Asia. Asia ( i/ˈeɪʒə/ or /ˈeɪʃə/) is the Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and comprises 30% of its land area. With approximately 4.3 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. Asia has a high growth rate in the modern era. For instance, during the 20th century, Asia's population nearly quadrupled.[3] The boundaries of Asia are culturally determined, as there is no clear geographical separation between it and Europe, which together form one continuous landmass called Eurasia. Given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia – a name dating back to classical antiquity - may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography.[6] Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems.
Definition and boundaries Greek three-continent system. Far East. The Far East is an English term (with equivalents in various other languages of Europe and Asia; Chinese: 遠東; pinyin: yuǎn dōng; literally "far east") mostly describing East Asia (including Northeast Asia), Southeast Asia, and the Russian Far East (part of North Asia, aka Siberia)[1] with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.[2] The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 12th century, denoting the Far East as the "farthest" of the three "easts", beyond the Near East and the Middle East. For the same reason, Chinese people in the 19th and early 20th centuries called Western countries "Tàixī (泰西)"—i.e. anything further west than the Arab world.
The term is less commonly used than in the past[3] as it allegedly connotes the "orientalism" of the 19th century more explicitly than East Asia. Popularization[edit] Prior to the colonial era, "Far East" referred to anything further east than the Middle East. Concerning the term, John K. Seoul. Seoul (English pronunciation: /soʊl/; Korean: [sʰʌ.ul] ( ) — officially the Seoul Special City — is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the developed world.[5] The Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people,[6] home to over half of South Koreans along with 632,000 international residents.[7] Seoul Station is the main terminal of the KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway is the world's second largest subway network by length, considered the world's best subway by Jalopnik,[18] featuring 4G LTE, WiFi, DMB and WiBro.
Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. A UNESCO City of Design, Seoul was named the 2010 World Design Capital. Etymology[edit] History[edit] Namdaemun street,Seoul(1900) Climate[edit] Singapore. Singapore ( i/ˈsɪŋəpɔr/ or /ˈsɪŋɡəpɔr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. The country's territory consists of the lozenge-shaped main island, commonly referred to as Singapore Island in English and Pulau Ujong in Malay, and more than 60 significantly smaller islets.[8] Singapore is separated from Peninsular Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to the north, and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to the south.
The country is highly urbanised, and little of the original vegetation remains. The islands were settled in the second century AD and subsequently belonged to a series of local empires. Singapore is a unitary multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. Etymology History A cheering crowd welcome the return of British forces, 1945 Geography. Taiwan. Coordinates: Taiwan ( i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan, which makes up over 99% of its territory,[f] as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands.
Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the seat of the central government.[2] New Taipei, encompassing the metropolitan area surrounding Taipei proper, is the most populous city. Names The official name of the state is the "Republic of China"; it has also been known under various names throughout its existence. History Prehistoric Taiwan Taiwan was joined to the Asian mainland in the Late Pleistocene, until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago. Opening in the 17th century Qing rule Japanese rule. Middle East. Beirut. Coordinates: Beirut (Arabic: بيروت Bayrūt, French: Beyrouth) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon.
No recent population census has been done but in 2007 estimates ranged from slightly more than 1 million to slightly less than 2 million as part of Greater Beirut. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, Beirut is the country's largest and main seaport. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, inhabited more than 5,000 years ago. The first historical mention of Beirut is found in the ancient Egyptian Tell el Amarna letters dating from the 15th century BC.
The Beirut River runs south to north on the eastern edge of the city. Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in its Central District, Badaro, Rue Verdun, Hamra and Ashrafieh. Archaeology and prehistory[edit] The Phoenician port of Beirut was located between Rue Foch and Rue Allenby on the north coast. Saudia. Saudi Arabian Airlines (الخطوط الجوية العربية السعودية) operating as Saudia (Arabic: السعودية as-Saʿūdiyyah ) is the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah.[2] The airline reverted to its abbreviated English brand name Saudia (used from 1972 to 1996) from Saudi Arabian Airlines (historic name in use until 1971 and reintroduced in 1997) on 29 May 2012; the name was changed to celebrate the company's entry into the SkyTeam airline alliance on that day, and it was a part of a larger rebranding initiative.[3] It operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 90 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.
Domestic and international charter flights are operated, mostly during Ramadan and the Hajj season. The airline's main operational base is at Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED). Other major hubs are Riyadh-King Khalid International Airport (RUH), and Dammam-King Fahd International Airport (DMM). History[edit] Jordan. Jordan (/ˈdʒɔrdən/; Arabic: الأردن al-Urdun), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية al-Mamlakah al-Urdunīyah al-Hāshimīyah), is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River, and extending into the historic region of Palestine.
