Asia in 2026: 48 Countries, 5 Sub-Regions

Asia is the largest and most populous continent on Earth — 48 countries, 4.7 billion people, and a span from Mediterranean coast to Pacific archipelago. The five UN sub-regions cut the giant into pieces small enough to study: Central, East, South, Southeast, and Western Asia. Here is the modern map.

A continent of extremes

Asia contains the world's two most populous countries (India, then China), the largest country by land that doesn't touch an ocean (Kazakhstan), the smallest by area (Maldives), and both the highest capital (Thimphu, Bhutan, sits high in the Himalayas at over 2,300 metres) and one of the lowest-altitude (Manama, Bahrain, at 2 metres above sea level). The continent stretches from Cyprus's Nicosia at 33°E to Japan's Tokyo at 139°E — almost a third of the way around the planet.

Central Asia (5)

• Kazakhstan — Astana
• Kyrgyzstan — Bishkek
• Tajikistan — Dushanbe
• Turkmenistan — Ashgabat
• Uzbekistan — Tashkent

The "five Stans" — all former Soviet republics that became independent in 1991. Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country on Earth, larger than all of Western Europe combined. Uzbekistan is the only country in the world that is doubly landlocked alongside Liechtenstein, meaning every neighbouring country is also landlocked. Kazakhstan moved its capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997, then renamed Astana to Nur-Sultan in 2019, then renamed it back to Astana in 2022.

East Asia (5)

• China — Beijing
• Japan — Tokyo
• Mongolia — Ulaanbaatar
• North Korea — Pyongyang
• South Korea — Seoul

Five UN-recognised states. Taiwan also sits geographically in East Asia and functions as an independent country, but it is not a UN member and is recognised by only about 12 states; we don't count it in this 48 total. Tokyo is the largest capital city on Earth (~37 million metro). Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital — average winter temperatures dip below −20°C — and home to roughly half of Mongolia's entire population. Beijing's name means "northern capital" in contrast to Nanjing, "southern capital."

South Asia (8)

• Afghanistan — Kabul
• Bangladesh — Dhaka
• Bhutan — Thimphu
• India — New Delhi
• Maldives — Malé
• Nepal — Kathmandu
• Pakistan — Islamabad
• Sri Lanka — Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative) / Colombo (commercial)

South Asia contains a quarter of humanity in less than 5% of its land area. India became the world's most populous country in 2023, overtaking China. Pakistan moved its capital from Karachi to the purpose-built Islamabad in 1967. Bangladesh's Dhaka is the most densely populated city of any size on Earth. Sri Lanka's "official" capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte — where parliament sits — but the commercial centre and largest city is Colombo, which is what most travellers and atlases think of as the capital.

Southeast Asia (11)

• Brunei — Bandar Seri Begawan
• Cambodia — Phnom Penh
• East Timor (Timor-Leste) — Dili
• Indonesia — Jakarta (transitioning to Nusantara, Borneo)
• Laos — Vientiane
• Malaysia — Kuala Lumpur (official) / Putrajaya (administrative)
• Myanmar — Naypyidaw
• Philippines — Manila
• Singapore — Singapore
• Thailand — Bangkok
• Vietnam — Hanoi

The eleven countries of Southeast Asia are organised politically through ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). East Timor — the youngest country in Southeast Asia — gained independence from Indonesia in 2002. Indonesia is mid-relocation: the official capital remains Jakarta, but a new planned capital called Nusantara is being built on Borneo, with partial government functions transferring through 2024–2026. Singapore is one of only three sovereign city-states in the world (along with Vatican City and Monaco).

Western Asia / Middle East (19)

• Armenia — Yerevan
• Azerbaijan — Baku
• Bahrain — Manama
• Cyprus — Nicosia
• Georgia — Tbilisi
• Iran — Tehran
• Iraq — Baghdad
• Israel — Jerusalem (claimed) / Tel Aviv (most international embassies)
• Jordan — Amman
• Kuwait — Kuwait City
• Lebanon — Beirut
• Oman — Muscat
• Palestine — Jerusalem (claimed) / Ramallah (administrative)
• Qatar — Doha
• Saudi Arabia — Riyadh
• Syria — Damascus (the oldest continuously inhabited capital on Earth)
• Turkey — Ankara
• United Arab Emirates — Abu Dhabi
• Yemen — Sanaa (de jure) / Aden (de facto since 2015)

Western Asia is what most English-speakers call the Middle East. The three Caucasian countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia — sit on the boundary between Europe and Asia and are sometimes classified as European, but the UN puts them here. Damascus has been continuously inhabited for at least 11,000 years and is the oldest continuously inhabited capital city on Earth. Yemen has effectively two capitals because of its civil war: Sanaa is the constitutional capital, but the internationally recognised government has operated from Aden since 2015.

Asian capitals that catch people out

• Kazakhstan — Astana (it's the renamed Nur-Sultan, which itself was the renamed Astana).
• Myanmar — Naypyidaw, not Yangon.
• Sri Lanka — Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative), not Colombo.
• India — New Delhi, not Mumbai or Delhi proper. New Delhi is technically a district within the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• UAE — Abu Dhabi, not Dubai (Dubai is the largest city and the global brand, but Abu Dhabi is the federal capital).
• Pakistan — Islamabad, not Karachi or Lahore.
• Bhutan — Thimphu, the only world capital with no traffic lights anywhere in the city.
• Israel/Palestine — Both claim Jerusalem; international recognition is split, with most embassies in Tel Aviv (Israel) and de facto administration of Palestinian areas operating from Ramallah.

Asian extremes

• Largest country by area: China (~9.6 million km²) — though Russia is larger overall, the UN places it in Europe.
• Smallest country by area: Maldives (~298 km²).
• Most populous: India (~1.44 billion as of 2025).
• Largest landlocked country: Kazakhstan (~2.7 million km²).
• Highest capital: Thimphu, Bhutan (~2,334 m).
• Oldest continuously inhabited capital: Damascus, Syria.
• Newest country: East Timor (Timor-Leste), 2002.
• Most-recently relocated capital: Indonesia, mid-transition from Jakarta to Nusantara.
• Coldest capital: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.