Asia

Naseer Ahmed Chandio · #1 Thursday, July 06, 2006

Hi dear,

Asia

Largest continent on Earth.

It is bounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean; the western boundary, with Europe, runs roughly north-south along the eastern Ural Mountains; the Caspian, Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean seas; the Suez Canal; and the Red Sea. The islands of Sri Lanka and Taiwan and the archipelagoes of Indonesia (excluding New Guinea), the Philippines, and Japan also form part of Asia. Area: 17,226,000 sq mi (44,614,000 sq km). Population (2001 est.): 3,772,103,000. Mountains and plateaus predominate on the continent, with the highest mountains located in Central Asia and north of the Indian subcontinent. Terrain features include Earth's highest peak, Mount Everest, at 29,035 ft (8,850 m), and the lowest natural point, the Dead Sea, at 1,312 ft (400 m) below sea level. The largest of Asia's many arid regions are the Thar and Gobi deserts. It has some of the longest rivers in the world, including the Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, Ganges (Ganga), Yangtze (Chang; the longest river in Asia), Huang He (Yellow), Ob, Yenisey, and Lena. The Caspian, Aral, and Dead seas are major saltwater lakes. More than 15% of Asia's landmass is arable. Asia's principal language groups include Sino-Tibetan, Indo-Aryan, Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Semitic; important singular languages include Japanese and Korean. East Asia contains three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The Indian subcontinent contains a vast diversity of peoples, most of whom speak languages from the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European family. Because of the influence of China and the former Soviet Union, the Mandarin Chinese dialect and the Russian language are used widely. Asia is the birthplace of all the world's major religions and hundreds of minor ones. Hinduism is the oldest religion to have originated in southern Asia; Jainism and Buddhism emerged in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, respectively. Southwest Asia was the cradle of the so-called Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Daoism and Confucianism, both of which originated in the 6th or 5th century BC, have profoundly influenced Chinese culture and cultures of surrounding peoples. Asia is marked by great disparities in wealth. A few countries, notably Japan, Singapore, and the oil-rich countries of the Arabian Peninsula, have attained high standards of living; others, such as Bangladesh and Myanmar, are among the poorest. Between these two extremes lie Russia, China, and India. Asia is a country of great cultural diversity, but there are five main cultural influences: Chinese, Indian, Islamic, European, and Central Asian. China has had great influence in East Asia as the source of Confucianism, artistic styles, and the Chinese writing system. Indian influence has been expressed through Hinduism and Buddhism, affecting Tibet, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Central Asia. Islam spread from its original Arabian home to become important in the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, and elsewhere. Homo erectus hominids migrated from Africa to East Asia at least one million years ago. One of the earliest civilizations to use writing developed in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys с 3500–3000 BC (see Mesopotamia). Civilization in the Indus River valley and in northern Syria followed с 2500 BC. Chinese urban civilization began with the Shang dynasty (с 1600–1046 BC) and continued under the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC). Indo-European-speaking peoples (Aryans) began to invade India from the west с 1700 BC and developed the Vedic religion. A succession of empires and charismatic rulers, including Alexander the Great, spread their political control as far as military power could carry them. In the 13th century AD Genghis Khan and his Mongol successors united much of Asia under their rule. In the 14th century the Turkic warlord Timur conquered much of Central Asia. Muslim Turks destroyed the remnants of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. In the 19th century, European imperialism began to replace Asian imperialism. Tsarist Russia pushed its political control across Asia to the Pacific Ocean, the British gained control of India and Burma (Myanmar), the French dominated eastern Southeast Asia (see French Indochina), the Dutch occupied the East Indies (Indonesia), and the Spanish and later the U.S. ruled the Philippines. After World War II (1939–45), European imperialism largely vanished as former colonies gained independence in the second half of the 20th century.

Expressions used:
Asia Minor

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

continent of the eastern hemisphere N of equator forming a single landmass with Europe (the conventional dividing line bet. Asia & Europe being the Ural Mountains & main range of the Caucasus Mountains); has numerous large offshore islands including Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Malay Archipelago, Taiwan, the Japanese chain, & Sakhalin area 17,139,445 sq mi (44,391,162 sq km)

Asia (anc. Roman prov.)

