Asia is the largest continent on Earth and is connected to Europe in the west. Together, the two continents are called Eurasia.

Asia is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

Chinese, Hindi, Bengali and Japanese are just some of the thousands of languages spoken in Asia. In India alone, there are over 850 languages!


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There are 48 countries in Asia and over 4 billion people.

 

Big and small

The largest country in Asia is Russia (part of Russia is in Europe and part is in Asia). The smallest country in Asia is Maldives which is made up of coral islands.

The country with the most people is China. More people live in China than in Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America and Western Europe put together!

Borneo is Asia’s largest island and third largest island in the world. It’s home to beautiful rainforests and the Bornean orangutan.

 

Rivers, mountains and lakes

The Yangtze River is Asia’s longest river and the third-longest river in the world (after the Nile and the Amazon). It runs entirely through China.


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The tallest mountain, Mount Everest, is found between Nepal and China in the Himalayas.

The Caspian Sea is Asia’s largest lake and the deepest lake in the world.

 

Asia landscape

Asia is a land of deep rainforests, high mountain peaks and dry deserts. Parts of the north are in the Arctic while in the south you can enjoy the warm, tropical waters of the Indian Ocean.


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The weather can be hot and sticky or cold and wet, depending on the country. The Gobi Desert is a cold desert found in Asia, it can be so cold there it can actually snow! Desert travellers often move around the desert in round tents called yurts.

 

What is Asia famous for?

Asia is famous for its fascinating culture and nature. It is known as the home of martial arts and anime cartoons. The Great Wall of China and the Himalayan mountains are some of the most famous tourist destinations, along with ruins from some of the world’s oldest civilisations.

The continent is also famous for Asian elephants, orangutans, tigers, giant pandas, Komodo dragons, snow leopards, dugongs and king cobra snakes!


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