Asia is easily the biggest continent on the planet, which of course means it’s likely to hold more of everything! That also means you’re likely to get more out of Asia in terms of facts and figures than any other land mass on Earth. This, of course, makes it a prime candidate for a fact file! Take a look below for our list of 30 amazing and fun facts about Asia.

1. It’s thought that around a third of all the land on the planet falls within Asia. What’s more, around 60% of all living people reside out East!

2. The biggest country in Asia is, of course, Russia, however, part of the country falls within Europe. However, there are countries in Asia with bigger populations, such as China and India, who have populations which extend well over a billion people. In fact, they are the only two countries in the world to host over a billion.

3. In fact, Asia is the most populous continent in the world.

4. As January, 2021 the current population of Asia is 4,661,670,489 according to the latest United Nations estimates.

5. Asia’s population is 59.76% of Earth’s total population.

6. Asia’s total size is 44,579,000 km2 or 17,212,000 sq. miles, about 30% of Earth’s total land area and 8.7% of the Earth’s total surface area.

7. Asia is a part of the supercontinent known as Eurasia, and the Asian and European continents aren’t technically separated.

8. The geographical Asia that we know of today is a European perception, which began with the Ancient Greeks and how they saw the world.

9. Today, Asia is home to some of the fastest rising countries in the world, however many lag behind due to corruption, poverty or devastating wars.

10. Asia has been home to some of history’s greatest civilizations and empires, such as the Mesopotamian, the Mongols, Sumerians, Chinese dynasties, Japanese, South Korean empires, and the Vedic, to name a few.

11. Asia is home to more billionaires than anywhere else in the world. However large numbers of its people live in poverty, with many living on less than 1 dollar per day.

12. China alone has more billionaires than the US, which continues to fall behind the rising Asian economies.

13. According to 2018 data, there were 234 more billionaires in China than in the U.S.

14. Asia is home to 14 of the tallest mountains in the world, all with peaks over 8,000 meters above sea level.

15. The world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest in Nepal, climbs to 8,848 meters above sea level.

16. Asia is home to one of the three longest rivers in the world. While it may fall behind the Nile in Egypt and the Amazon in South America, the Yangtze is still a staggering sail from end to end. This Chinese waterway is said to be almost 4,000 miles long!

17. You can find wild elephants, tigers, snow leopards, orangutans, as well as some of the most venomous snakes in the world here.

18. These dangerous snakes include the King Cobra, Malayan Pit Viper, Saw-scaled Viper, and Common Indian Krait.

19. Agriculture and city expansion is taking over the natural environment of animals, pushing many species to extinction.

20. In some Asian countries, insects are eaten as delicacies.

21. You can find many ‘exotic’ snacks and delicacies served in the food markets like silkworms, crickets, and other types of fried insects. You can even find some in the supermarket!

22. There are thousands of different cultures across Asia – it is impossible to state that ‘Asian culture’ applies to just one strand. For example, it’s thought that India alone boasts hundreds of different languages spoken from boundary to boundary.

23. It’s thought that around 2,300 different languages are spoken across the continent, with more than 600 different languages spoken in a community as small (relatively) as Indonesia!

24. Sticking with Indonesia, it’s thought to be the volcano capital of Asia, and possibly the world. There are over 150 different volcanoes spread across the islands, many of them still active. It’s little wonder, then, that the area is known as the Ring of Fire.

25. It’s thought that Asian people stand to have a longer life expectancy than many others across the world. For example, in Japan alone, women are expected to live up to 86 years old on average!

26. Asia has the unique honour of being home to the Arctic Circle and the Equator – as well as the Tropic of Cancer!

27. Japan is home to the biggest city on the continent in its capital of Tokyo. In fact, the city is also thought to be a hive for the super-wealthy, as it’s thought that more millionaires live in Tokyo than in LA or San Francisco.

28. There are still a handful of countries in Asia which belong to the Commonwealth. India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brunei, and Singapore are all still overseen by the reigning British monarch to some extent.

29. Asia only has a dozen countries which are landlocked – which, of course, means that the remainder have some form of coastline! Physically, Russia takes most of this to itself. Some of the biggest landlocked Asian countries include Mongolia and Bhutan.

30. Much of Mongolia, in fact, is almost uninhabitable. That’s because a vast portion of the land is desert, in the form of the Gobi. However, temperatures here get colder than you might think, with -40 degrees Celsius possible at its chilliest.