in antiquity, the first and westernmost Roman province in Asia Minor, stretching at its greatest extent from the Aegean coast in the west to a point beyond Philomelium (modern Aksehr) in the east and from the Sea of Marmara in the north to the strait between Rhodes and the mainland in the south. The province was first constituted...
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Central Asia

region of Asia, located in the centre of the Eurasian landmass and extending from the Caspian Sea in the west to the border of western China in the east. To the north lies Russia, and to the south are Iran, Afghanistan, and China. Central Asia consists of the republics of Kazakstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. These...
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Central Asia- history of

history of the area from prehistoric and ancient times to the present.
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Southeast Asia

vast region of Asia situated east of the Indian subcontinent and south of China. It consists of two dissimilar portions: a continental projection (commonly called mainland Southeast Asia) and a string of archipelagoes to the south and east of the mainland (insular Southeast Asia). Extending some 700 miles (1,100 kilometres) southward from the...
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Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

(seato) , regional-defense organization from 1955 to 1977, created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defence Treaty, signed at Manila on Sept. 8, 1954, by the representatives of Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The treaty came into force on Feb. 19, 1955.
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Southeast Asia- history of

history of the area from prehistoric times to the contemporary period.

MUKHTIAR ALI · #2 Thursday, July 19, 2007

Asia

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT · THE PEOPLE · PATTERNS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Largest of the earth's seven continents, covering, with outlying islands, an estimated 44,936,000 sq km (about 17,350,000 sq mi), or about 30% of the world's total land area. Its peoples account for three-fifths of the world's population; in the late 1990s, Asia had more than 3.6 billion inhabitants.

Lying almost entirely in the northern hemisphere, Asia is bounded on the N by the Arctic Ocean, on the E by the Bering Strait and the Pacific Ocean, on the S by the Indian Ocean, and on the SW by the Red and Mediterranean seas. On the W, the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia is drawn at the Ural Mts., continuing S to the Caspian Sea, then W along the Caucasus Mts. to the Black Sea. Many geographers prefer to regard the landmass formed by Europe and Asia as a single continent--Eurasia.

The continental mainland stretches from the S end of the Malay Peninsula to Cape Chelyuskin in Siberia. Its westernmost point is Cape Baba in NW Turkey, and its easternmost point is Cape Dezhnev in NE Siberia. The continent's greatest width from E to W is about 8500 km (about 5300 mi). In Asia are found both the lowest and highest points on the earth's surface, namely, the shore of the Dead Sea (395 m/1296 ft below sea level) and Mt. Everest (8850 m/29,035 ft).

To the SE of the mainland is an array of archipelagoes and islands, extending E to the Oceanic and Australian realms. Among these islands are those of Indonesia and the Philippines, including Sumatra, Java, Celebes (Sulawesi), Borneo, and New Guinea. To the N lie Taiwan, the islands of Japan, and the island of Sakhalin. In the Indian Ocean are Sri Lanka and smaller island groups such as the Maldives and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Because of its vast size and diverse character, Asia may be divided for convenience into five major realms. These are as follows: former Soviet Asia, including Siberia, Central Asia (the former Central Asian USSR), and the Caucasus; East Asia, including China, Mongolia, North and South Korea, and Japan; Southeast Asia, including Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines; South Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan; and Southwest Asia, including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the other states of the Arabian Peninsula.

An alternative classification system, introduced by the United Nations (UN) in 1994, divides Asia politically into four major regions. These are: East Asia; Southeast Asia; South Central Asia, including Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan along with the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka; and Western Asia, embracing the rest of traditional Southwest Asia and the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Russia, with more than three-fourths of its land within the Asian continent, is nevertheless classified as European under the UN system. Unless otherwise indicated, data in this article reflects the traditional classifications.

CHIEF POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF ASIA

Political Unit
Political Status

Afghanistan
Islamic state

Bahrain
Emirate

Bangladesh
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Bhutan
Monarchy

Brunei
Constitutional sultanate within Commonwealth of Nations

Burma (Myanmar)
Republic

Cambodia (Kampuchea)
Constitutional monarchy

China, People's Republic of
Republic

China, Republic of (Taiwan)
Republic

Cyprus
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Hong Kong1 Special administrative region of People's Republic of China

India
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Indonesia
Republic

Iran
Islamic republic

Iraq
Republic

Israel
Republic

Japan
Constitutional monarchy

Jordan
Constitutional monarchy

Kazakstan* Republic

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea)
Republic

Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
Republic

Kuwait
Constitutional emirate

Kyrgyzstan* Republic

Laos
Republic

Lebanon
Republic

Macau (Macao)2 Special administrative region of People's Republic of China

Malaysia
Constitutional monarchy within Commonwealth of Nations

Maldives
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Mongolia, Republic of
Republic

