For other uses see Asia (disambiguation). Asia Area 44579000 km2 (17212000 sq mi) Population 3879000000 (1st)1 Pop. density 89/km2 (226/sq mi) Demonym Asian Countries 48 (List of countries) Dependencies List Akrotiri and Dhekelia British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Unrecognized regions List Abkhazia Gaza Strip (Palestine) Nagorno-Karabakh South Ossetia Taiwan Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus West Bank (Palestine) Languages List of languages Time Zones UTC+2 to UTC+12 Internet TLD .asia Largest cities

List of cities List Tokyo Seoul Mumbai Karachi Jakarta Osaka Shanghai Manila Hong Kong Tehran Lahore Kolkata Beijing Guangzhou Taipei Bangkok Singapore Kuala Lumpur Ho Chi Minh City Dubai

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.9% of its land area) and with approximately 4 billion people it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. During the 20th century Asia's population nearly quadrupled.2

Asia is traditionally defined as part of the landmass of Eurasiawith the western portion of the latter occupied by Europelocated to the east of the Suez Canal east of the Ural Mountains and south of the Caucasus Mountains (or the Kuma-Manych Depression)3 and the Caspian and Black Seas.4 It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. Given its size and diversity Asiaa toponym dating back to classical antiquityis more a cultural concept incorporating a number of regions and peoples than a homogeneous physical entity35 (see Subregions of Asia Asian people). The wealth of Asia differs very widely among and within its regions due to its vast size and huge range of different ethnic groups cultures environments historical ties and government systems.

Asia has been the historical birthplace of all major world religions. Contents 1 Definition and boundaries 2 Etymology 3 History 4 Political geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 6.1 Languages 6.2 Mythology 6.3 Religions 6.3.1 Abrahamic 6.3.2 Dharmic and Taoist 7 Culture 7.1 Nobel prizes 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Definition and boundaries See also: Geography of Asia List of countries spanning more than one continent#Asia and Europe Countries in both Asia and Europe and Copenhagen criteria#Geographic criteria Two-point equidistant projection of Asia and surrounding landmasses.

The original distinction between Europe and Asia was made by the ancient Greeks. They used the Aegean Sea the Dardanelles the Sea of Marmara the Bosporus the Black Sea the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov as the border between Asia and Europe. The Nile was used as the border between Asia and Africa (then called Libya) although some Greek geographers suggested the Red Sea would form a better boundary. However the Nile was usually considered the border until the 15th century when the boundary was changed to the Persian Gulf the Red Sea and the Isthmus of Suez. At the same time the border of between Asia and Europe became an issue as the old boundaries did not extend to the arctic as previously thought. In the eighteenth century the Ural mountains were first suggested as the border and by the nineteenth century this border had become the accepted divide. To connect this to the previous divide the border was extended southwards from the mountains to the Ural river after which it passed through the Caspian Sea and crossed the crest of the Caucasus forming the widely accepted boundary used today. The border between Asia and Oceania is placed somewhere in the Malay archipelago with islands belonging to Indonesia usually included in Asia including the western half of New Guinea.6

Some contentions about the borders still exist. Asia is the largest and most culturally diverse of the continents in the seven-continent system and does not exactly match with conventional Asian cultural boundaries.6 Some definitions exclude Turkey the Middle East Central Asia and Russia while only considering the Far East Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent to compose Asia78 especially in the United States after World War II.9 The term is sometimes used more narrowly in reference to the Asia-Pacific region which does not include the Middle East South Asia or Russia10 but does include islands in the Pacific Oceana number of which may also be considered part of Australasia or Oceania although Pacific Islanders are not considered Asian.11

Some geographers do not consider Asia and Europe to be separate continents12 as there is no logical physical separation between them.5 For example Sir Barry Cunliffe the emeritus professor of European archeology at Oxford argues that Europe has been geographically and culturally merely "the western excrescence of the continent of Asia."13 Geographically Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of Eurasia with Europe being a northwestern peninsula of the landmassor of Afro-Eurasia: geologically Asia Europe and Africa comprise a single continuous landmass (save the Suez Canal) and share a common continental shelf. Almost all of Europe and most of Asia sit atop the Eurasian Plate adjoined on the south by the Arabian and Indian Plate and with the easternmost part of Siberia (east of the Cherskiy Range) on the North American Plate. Etymology

