Asia: position, resources, population and economic groups

Asia is the world’s largest continent: its area with islands is about 44 million km² and its population about 4.8 billion, nearly 60 % of humanity. It lies mainly in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres and is the only continent washed by four oceans – the Arctic, Pacific, Indian and (through the Mediterranean and Black Seas) Atlantic basins. Depending on the count, the political map shows about 47–49 independent states (not counting Russia’s Asian part). Most became independent after the Second World War; the youngest are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Transcaucasian states, independent since 1991, and Timor-Leste, independent since 2002. By area China, India and Kazakhstan are very large, while Singapore, Bahrain and the Maldives are “micro”. Island states include Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Sri Lanka and Singapore; about twelve states are landlocked, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Nepal. Most states are republics; the monarchies include Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Brunei (absolute), and Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Jordan and others (constitutional or of special type). Federal states: India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates. Asia is divided into five subregions: Central (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan), Western (South-West), Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern Asia.