Nepal
Constitutional monarchy

Oman
Sultanate

Pakistan
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Philippines
Republic

Qatar
Constitutional emirate

Russia (Asian part)* Part of Russian Federation

Saudi Arabia
Monarchy

Singapore
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Republic within Commonwealth of Nations

Syria
Republic

Tajikistan* Republic

Thailand
Constitutional monarchy

Turkey (Asian part)
Part of republic of Turkey

Turkmenistan* Republic

United Arab Emirates
Federal state

Uzbekistan* Republic

Vietnam
Republic

Yemen
Republic

1) British dependency (1842-1997).
2) Portuguese dependency (1557-1999).
* Member of Commonwealth of Independent States.

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Geological History · Physiographic Regions · Drainage · Climate · Vegetation · Animal Life · Mineral Resources

Unlike the other continents, Asia has an interior that consists of mountains, plateaus, and intervening structural basins. The highland core, located somewhat S of the geometric center of the continent, is composed of the Himalayas and associated ranges and the Tibetan Plateau. Around this central core are arrayed four major plateau regions (Siberia, E China, S India, and the Arabian Peninsula) and several great structural basins and river plains.

Geological History

According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earth's surface crust consists of a number of huge continental plates and a number of equally large oceanic plates, most of which are in continuous motion. Of these, the largest is the Eurasian continental plate. Portions of this plate are composed of the most ancient rocks found on earth, those of the Precambrian age (4.65 billion to 570 million years ago), namely in the Angara Shield of E Siberia, the Arabian Peninsula, and in India S of the Indo-Gangetic lowland.

During most of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras (570 to 65 million years ago), much of the interior of Eurasia was covered by the Tethys Sea; in time, thick deposits were converted into sedimentary and metamorphosed formations. About 30 million years ago, the subcontinent of India, which had broken off from SE Africa and drifted NE, began to thrust under the Eurasian continental plate, creating an enormous "deep" that later filled with sediments to form the Indo-Gangetic lowland. At the same time it generated tremendous pressure, causing the S continental margin to crumple into a series of great mountain ranges, of which the Himalayas are the most conspicuous.

Plate-tectonics theory also helps explain the formation of the arcuate (arc-shaped) ranges, peninsulas, and archipelagoes, as well as the volcanic activity and tectonic instability of East and Southeast Asia. In East Asia the primary force results from the underthrusting of the westward-moving Pacific plate against the Eurasian continental plate. Japan, Taiwan and the Ryukyus, and the Philippines are products of these forces. In Southeast Asia, the situation is complicated by the relative movements of the Pacific and Indian Ocean plates, and that movement helps explain the N-S trending highlands of mainland Southeast Asia and the volcanic activity that characterizes most of the Indonesian Archipelago.

Physiographic Regions

Asia's physiographic system focuses on the Pamirs, located where the borders of India, China, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan converge; several peaks here exceed 6100 m (about 20,000 ft). Spiraling out from the Pamirs to the W are the Hindu Kush and their extension across N Iran, the Elburz Mts., and beyond the latter the Caucasus ranges, between the Caspian and the Black seas, and the Pontic Mts. along the Black Sea in Turkey. To the SE are the Great Himalayas, the backbone of the Himalayas, paralleled to the N and S by the other three ranges of the system: the Outer Himalayas; the Lesser Himalayas; and the Tethys, or Tibetan Himalayas. Together these ranges form an imposing E-W arc, some 2500 km (about 1550 mi) in length, containing numerous peaks of well more than 6100 m, including Mt. Everest. To the E and NE of the Pamirs extends the high Karakoram Range, which leads into the Kunlun Mts., and a branch, the Altun Shan; this line of mountains continues E at lower elevations as the Nan Ling (Nan Shan) to become the Qin Ling of N China, which marks a major climatic divide between N and S China. Between the Himalayan system and the Karakoram-Kunlun ranges lies the Tibetan Plateau, which has average elevations of about 3660 to 4570 m (about 12,000 to 15,000 ft). Extending NE from the Pamirs is the great Tien Shan, also with peaks rising above 6100 m (20,000 ft) but diminishing in height as it approaches the borders of Outer Mongolia. To the NE, the Altai Mts. extend into Mongolia, and beyond them are the Sayan, Yablonovy, and Stanovoy ranges of E Siberia; the last two, however, are not part of the highland core.