The term "Asia" is originally a concept exclusively of Western civilization.14 The peoples of ancient Asia (Chinese Japanese Indians Persians Arabs etc.) never conceived the idea of Asia simply because they did not see themselves collectively. In their perspective they were vastly varied civilizations contrary to ancient European belief.14

The word Asia originated from the Greek word 15 first attributed to Herodotus (about 440 BC) in reference to Anatolia orin describing the Persian Warsto the Persian Empire in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three women's names are used to describe one enormous and substantial land mass (Europa Asia and Libya referring to Africa) stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus (i.e. Hesione) but that the Lydians say it was named after Asias son of Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in Sardis. Even before Herodotus Homer knew of two figures in the Trojan War named Asios; and elsewhere he describes a marsh as (Iliad 2 461). In Greek mythology "Asia" () or "Asie" () was the name of a Nymph or Titan goddess of Lydia.16 Usage of the term soon became common in ancient Greece and subsequently by the ancient Romans.14 Ancient and medieval European maps depict the Asian continent as a "huge amorphous blob" extending eastward.14 It was presumed in antiquity to end with Indiathe Greek king Alexander the Great believing he would reach the "end of the world" upon his arrival in the East.14 Alternatively the etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word (w)a(m) which means 'to go outside' or 'to ascend' referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East and also likely connected with the Phoenician word asa meaning east. This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for Europe as being from Akkadian erbu(m) 'to enter' or 'set' (of the sun). T.R. Reid supports this alternative etymology noting that the ancient Greek name must have derived from asu meaning 'east' in Assyrian (ereb for Europe meaning 'west').14 The ideas of Occidental (form Latin Occidens 'setting') and Oriental (from Latin Oriens for 'rising') are also European invention synonymous with Western and Eastern.14 Reid further emphasizes that it explains the Western point of view of placing all the peoples and cultures of Asia into a single classification almost as if there were a need for setting the distinction between Western and Eastern civilizations on the Eurasian continent.14 Ogura Kazuo and Tenshin Okakura are two outspoken Japanese figures on the subject.14 However this etymology is considered doubtful because it does not explain how the term "Asia" first came to be associated with Anatolia which is west of the Semitic-speaking areas unless they refer to the viewpoint of a Phoenician sailor sailing through the straits between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Also Assuwa has been suggested as the origin for the name of the continent "Asia".17 The Assuwa league was a confederation of states in western Anatolia defeated by the Hittites under Tudhaliya I around 1400 BC. History Main article: History of Asia Map of Asia in 1890. The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Central Asian steppes. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in Mesopotamia the Indus Valley and the Huanghe shared many similarities. These civilizations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other innovations such as writing seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities states and empires developed in these lowlands. The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans who spread their languages into the Middle East South Asia and the borders of China where the Tocharians resided. The northernmost part of Asia including much of Siberia was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads owing to the dense forests climate and tundra. These areas remained very sparsely populated. The center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus and Himalaya mountains and the Karakum and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While the urban city dwellers were more advanced technologically and socially in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons the nomads who conquered states in China India and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local more affluent societies. The Islamic Caliphate took over the Middle East and Central Asia during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century an area extending from China to Europe. Political geography See also: List of Asian countries by population and United Nations geoscheme for Asia Map of Asia Russia Mongolia China Japan South Korea North Korea Taiwan India Pakistan Nepal Bhutan Bangladesh Maldives British Indian Ocean Territory Sri Lanka Vietnam Hong Kong Thailand Laos Cambodia Burma Malaysia Brunei Singapore Philippines Indonesia East Timor Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Egypt Afghanistan Iran Saudi Arabia Oman Yemen UAE Qat. Bah. Kuw. Iraq Jordan Isr. Syria Leban. Turkey Greece Cyp. Georgia Azerbaijan Armenia Australia Geographical Subregions