Jordan borders Saudi Arabia to the south and east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, and Palestine, the Dead Sea and Israel to the west. The kingdom emerged from the post-World War I division of West Asia by Britain and France. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine. The name of the state was changed to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 1 December 1948.[8] History[edit] Classical Transjordan[edit] Jordan and its neighbors with a rare dusting of snow in several regions.[15] Independence[edit] Europe. Europe ( i/ˈjʊərəp/ or /ˈjɜrəp/[3]) is a continent that comprises the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia.
It is generally divided from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas.[4] Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term "continent" also incorporates cultural and political elements. Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Definition Etymology Most major world languages use words derived from "Europa" to refer to the "continent" (peninsula).
History Prehistory. Western Europe. Video taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS on a pass over Western Europe European sub-regions according to EuroVoc (the thesaurus of the European Union). Western Europe is marked green on this map. Western Europe is the region comprising the westerly countries of Europe.
While the term has a geographic context, another main definition developed during the Cold War (approx. 1945-1991) to describe the countries associated with the Western European Union (1954–2011; now part of the European Union (EU)), a defensive alliance drafted in 1948 among non-communist European nations during the Cold War, as opposed to the countries of the Eastern Bloc (or Warsaw Pact). Countries culturally and geographically associated with other European regions that avoided Soviet influence during the Cold War are usually included, while western members of the former Eastern Bloc (with the exception of Eastern Germany) are excluded.
Historical divisions[edit] Cold War[edit] Intermediate Region[edit] Netherlands. The Netherlands ( i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdərˌlɑnt] ( )) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of twelve provinces in western Europe and three islands in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east; and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.[9] The country is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The capital city of the Netherlands, mandated by the constitution, is Amsterdam, however, the seat of government is located in The Hague.[10] The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as "Holland", which in strict usage, refers only to North and South Holland, two of its provinces. The former usage is considered incorrect[11][12] or informal,[13] depending on the context, but is generally accepted when referring to the national football team.[14] History[edit] Dutch Republic (1581–1795)[edit]
England. England ( i/ˈɪŋɡlənd/) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.[1][2][3] It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies north west of England, whilst the Celtic Sea lies to the south west. The North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain which lies in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England's terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. Toponymy An alternative name for England is Albion.
History Prehistory and antiquity Middle Ages. Scandinavia. Scandinavia[a] is a historical and cultural-linguistic region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethno-cultural Germanic heritage and related languages, which includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Modern Norway and Sweden proper[b] and also northern parts of Finland are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whereas modern Denmark is situated on the Danish islands and Jutland. The term Scandinavia is usually used as a cultural term, but in English usage, it is occasionally confused with the purely geographical term Scandinavian Peninsula, which took its name from the cultural-linguistic concept.[1] The name Scandinavia historically referred vaguely to Scania.
The terms Scandinavia and Scandinavian entered usage in the 18th century as terms for the three Scandinavian countries, their peoples and associated language and culture, being introduced by the early linguistic and cultural Scandinavist movement. Terminology and use[edit] Finland[edit] Eastern Europe. Definitions[edit] Pre-1989 division between the "West" (grey) and "Eastern Bloc" (orange) superimposed on current borders: Russia (the former RSFSR) (dark orange) Other countries formerly part of the USSR (medium orange) Other former Communist states not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange) Several definitions of Eastern Europe exist today, but they often lack precision or are extremely general.
Geographical[edit] The Ural Mountains, Ural River, and the Caucasus Mountains are the geographical land border of the eastern edge of Europe. Political and cultural[edit] One view of the present boundaries of Eastern Europe came into being during the final stages of World War II. UN[edit] The United Nations Statistics Division developed a selection of geographical regions and groupings of countries and areas, which are or may be used in compilation of statistics. European Union[edit] European sub-regions according to EuroVoc (the thesaurus of the European Union). Contemporary developments[edit] Warsaw. Warsaw, known in Polish as Warszawa ([varˈʂava] ( ); see also other names), is the capital and largest city of Poland.
It is located on the Vistula River, roughly 260 kilometres (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population is estimated at 1.711 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2.666 million residents, making Warsaw the 9th most populous city proper in the European Union.[2][3][4] The area of the city covers 516.9 square kilometres (199.6 sq mi), while the city's agglomeration covers 6,100.43 square kilometres (2,355.39 sq mi).[5] Warsaw is known as the city of palaces, royal gardens and grand parks. Many aristocratic residences and mansions are located near the city center.[13] Etymology and names[edit] Other names for Warsaw include Varsovia (Latin), Varsovie (French), Warschau (German), װאַרשע/Varshe (Yiddish), Варшава/Varshava (Russian, Bulgarian, Belorussian, Ukrainian), Varšuva (Lithuanian). History[edit] Prague. Budapest. Moscow. Africa. Tunis. Martil.
Uganda. United States. San Francisco. New York. Chicago. Miami.