Several major structural basins are found to the N of the central mountain core. Farthest N, located between the Tien Shan and the Altai Mts., lies the Dzungarian Basin; to the S of this, between the Tien Shan and the Karakoram and Kunlun, lies the vast Tarim Basin in which is found one of the largest middle-latitude deserts, the Takla Makan; and embraced by the Kunlun and Altun Shan is the deep Qaidam Basin.

Soil types also vary enormously. Siberia is overlain by acidic forest soils characteristic of the tundra and taiga; permafrost is common here, and drainage is usually poor. These soils merge into dark grassland, steppe, and desert soils across a vast band that extends from N China to the Black Sea and into Southwest Asia; the dark steppe soils, among the most fertile in Asia, are found in N central China and SW Siberia. In E and S Asia, the most valuable soils for agriculture are the alluvial soils that have been deposited in the lower valleys of the great rivers; these soils make up most of Asia's intensively used agricultural land. In low-latitude regions are found mature tropical soils, which are of generally low fertility; these mature soils grade, to the N, into soils with a higher humus content that are somewhat more fertile.

Drainage

The highland core of Asia might be likened to the hub of a colossal wheel, the spokes of which are great rivers that flow out in all directions. Seven of these are among the dozen longest rivers in the world. Flowing N from the N margin and NE extensions of the highland core to the icebound Arctic Ocean are the Lena, Yenisey, and Ob rivers. These rivers flow across vast alluvial plains underlain by permafrost. To the W, flowing from the slopes of the Tien Shan and the Pamirs themselves, are rivers such as the Ili, the Syrdarya, and the Amu Darya, which drain into interior seas--Lake Balkhash in the case of the Ili, the Aral Sea for the other two. These rivers, along with the Volga and lesser streams in N Tibet, W China, and S Mongolia, constitute the great interior drainage basin of Asia with an area of about 10 million sq km (about 4 million sq mi).

In the S, the SE, and the E, the great rivers flow through vast lowlands. Clockwise from SW to NE these rivers are the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, Huang He (Yellow), and Amur, all of which are snow- and glacier-fed and rise either well within, or along the margins of, the highland core.

Climate

The climate of the continent is as varied as its surface configuration. Climates in Asia range from that of the equatorial rain forest to that of the Arctic tundra. For the most part, the N part of Asia is dominated by movement of polar continental air masses that travel from W Siberia to the N Pacific. Winters here are long and harsh, summers are short and cool, and the annual precipitation is light. A similar climate is characteristic of the Tibetan Plateau and other uplands. The interior regions have middle-latitude desert or semiarid climates, with harsh winters and warm summers and an average annual precipitation of less than 230 mm (less than 9 in).

The S and E margins of the continent, however, are characterized by monsoonal air movements from the cold interior E and S in winter and from the oceans N toward the warmer land in summer. For the most part the margins of Asia have cool to cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers, with a strong concentration of rainfall in the summer months. Although the term monsoonal is applied to all E and S Asia's climates, the true monsoon is characteristic only of part of the Indian subcontinent and Burma; in these areas average annual rainfall exceeds 2000 mm (more than 79 in). In other parts of S and E Asia, rainfall is either less heavily concentrated in the summer or evenly distributed throughout the year. Most of E Asia experiences flows of maritime air from the W Pacific in the form of a monsoon effect. In places where orographic factors (that is, mountains) intervene, the winter is likely to be wet, as is the case along the E coasts of portions of the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia and in parts of S India. The coastal areas of E Asia are also subject to destructive typhoons, which originate in the W Pacific and the N part of the South China Sea.

Southwest Asia falls into a different climatic regime, characteristic of much of the Mediterranean area and dominated by a high-pressure belt of dry, relatively stable air masses that move slowly from W to E, bringing winter rainfall and then passing into N India. The average annual rainfall is light, and semiarid steppe and desert climates prevail. This climate regime extends into the NW Indian Peninsula.

Vegetation

Vegetation in Asia is extraordinarily diverse, bearing relation to the many varieties of soil and climate. In the far N reaches of the continent, in Siberia, tundra and taiga vegetation predominate. The former consists primarily of mosses and lichens; the latter is a largely coniferous forest of pine, fir, and spruce. South of the taiga, grasslands occur in great E-W bands. These blend to the S into a desert scrub where aridity increases, as in the intermontane basins of the highland core and its peripheries, and in much of Southwest Asia.