of Asia: UN geoscheme subregions of Asia: The countries in this table are categorised according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ provisos are clearly indicated. Name of region18 and territory with flag Area (km) Population (1 July 2008 est.) Population density (per km) Capital Central Asia:  Kazakhstanb 2724927 15666533 5.7 Astana  Kyrgyzstan 198500 5356869 24.3 Bishkek  Tajikistan 143100 7211884 47.0 Dushanbe  Turkmenistan 488100 5179573 9.6 Ashgabat  Uzbekistan 447400 28268441 57.1 Tashkent Eastern Asia:  Hong Kongf 1092 700830019 6417.9 -  Japan 377835 127288628 336.1 Tokyo  Macauf 25 460823 18473.3    Mongolia 1565000 2996082 1.7 Ulaan Baatar  North Korea 120540 23479095 184.4 Pyongyang  People's Republic of Chinafg 9640821 1322044605 134.0 Beijing  Republic of China (Taiwan)f 3619120 23170321 626.7 Taipei  South Korea 98480 49232844 490.7 Seoul Northern Asia:  Russiad 17075400 142200000 26.8 Moscow Southeastern Asia:  Brunei 5770 381371 66.1 Bandar Seri Begawan  Burma (Myanmar) 676578 47758224 70.3 Naypyidaw  Cambodia21 181035 13388910 74 Phnom Penh  East Timor (Timor-Leste)c 15007 1108777 73.8 Dili  Indonesiac 1919440 230512000 120.1 Jakarta  Laos 236800 6677534 28.2 Vientiane  Malaysia 329847 27780000 84.2 Kuala Lumpur  Philippines 300000 92681453 308.9 Manila  Singapore 704 4608167 6545.7 Singapore  Thailand 514000 65493298 127.4 Bangkok  Vietnam 331690 86116559 259.6 Hanoi Southern Asia:  Afghanistan 647500 32738775 42.9 Kabul  Bangladesh 147570 153546901 1040.5 Dhaka  Bhutan 38394 682321 17.8 Thimphu  Indiag 3287263 1147995226 349.2 New Delhi  Maldives 300 379174 1263.3 Mal  Nepal 147181 29519114 200.5 Kathmandu  Pakistang 803940 167762049 208.7 Islamabad  Sri Lanka 65610 21128773 322.0 Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte Western Asia:  Armeniae 29800 3299000 280.7 Yerevan  Azerbaijanab 86660 8845127 102.736 Baku  Bahrain 665 718306 987.1 Manama  Cypruse 9250 792604 83.9 Nicosia  Georgiaa 69700 4636400 65.1 Tbilisi  Iraq 437072 28221181 54.9 Baghdad  Iran 1648195 70472846 42.8 Tehran  Israel 20770 7112359 290.3 Jerusalemh  Jordan 92300 6198677 57.5 Amman  Kuwait 17820 2596561 118.5 Kuwait City  Lebanon 10452 3971941 353.6 Beirut  Oman 212460 3311640 12.8 Muscat  Palestinian territories 6257 4277000 683.5 Ramallah  Qatar 11437 928635 69.4 Doha  Saudi Arabia 1960582 23513330 12.0 Riyadh  Syria 185180 19747586 92.6 Damascus  Turkeyab Ankara  United Arab Emirates 82880 4621399 29.5 Abu Dhabi  Yemen 527970 23013376 35.4 Sana Total 43810582 4162966086 89.07 Note: Part of Egypt (Sinai Peninsula) is geographically in Western Asia and the Australian external territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are often associated with Asia. However these are not present in the UN geoscheme.  a: Azerbaijan Georgia and Turkey are often considered to be transcontinental countries spanning both Asia and Europe. Many organisations such as the BBC22 place them in Europe while others such as the CIA23 include them in Asia. All are included in European organisations such as the Council of Europe24 and are considered to be European and thus eligible to join by the European Union.25  b: Population and area figures for the transcontinental countries of Azerbaijan Kazakhstan and Turkey include only the Asian portions of those countries.  c: Indonesia is often considered a transcontinental country with territory in both Asia and Oceania and East Timor can be placed in either Asia or Oceania. Population and area figures for Indonesia do not include Irian Jaya and Maluku Islands frequently reckoned in Oceania.  d: Russia is considered a transcontinental country with territory in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia; population and area figures are for the entire state.  e: The island of Cyprus is located on the Anatolian plate26 but is a member of European organisations such as the Council of Europe24 and the European Union.25 Armenia is similarly located fully within Asia but is a member of the Council of Europe.24  f: Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China is a de facto state claimed by the PRC. Figures given for the PRC are for mainland China only and do not include these three territories.  g: The area of India includes Jammu and Kashmir a territory contested between India Pakistan and the People's Republic of China.  h: In 1980 Jerusalem was proclaimed Israel's united capital following its annexation of Arab-dominant East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. The United Nations and many countries do not recognize this claim with most countries maintaining embassies in Tel Aviv instead. Economy Main article: Economy of Asia Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre. Asia has the second largest nominal GDP of all continents after Europe but the largest when measured in PPP. As of 2010 the largest economies in Asia are China Japan India South Korea and Indonesia. