What Are The Countries In Asia? Do You Know The Names?

The travel and tourism market of Asia is expected to reach US$363.63 billion by 2029.
Further, the anticipated growth rate between the duration of 2025-29 will be around 4.28% within the same time frame.

Of course, the countries in Asia, with their diverse attractions, have a major role to play in this tourist influx.

For example, India, with the Himalayas and rising spiritual tourism, has emerged as a new tourism power center in Asia. Further, countries like Thailand and Maldives remain favorite destinations for honeymooners.

On the other hand, Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan offer a great fusion of heritage and modern infrastructure.

So, in today’s article, I will share the names of all the countries in Asia, with a brief overview of them. Further, our travel trivia will continue with more fun question-and-answer (QnA) sections.

How Many Countries In Asia?

Are There 48 Or 51 Countries In Asia? It is the most common confusion.

There are 53 countries and regions in Asia. 48 countries are fully within the continent geographically.

Further, it has transcontinental countries such as Russia and the Arab Republic of Egypt (Egypt).

Moreover, Asia has Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. These are dependencies or other territories in the continent.

Do you want to know what are the 48 countries in Asia along with some important details? The table in the next section will answer all your questions.

Countries In Asia In Alphabetical Order

The table below has the names of countries in Asia in alphabetical order, along with their capitals, populations, important tourist attractions, and other details.