In South, Southeast, and East Asia, equatorial rain forest predominates in the lowest latitudes, where heavy precipitation is characteristic throughout the year. The luxuriant evergreen rain forest is characterized by numerous species, including teak, jackfruit, eucalyptus, oak, and various species of bamboo and palm. Farther N of the equator lies a more open tropical forest, often called monsoonal, and this in turn merges to the N into subtropical evergreen forest, as in S China and Japan. In the middle latitudes mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees predominate, and these merge, to the N, with the region of coniferous forests.

Animal Life

The fauna of the continent is as diversified as its climates, terrain, and vegetation. The N regions are rich in furbearers, such as the brown bear, otter, lynx, sable, ermine, and wolf, in addition to a vast array of birdlife. The steppe and semiarid regions support antelope and numerous species of burrowing animals such as hare and field mice. Freshwater fish are found in all parts of the continent, and Lake Baykal is notable for its distinctive fauna. Wild sheep and goats are found in the highlands, and Tibet is the home of the wild yak. Wildlife is scarcer in the hot dry regions of Southwest Asia and in parts of South Asia, where the most famous indigenous animal, the Asian lion, is virtually extinct. Jackals and hyenas, however, are common in these regions. In the more humid regions of E and SE Asia, native animal life has been much diminished by centuries of human occupancy. Monkeys, however, are ubiquitous in the S areas, and the Indian tiger is still found in small numbers in parts of South and Southeast Asia. Birdlife, snakes, and lizards abound here, and various types of crocodiles are widely distributed. Wild apes such as the gibbon and the scarce orangutan are found in Southeast Asia. Many types of deer and antelope also live in less well-populated areas such as Borneo, where flying squirrels and tree rats are numerous. Among the animals of unusual interest are the rare Southeast Asian rhinoceros, the Asian elephant, the tapir, the anteater, and the wild buffalo of India and Southeast Asia.

Mineral Resources

Asia is enormously rich in known mineral resources, even though much of the continent--Tibet, for instance--has not yet been explored geologically. Coal exists in great abundance in Siberia and N China, in NE India, and in lesser deposits elsewhere. Petroleum and natural gas also are well distributed, but with the greatest concentrations at the head of the Persian Gulf, in parts of Indonesia, in N and interior China, and on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Large offshore reserves are believed to exist as well along the coasts of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and W India. Metallic minerals are relatively scarce in Southwest Asia, except in Turkey, which is a major chromium producer. Elsewhere on the continent metallic ores of various kinds are well distributed; China and Siberia in particular are well endowed. Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are extremely rich in tin, and India is rich in iron and manganese ores. Other important mineral resources include gold, silver, uranium, copper, lead, and zinc; gemstones, such as diamonds, are found in Siberia, and sapphires and rubies occur in South and Southeast Asia.

THE PEOPLE

Ethnology · Demography · Languages · Religion · Cultural Activity

The peoples of Asia are more diverse than those of any other continent, and they are highly concentrated in a small proportion of the total area, chiefly in S and E Asia. Population densities in the N and interior areas are low by any standard, as are those in most parts of Southwest Asia. In East Asia, Southeast Asia, and most of South Asia, people are crowded onto relatively small areas of riverine lowlands. In China, for example, 90% of the population is concentrated in the E third of the country. Even in highly industrialized Japan most of the populace is concentrated in small lowlands where the largest cities are also located.

Ethnology

Mongoloid peoples are predominant in East Asia and mainland Southeast Asia, but Malayo-Polynesian stock prevails in the archipelagoes of Southeast Asia. In South Asia, about two-thirds of the population consists of Caucasoid stocks resembling the peoples of the Middle East; Caucasoid peoples also dominate in Southwest Asia and in much of Central Asia. In S India darker-skinned people speaking Dravidian languages are the dominant group. Mongoloid peoples inhabit the Himalayan and Tibetan area and extend through Mongolia into E Siberia. The primary ethnic group in Siberia, however, is Caucasoid, of European origin.

Demography

The total population of the continent exceeds 3.6 billion. Under the UN classification system, East Asia alone has nearly 1.5 billion people. Southeast Asia has about 520 million, South Central Asia more than 1.4 billion, and Western Asia about 185 million. These regional estimates include the former Soviet republics in Asia, but not the Asian portion of the Russian Federation. Again excluding Asiatic Russia, the estimated population density, about 114 persons per sq km (about 296 persons per sq mi), is the second highest of any continent, although the population is unevenly distributed.