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the economies of the PRC27 and India have been growing rapidly both with an average annual growth rate of more than 8%. Other recent very high growth nations in Asia include Malaysia Indonesia Pakistan Thailand Vietnam Mongolia Uzbekistan Cyprus and the Philippines and mineral-rich nations such as Kazakhstan Turkmenistan Iran Brunei United Arab Emirates Qatar Kuwait Saudi Arabia Bahrain and Oman. China was the largest and most advanced economy on earth for much of recorded history28293031 until the British Empire (excluding India) overtook it in the mid 19th century. Japan has had for only several decades after WW2 the largest economy in Asia and second-largest of any single nation in the world after surpassing the Soviet Union (measured in net material product) in 1986 and Germany in 1968. (NB: A number of supernational economies are larger such as the European Union (EU) the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or APEC). In the late 1980s and early 1990s Japan's GDP was almost as large (current exchange rate method) as that of the rest of Asia combined.citation needed In 1995 Japan's economy nearly equaled that of the USA as the largest economy in the world for a day after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 yen/dollar. Economic growth in Asia since World War II to the 1990s had been concentrated in Japan as well as the four regions of South Korea Taiwan Hong Kong and Singapore located in the Pacific Rim known as the Asian tigers which have now all received developed country status having the highest GDP per capita in Asia.32 Mumbai one of the most populous cities in the continent a hub for infrastructure & tourism plays a crucial role in the Economy of India It is forecasted that India will overtake Japan in terms of nominal GDP by 2020.33 In terms of GDP per capita both nominal and PPP-adjusted South Korea will become the second wealthiest country in Asia by 2025 overtaking Germany the United Kingdom and France. According to IMF statistics for the year 2010 the mostly unrecognised Republic of China PPP-adjusted GDP per capita at USD 34743 is already higher than that of Finland France or Japan.citation needed By 2027 according to Goldman Sachs China will have the largest economy in the world. Several trade blocs exist with the most developed being the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Asia is the largest continent in the world by a considerable margin and it is rich in natural resources such as petroleum forests fish water rice copper and silver. Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia particularly in mainland China Taiwan South Korea Japan India Philippines and Singapore. Japan and South Korea continue to dominate in the area of multinational corporations but increasingly mainland China and India are making significant inroads. Many companies from Europe North America South Korea and Japan have operations in Asia's developing countries to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labour and relatively developed infrastructure. According to Citigroup 9 of 11 Global Growth Generators countries came from Asia driven by population and income growth. They are Bangladesh China India Indonesia Iraq Mongolia Philippines Sri Lanka and Vietnam.34 Asia has four main financial centres: Tokyo Hong Kong Singapore and Shanghai. Call centres and business process outsourcing (BPOs) are becoming major employers in India and the Philippines due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled English-speaking workers. The increased use of outsourcing has assisted the rise of India and the China as financial centres. Due to its large and extremely competitive information technology industry India has become a major hub for outsourcing. Demographics East Asia had by far the strongest overall HDI performance of any region in the world nearly doubling average HDI attainment over the past 40 years according to the Reports analysis of health education and income data. PR China the second highest achiever in the world in terms of HDI improvement since 1970 is the only country on the Top 10 Movers list due to income rather than health or education achievements. Its per capita income increased a stunning 21-fold over the last four decades also lifting hundreds of millions out of income poverty. Yet it was not among the regions top performers in improving school enrolment and life expectancy.35 Nepal a South Asian country emerges as one of the worlds fastest movers since 1970 mainly due to health and education achievements. Its present life expectancy is 25 years longer than 1970's.; more than four of every five children of school age in Nepal now attend primary school compared to just one in five 40 years ago.35 Japan and South Korea ranked highest among the countries grouped on the HDI (number 11 and 12 in the world which are in the very high human development category) followed by Hong Kong China (SAR)(21) and Singapore (27). Afghanistan (155) ranked lowest amongst Asian countries out of the 169 countries assessed.35 Languages Main article: Languages of Asia Asia is home to several language families and many language isolates. