Nam | 1945/9/2 | 97,338,590 |
| 48 |  |
Yemen | Republic of Yemen | 1967/11/30 | 29,825,975 |
Facts about Asia Continent
- Asia contains most of the Earth’s deserts: from Arabia (Saudi Arabia), Syria, Thal (Pakistan), Thar (or Great Indian Desert), Lut (or Desert of Iran), Gobi (Mongolia), Taklamakan (China), Karakum (Turkmenistan), Kerman (Iran), Judea (Israel), Negev. See all countries list in Middle East in alphabetical order.
- Asia contains 11 time zones.
- Asians were also the inventors of paper, gunpowder, compass and printing press.
- Asia’s main trading blocs are: Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia-Europe Economic Meeting, Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN), Closer Economic and Trade Relations Agreements (China with Hong Kong and with Macao), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
- The so-called “Asian Tigers” (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) are the largest economic and financial powers of the continent.
- On the Asian continent, the urban population is 40% while the rural population is 60%.
- Asia has 48 independent countries.
- The main religions of the Asian continent are: Muslims (21.9%) and Hinduists (21.5%).