For the most part the people of Asia are rural dwellers, but urbanization has proceeded rapidly in recent decades. Residents of urban areas account for 75% or more of the population in Israel, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Lebanon, Singapore, Taiwan, and many nations of the Arabian Peninsula. Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Syria also contain relatively large urban populations. The margins of South and Southeast Asia are dotted with large urban areas that developed as a result of European economic and political domination; among these are Karachi, Bombay (Mumbai), Goa, Colombo, Madras, Calcutta (Kolkata), Rangoon (Yangon), George Town (Pinang), Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Surabaya, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Phnom Penh, and Hanoi. Bangkok is not a former colonial center, but it resembles the others in most other respects. Even in China, many of the larger coastal cities were strongly influenced by the European impact. In Japan, modern urbanism has been a recent phenomenon, but 78% of the population now is urban. In Southwest Asia, ancient traditions of city building were reinforced by Muslim culture, giving rise to cities such as Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Istanbul; modern urbanization is reflected in such cities as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Beirut, and Ankara. Still, in some Southwest Asian countries urban populations are a small proportion of the whole.

Urban growth in much of Asia reflects both immigration and rapid population expansion. The annual rate of population increase for the continent as a whole is about 1.5%. Several countries have significantly lower growth rates; these include Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore. India, on the other hand, has a higher than average growth rate and, like China, now has a population of more than 1 billion. The populations in most Asian countries are young, which means continued population growth for a long period, as well as large numbers of entrants into the labor market each year in countries ill prepared to provide them with jobs.

Languages

Ethnicity rather than race is a more meaningful approach to the population diversity of Asia. Sinitic culture, and cultures that are influenced by China but possess their own languages, are characteristic of East Asia; these peoples include the Chinese, Tibetans, Mongols, Koreans, and Japanese. Southeast Asia is more diversified, although peninsular and archipelagic Southeast Asia is mainly Malay. Burmese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Khmer inhabit mainland Southeast Asia along with other ethnolinguistic groups. In South Asia, the peoples in the N speak a variety of Hindi-related Indo-Aryan languages; but in the S the Dravidian languages are most important. In Southwest Asia, Persian (Farsi), Arabic, Turkish, and Hebrew are the important languages identifying various ethnic groups. Turkic speakers also are numerous in Central Asia and in W China, although Russian is by far the principal language in Siberia.

Religion

Asia fostered all the principal religions of the world and many minor ones as well. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam originated in Southwest Asia; Buddhism and Hinduism in India; and the so-called Chinese religion, composed of Confucian and Taoist elements, as well as ancestor worship, in China. Although its historical impact, both direct and indirect, was great, Christianity is today practiced by only a small number of Asians (most notably in the Philippines and South Korea). Buddhism has virtually disappeared from India but, in two quite different forms, extends through interior Asia and into Southeast Asia, where it is the main religion of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos; it also is important in Japan, Vietnam, and China. Islam dominates in Southwest Asia and Central Asia, and is of major importance in South Asia, where both Pakistan and Bangladesh are predominantly Muslim. Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, is also predominantly Muslim. Several Southwest Asian cities are pilgrimage centers, most prominently Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.

Cultural Activity

The continent of Asia may be divided into two cultural realms: that which is Asian in culture (East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia) and that which is not (former Soviet Asia and Southwest Asia). For more information on this subject see articles such as Chinese Art and Architecture; Islamic Art and Architecture; Islamic Music; etc.

PATTERNS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Agriculture · Forestry and Fishing · Mining · Manufacturing · Energy · Transportation · Trade

Most of Asia is economically underdeveloped. The majority of the continent's population is employed in agriculture, but most agricultural activity is characterized by low yields and low labor productivity. Relatively few people in Asia are employed in manufacturing. In general, urban centers and their industries are not well integrated economically with the rural sector. Transportation systems, both within countries and between them, are poorly developed.

A number of exceptions exist, and they are important. Japan has successfully modernized its economy, as have Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and, to a lesser extent, Malaysia and Thailand. All except Japan experienced economic growth rates averaging more than 5% per year between 1980 and 1997, well beyond their rates of population growth. The Southwest Asian states with large petroleum resources also did well, although not in the distribution of income. A recession afflicted much of Asia in the late 1990s, causing especially severe hardship in Indonesia, Thailand, and South Korea. Japan's economy remained stagnant for most of the decade.