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance according to Ethnologue more than 600 languages are spoken in Indonesia more than 800 languages spoken in India and more than 100 are spoken in the Philippines. China has many languages and dialects in different provinces. Mythology See also: List of Asian mythology Asian mythology is complex and diverse. The story of the Great Flood for example as presented to Christians in the Old Testament is first found in Mesopotamian mythology in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Hindu mythology tells about an Avatar of the God Vishnu in the form of a fish who warned Manu of a terrible flood. In ancient Chinese mythology Shan Hai Jing the Chinese ruler Da Yu had to spend 10 years to control a deluge which swept out most of ancient China and was aided by the goddess Nwa who literally fixed the broken sky through which huge rains were pouring. Pilgrims in the annual Hajj at the Kaabah in Mecca. Religions See also: Eastern philosophy and Religion in Asia Almost all Asian religions have philosophical character and Asian philosophical traditions cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and writings. Indian philosophy includes Hindu philosophy and Buddhist philosophy. They include elements of nonmaterial pursuits whereas another school of thought from India Crvka preached the enjoyment of material world. Christianity is also present in most Asian countries. Buddhist monks in Thailand. Abrahamic The Abrahamic religions of Judaism Christianity Islam and Baha'i Faith originated in West Asia. Judaism the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths is practiced primarily in Israel (which has the world's largest Jewish population)36 though small communities exist in other countries such as the Bene Israel in India. In the Philippines and East Timor Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion; it was introduced by the Spaniards and the Portuguese respectively. In Armenia Cyprus Georgia and Russia Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion. Various Christian denominations have adherents in portions of the Middle East as well as China and India. The world's largest Muslim community (within the bounds of one nation) is in Indonesia. South Asia (mainly Pakistan India and Bangladesh) holds 30% of Muslims. There are also significant Muslim populations in China Iran Malaysia southern Philippines (Mindanao) Russia and most of West Asia and Central Asia. The Bah' Faith originated in Asia in Iran (Persia) and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire Central Asia India and Burma during the lifetime of Bah'u'llh. Since the middle of the 20th Century growth has particularly occurred in other Asian countries because the Bah' Faith's activities in many Muslim countries has been severely suppressed by authorities. Dharmic and Taoist The religions of Hinduism Buddhism Jainism and Sikhism originated in India South Asia. In East Asia particularly in China and Japan Confucianism Taoism and Zen Buddhism took shape. Over 80% of the populations of both India and Nepal adhere to Hinduism alongside significant communities in Bangladesh Pakistan Bhutan Sri Lanka and Bali. Many overseas Indians in countries such as Burma Singapore and Malaysia also adhere to Hinduism. Buddhism has a great following in mainland Southeast Asia and East Asia. Buddhism is the religion of the majority of the populations of Cambodia (98%)37 Thailand (95%)38 Burma (89%)39 Japan (84-96%)40 Bhutan (75%)41 Sri Lanka (69%)42 Laos (67%-98%)43 and Mongolia (50%).44 Large Buddhist populations also exist in Singapore (42.5%)45 Taiwan (35.1%-93%)46474849 South Korea (23.2%)50 Malaysia(19.2%)51 Nepal(10.7%)52 Vietnam (9.3-80%)53 China(8-80%)54 North Korea (4.5%-60%)555657 Indonesia (<2%);58 and small communities in India and Bangladesh. In many Chinese communities Mahayana Buddhism is easily syncretized with Taoism thus exact religious statistics is difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated. The Communist-governed countries of China Vietnam and North Korea are officially atheist thus the number of Buddhists and other religious adherents may be under-reported. Jainism is found mainly in India and in oversea Indian communities such as India and Malaysia. Sikhism is found in Northern India and amongst overseas Indian communities in other parts of Asia especially Southeast Asia. Confucianism is found predominantly in Mainland China South Korea Taiwan and in overseas Chinese populations. Taoism is found mainly in Mainland China Taiwan Malaysia and Singapore. Taoism is easily syncretized with Mahayana Buddhism for many Chinese thus exact religious statistics is difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated. Culture Nobel prizes Rabindranath Tagore of India the first Asian Nobel laureate. The polymath Rabindranath Tagore a Bengali Indian poet dramatist and writer from Santiniketan now in West Bengal India became in 1913 the first Asian Nobel laureate. He won his Nobel Prize in Literature for notable impact his prose works and poetic thought had on English French and other national literatures of Europe and the Americas. He is also the writer of the national anthems of Bangladesh and India. Tagore is said to have named another Bengali Indian Nobel prize winner the 1998 laureate in Economics Amartya Sen. Sen's work has centered on global issues including famine welfare and third-world development. Amartya Sen was Master of Trinity College Cambridge University UK from 