Asia is the largest and most populous continent or region, depending on the definition. It covers 8.7 percent of the Earth's total surface area, or 29.8 percent of its land area, and it contains more than 60 percent of the world's human population.

Asia is traditionally defined as part of the landmass of Africa-Eurasia – with the western portion of the latter occupied by Europe – lying east of the Suez Canal, east of the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas.

Etymology

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The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (about 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three different women's names are used to describe a single land mass (Europa, Asia and Libya, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus but that the Lydians say it was named after Asias, son of Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in Sardis.

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RT @TheIndyNews: Thousands line streets for Aung San Suu Kyi http://t.co/SFrwBb0N
luishgomezo (Luis Gomez) Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:31:22 -0000
RT @TheIndyNews: Thousands line streets for Aung San Suu Kyi http://t.co/SFrwBb0N
#MisOjo RT @RENANBERGES: Lei esto es un estatu de bbm: "un paso asia la gloria" -_-
KGVermenton (Katherine Vermenton) Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:31:17 -0000
#MisOjo RT @RENANBERGES: Lei esto es un estatu de bbm: "un paso asia la gloria" -_-
alam semesta aja deh RT @YoanCantika: benua RT aniriani21: ASIA RT @YoanCantika: asean RT aniriani21: Indonesia!RT @YoanCantika: Kota RT
aniriani21 (Anriani BBCS ◕ ‿ ◕) Sun, 29 Jan 2012 1 Subscribe to Asia RSS feed