Agriculture

Less than one-sixth of Asia's land is arable. In general the basic unit of production is the village rather than the farm. In South, Southeast, and East Asia agriculture is characterized by small landholdings in alluvial lowlands, too many people on too little land, production largely for subsistence, high rates of tenancy (except in the Communist countries), a heavy dependence on cereals and other food staples, and premodern technologies. Rice is the food-staple crop of South, Southeast, and East Asia. It is usually grown under wet conditions. In South and Southeast Asia, yields are extremely low, controlled irrigation facilities are poorly developed, and double-cropping is seldom practiced. Irrigation schemes in India have helped stabilize annual yields and increase overall production. The example of Japan has shown that small farms and wet-rice agriculture can enormously increase yields and production through the introduction of new high-yielding varieties, careful water management, the application of fertilizers, and the elimination of landlordism.

Despite a wide distribution of new high-yielding varieties of wet rice in many parts of South and Southeast Asia since the late 1960s (the so-called green revolution), production has not risen as hoped. The average rice yields in India, Thailand, and Burma are less than one-half that of Japan. In India, however, high-yielding varieties of wheat, developed in Mexico, have had, in certain areas, an impressive impact on wheat yields, the country's second crop.

Also practiced in the lower latitudes, and in marked contrast with the predominantly subsistence types of agriculture, is large-scale estate agriculture, which produces crops for export, such as rubber, palm oil, coconut products, tea, pineapples, and abaca fiber. Estate production originated during the colonial period in South and Southeast Asia, and many estates remain under foreign ownership and control. Most of the same crops, however, are grown in substantial quantities on small holdings.

In East Asia agriculture is based on wet-paddy cultivation to a latitude of about 35° N in China and about 40° N elsewhere. In contrast to Southeast Asia, yields here are high, double-cropping is common, irrigation is highly controlled, and fertilizer inputs are extremely high, especially in Japan. North of the Huai R. in China, rice gives way to wheat and other dry grains, especially sorghum and corn, all cultivated in a form of intensive horticulture characteristic of Chinese agriculture. Swine, poultry, and fish (in ponds) are raised in both the N and S where possible, but the raising of dairy and beef cattle is common only in Japan and Korea.

In the drier interior regions, some dry-farming of grains is practiced, and the raising of cattle, sheep, and horses is important. Oasis-type agriculture is found in favored locations in W China and in Central Asia. Dry-farming of grains, nomadic herding, and some irrigated oasis-type cultivation are also characteristic of Southwest Asia. For the most part, however, productivity levels are low.

Forestry and Fishing

Lumbering is an important industry in most Southeast Asian countries, especially in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia; teak is one of Burma's most important exports. Forest gathering and shifting cultivation in forested interfluvial areas are widespread activities in Southeast Asia, as they are also in the more remote parts of humid South Asia and S China. In India and China, however, the original forest cover has long since been removed in the more heavily populated areas. In Japan, lumbering is a major industry, and large areas of planted stands, chiefly conifer, have replaced much of the indigenous vegetation. Siberian timber reserves are enormous and have been as yet relatively little tapped.

Marine fisheries are extremely important in Asia. China is the world's leading fishing country, and Japan is not far behind. The fishing industry is also important in Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, and South Korea. Pisciculture, the raising of pond fish, is also an important activity, especially in China. Although fishing in the poor countries is largely for domestic consumption, emphasis has increasingly been placed on exports of dried, frozen, and canned fish.

Mining

Mining also is an important activity in most Asian countries, and it is a major export industry in several: manganese in India; tin in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia (which, combined, produce much of the world's supply of this metal); and chromium ore in Kazakstan. The most important Asian mineral export, however, is petroleum. Southwest Asia contains the world's largest reserves of oil outside the former USSR, and most of the production is exported. Indonesia, and more recently China and Malaysia, are also exporters. In South Asia modest petroleum and natural-gas deposits are exploited in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and off the W coast of India. Coal mining is important in China, E Siberia, NE India, Iran, and Turkey. China is also a major producer of iron, tungsten, tin, and many other minerals.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is relatively poorly developed. Japan is the great exception, with a highly diversified industrial sector that employs nearly 25% of the labor force. Two other major manufacturing countries in Asia are China and India, each of which has a large manufacturing sector. Manufacturing in China is concentrated in S Manchuria; in the ports of Shanghai, Tianjin, Tsingtao, and Wuhan; and in selected interior regions where raw materials are available. China's steel production is comparable to that of the U.S., although production on a per capita basis remains low. Manufacturing in India is heavily concentrated in and near Calcutta, in the Bombay area, in the central peninsula, and in a number of other resource-advantaged areas. India is now a major industrial power, but its manufacturing sector employs only about 10% of the working population, while China's employs more than 15%. Since the 1960s industry, especially light manufacturing, has developed rapidly in such countries as Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. In other countries, industries tend to be associated with the processing of local agricultural, mineral, and forest raw materials, with light manufacturing for domestic markets, and with the assembly of machinery and vehicles imported from other countries. The trend in many Asian countries is to establish manufacturing industries geared to export, thereby taking advantage of the relatively inexpensive labor; notable examples are the electronic-equipment and clothing-manufacture industries of South Korea and Taiwan.

