Subject Index / Countries / Asia

Asia is the world's biggest continent and it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population (over 4 billion people live there). Asia is traditionally defined as part of the landmass of Eurasia???with the western portion of the latter occupied by Europe???lying east of the Ural Mountains, east of the Suez Canal, and south of the the Caspian and Black Seas and Caucasus Mountains. However, the division of countries into Europe and Asia depends on definition and we list some countries in both continents to make them easier to find. Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.