1998 to 2004 becoming the first Asian to head an 'Oxbridge' College. Other Asian writers who won Nobel Prizes include Yasunari Kawabata (Japan 1966) Kenzabur e (Japan 1994) Gao Xingjian (People's Republic of China 2000) and Orhan Pamuk (Turkey 2006). Also Mother Teresa of India and Shirin Ebadi of Iran were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights especially for the rights of women and children. Ebadi is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize. Another Nobel Peace Prize winner is Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship in Burma. She is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma(Myanmar) and a noted prisoner of conscience. She is a Buddhist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Most recently Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China. Sir C.V.Raman is the first Asian to get a Nobel prize in Sciences. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him". Other Asian Nobel Prize winners include Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Abdus Salam Shmuel Yosef Agnon Robert Aumann Menachem Begin Aaron Ciechanover Avram Hershko Daniel Kahneman Shimon Peres Yitzhak Rabin Ada Yonath Yaser Arafat Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Timor Leste Kim Dae-jung and 13 Japanese scientists. Most of the said awardees are from Japan and Israel except for Chandrasekhar and Raman (India) Salam (Pakistan) Arafat (Palestinian Territories) Kim (South Korea) Horta and Belo (Timor Leste). In 2006 Dr. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of Grameen Bank a community development bank that lends money to poor people especially women in Bangladesh. Dr. Yunus received his Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt University United States. He is internationally known for the concept of micro credit which allows poor and destitutes with little or no collateral to borrow money. The borrowers typically pay back money within the specified period and the incidence of default is very low. The Dalai Lama has received approximately eighty-four awards over his spiritual and political career.59 On 22 June 2006 he became one of only four people ever to be recognized with Honorary Citizenship by the Governor General of Canada. On 28 May 2005 he received the Christmas Humphreys Award from the Buddhist Society in the United Kingdom. Most notable was the Nobel Peace Prize presented in Oslo Norway on 10 December 1989. See also Asia portal Main articles: Outline of Asia and Index of Asia-related articles Asian Century Asian cuisine Asian furniture Asian Games Asian Monetary Unit Eastern world Far East Fauna of Asia Flags of Asia Middle East Eastern Mediterranean Levant Near East Pan-Asianism Lists: List of cities in Asia List of metropolitan areas in Asia by population List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia References "List of continents by population". Worldatlas.com. http://www.worldatlas.com/geoquiz/thelist.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-01.  "Like herrings in a barrel". The Economist. December 23 1999. a b "Asia". Encyclopdia Britannica. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. National Geographic Atlas of the World (7th ed.). Washington DC: National Geographic. 1999. 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Retrieved 2010-12-20.  Travel China Guide Han Chinese Windows on Asia Chinese Religions China Travel China Guide Religions and Beliefs Every Culture Han people: Religion and Expressive Culture Every Culture Han Chinese in the People's Republic of China "Culture of North Korea - Alternative name History and ethnic relations". Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg Inc.. http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/North-Korea.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04.  CIA The World Factbook -- North Korea "Background Note: North Korea". U.S. State Department. 2009-2. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-04.  "CIA  The World Factbook". Cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html. Retrieved 2010-12-20.  His Holiness's Teachings at TCV. "A Brief Biography - The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama". Dalailama.com. http://www.dalailama.com/biography/a-brief-biography. Retrieved 2010-06-01.  "Asia". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2005. New York: Columbia University Press. World Conflicts: Asia and the Middle East. Edited by Carl L. Bankston III. New York: Salem Press. Further reading Higham Charles. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts on File library of world history. New York: Facts On File 2004. Kamal Niraj. "Arise Asia: Respond to White Peril". New Delhi:Wordsmith2002 ISBN 978-81-87412-08-3 Kapadia Feroz and Mandira Mukherjee. Encyclopaedia of Asian Culture and Society. New Delhi: Anmol Publications 1999. Levinson David and Karen Christensen. Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 2002. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Asia Wikinews has news related to: Asia European Digital Archive on the Soil Maps of the World - EuDASM Map Asia Maps of Asia from the Norman B. 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