Energy

Although overall energy production has increased greatly since the 1960s, energy consumption per capita remains extremely low in most Asian countries. The more economically developed countries have moderate to high consumption levels. These include the former Soviet republics, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong (now a special administrative region of China), Malaysia, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Energy sources are, in many regions, dependent on local resources. In Southwest Asia few alternatives to petroleum exist as an energy source. Hydroelectric potentials are immense in India, and about 20% of the electricity generated in that country comes from waterpower. Nonetheless, much of the energy consumed in rural India continues to be derived from the burning of dung and brushwood. In Southeast Asia, oil production is substantial in certain countries such as Indonesia and Brunei, but waterpower and fuel wood are the chief domestic sources of energy. Both China and Japan have shown that small-scale hydroelectric plants can be effective providers of energy to small towns and rural areas. China is reported to have some 90,000 small run-of-stream (not dammed) hydroelectric plants, chiefly in S China, in addition to numerous large plants. Nonetheless, coal remains China's chief energy source. In Japan petroleum is the largest energy source, almost all of it imported; hydroelectricity and nuclear power also supply a major share of Japan's energy needs. The area of former Soviet Asia is immensely rich in hydroelectric potential that has only recently begun to be tapped.

Transportation

In most of Asia transportation systems are poorly developed. No comprehensive continental land transportation system exists. Few railways cross international boundaries, and where they do, as between China and the former Soviet republics, they are underused. Much the same is true of roads, and, for the most part, navigable rivers are also not international routes of transportation, the Amur R., between Russia and China, being a major exception. Most of Asia's international communication is by sea and by air. All major Asian ports are connected with each other by both liner and tramp shipping services. Singapore and Hong Kong are particularly important as entrepôts, to which small shipments are brought from a vast hinterland by small vessels and then shipped abroad.

Air services link all major Asian cities. Tokyo is the most important Asian air center, and the airports located in Hong Kong, Osaka, Singapore, and Bangkok also rank among the world's busiest.

Domestic transportation in many countries is limited. Rural settlements are poorly connected with one another or with larger towns. Highways are few, and rural roads are usually unpaved. Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, and much of the Philippines are the exceptions. Where navigable, rivers are often the main highways of commerce, but not all countries have them. In China the Yangtze R. has long been the E-W transportation artery, and it is connected by canal with the North China Plain. In Southeast Asia the Mekong, Menam, and Irrawaddy rivers all have acted as the spatial integrators of national territories. In India, however, the rivers have been much less important.

The continent's chief transportation mode is the railroad. Japan has a dense railroad network, and China, which has one of the world's longest railroad systems, had by the mid-1970s linked all of its major manufacturing centers and provincial capitals into one vast network. Korea and Taiwan also are well served. The countries of Southeast Asia, except for Thailand and Malaysia, and those of Southwest Asia have railroad systems that are small and truncated. In South Asia an integrated railroad system, originally built by the British, was divided by the political separation of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Former Soviet Asia is crossed by the Trans-Caspian and Turk-Sib railroads in Central Asia and by the Trans-Siberian Railroad and the Baykal-Amur Mainline.

Trade

As a whole, the continent of Asia enters into world trade to a greater degree than either Africa or South America. A very high proportion of this trade is extracontinental. The important exceptions are the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to Japan; the lesser flows from Indonesia and Brunei to Japan; the trade of China with Japan and with Southeast Asia; and, above all, the flow of raw materials to Japan, chiefly from Southeast Asia, and the return flood of Japanese manufactured goods to Southeast Asia. Japan ranks among the world leaders in the value of international trade, but only about 40% of this is with other Asian countries. China and India both have a large value international trade, also chiefly outside the continent. Malaysia and Indonesia are major traders in raw materials. In per capita terms, however, most countries other than Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore, the major Southwest Asian oil exporters, and some former Soviet republics rank low on the world scale of international trade.

BEST REGARDS
MUKHTIAR ALI SHAR 19-07-2007

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