Country Name	Sub-Region	Area ( km2)	Population (2025)	Capital	Official Language	Tourism Attractions	Travel & TourismDevelopment Index Ranking (World Economic Forum, May 2024)
Afghanistan	Southern Asia	652,867	42,647,492	Kabul	Dari and Pashto	Gardens of Babur, Band-e-Amir National Park,Remains of the Bamiyan Valley	Not Listed
Armenia	Western Asia	29,743	2,973,840	Yerevan	Armenian	Republic Square, Cafesjian Center For The Arts	72
Azerbaijan	Western Asia	86,600	10,336,577	Baku	Azerbaijani	Baku Old City, Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center	56
Bahrain	Western Asia	786.5	1,607,049	Manama	Arabic	Al-Fateh Grand Mosque, Manama	58
Bangladesh	Southern Asia	148,460	173,562,364	Dhaka	Bangla/Bengali	Cox’s Bazar, Saint Martin Island	109
Bhutan	Southern Asia	38,394	791,524	Thimphu	Bhutanese (Dzongkha)	Paro Taktsang, Thimphu	Not Listed
Brunei	South-Eastern Asia	5,765	462,721	Bandar Seri Begawan	Malay, English	Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Royal Regalia Museum	Not Listed
Cambodia	South-Eastern Asia	181,035	17,638,801	Phnom Penh	Khmer	Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm	86
China	Eastern Asia	9.597 Million	1,419,321,278	Beijing	Chinese	Mutianyu Great Wall, The Forbidden City	8
Cyprus	Western Asia	9,251	1,358,282	Nicosia	Greek, Turkish	Nissi Beach, Agios Georgios	30
Egypt	Southwest Asia	1.002 Million	118,365,995	Cairo	Arabic	Pyramids of Giza, Cairo	61
Georgia	Western Asia	69,700	3,807,670	Tbilisi	Georgian	Old Town Tbilisi, Batumi	45
Hong Kong	Eastern Asia	1,115	7,414,909	Beijing	English	Tian Tan Buddha, Hong Kong Disneyland	China Dependent Territory
India	Southern Asia	3.287 Million	1,450,935,791	New Delhi	Hindi and English are Used for Official Communication.	The Taj Mahal, The Himalayas, Varanasi	39
Indonesia	South-Eastern Asia	1.905 Million	283,487,931	Jakarta	Bahasa Indonesia	Jakarta, Bali, Borneo	22
Iran	Southern Asia	1.648 Million	91,567,738	Tehran	Persian	Persepolis, Naqsh-e Jahan Square	73
Iraq	Western Asia	438,314	46,042,015	Baghdad	Arabic, Kurdish	Erbil Citadel, Baghdad	Not Listed
Israel	Western Asia	21,937	9,387,021	Jerusalem	Hebrew, Arabic	Old City of Jerusalem, Western Wall	48
Japan	Eastern Asia	377,974	123,753,041	Tokyo	Japanese	Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, Hiroshima, Tokyo	3
Jordan	Western Asia	89,342	11,552,876	Amman	Arabic	Petra, The Citadel	70
Kazakhstan	Central Asia	2.725 Million	20,592,571	Astana	Kazakh	Kok-Tobe Hill, Almaty	52
Kuwait	Western Asia	17,818	4,934,507	Kuwait City	Arabic	The Avenues, Kuwait Tower, Tareq Rajab Museum	96
Kyrgyzstan	Central Asia	199,900	7,186,009	Bishkek	Kyrgyz, Russian	Ala-Archa Gorge, Bishkek	Not Listed
Laos	South-Eastern Asia	236,800	7,769,819	Vientiane	Lao	Kuang Si Falls, Vang Vieng	Not Listed
Lebanon	Western Asia	10,452	5,805,962	Beirut	Arabic	Temples of Baalbek, National Museum of Beirut	79
Macao	Eastern Asia	33	720,262	Beijing	Chinese	Senado Square, Ruins of Saint Paul’s	China Dependent Territory
Malaysia	South-Eastern Asia	330,803	35,557,673	Kuala Lumpur	Bahasa Melayu	Petronas Twin Towers, Batu Caves	35
Maldives	Southern Asia	300	527,799	Malé	Maldivian Dhivehi	Alimatha Island, Veligandu Island Beach	Not Listed
Mongolia	Eastern Asia	1.564 Million	3,475,540	Ulaanbaatar	Khalkha Mongol	Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Chinggis Khan Statue Complex	85
Myanmar	South-Eastern Asia	676,578	54,500,091	Naypyidaw	Burmese	Shwedagon Pagoda, Ngapali Beach	Not Listed
Nepal	Southern Asia	147,516	29,651,054	Kathmandu	Nepali	Boudhanath Stupa, Thamel	105
North Korea	Eastern Asia	120,540	26,498,823	Pyongyang	Korean (Munhwaŏ)	Tower of the Juche Idea, Kim Il-sung Square	Not Listed
Oman	Western Asia	309,500	5,281,538	Muscat	Arabic	Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Wadi Shab	67
Pakistan	Southern Asia	881,640	251,269,164	Islamabad	Urdu, English	Hunza Valley, Badsahi Mosque	101
Palestine	Western Asia	6020	5,495,443	Jerusalem	Arabic, Hebrew	Church of the Nativity, Via Dolorose	Not Listed
Philippines	South-Eastern Asia	300,000	115,843,670	Manila	Filipino, English	White Beach, Manila	69
Qatar	Western Asia	11,571	3,048,423	Doha	Arabic	Souq Waqif, Katara Cultural Village	53
Russia	Northern Asia	17.1 Million	143,997,393	Moscow	Tajik, Russian	Red Square, Lake Baikal, The Russian Tundra	Not Listed
Saudi Arabia	Western Asia	2.15 Million	33,962,757	Riyadh	Arabic	Riyadh, Mecca, Medina	41
Singapore	South-Eastern Asia	710	5,832,387	Singapore	Chinese, Malay, Tamil, English	Singapore Botanic Gardens, Sentosa Island	13
South Korea	Eastern Asia	100,210	51,717,590	Seoul	Korean (Hangugeo)	Gyeongbokgung Palace, Myeongdong Shopping Street	Not Listed
Sri Lanka	Southern Asia	65,610	23,103,565	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	Sinhala, Tamil	Gangaramaya Temple, Kapikaawatha Shivan Temple	76
Syria	Western Asia	185,180	24,672,760	Damascus	Arabic, Kurdish	Damascus Umayyad Mosque, Aleppo Citadel	Not Listed
Taiwan	Eastern Asia	36,197	23,213,962	Beijing	Chinese Mandarin (PuTongHua)	Taipei, Penghu Islands	China Dependent Territory
Tajikistan	Central Asia	143,099	10,590,927	Dushanbe	Tajik	Pamir Highway, National Museum of Tajikistan	99
Thailand	South-Eastern Asia	513,120	71,668,011	Bangkok	Thai	Pattaya, Bangkok, Phi Phi Islands	47
Timor-Leste	South-Eastern Asia	15,007	1,400,638	Dili	Tetum, Portuguese	Cristo Rei, Jaco Island	Not Listed
Turkey	Western Asia	783,562	87,473,805	Ankara	Turkish (türkçe)	Hagia Sophia Moschee, Topkapı Palace	29
Turkmenistan	Central Asia	491,210	7,494,498	Ashgabat	Turkmen	Darvaza Gas Crater, Parthian Fortresses of Nisa	Not Listed
United Arab Emirates (UAE)	Western Asia	83,600	11,027,129	Abu Dhabi	Arabic	Burj Khalifa, Umm al-Quwain	18
Uzbekistan	Central Asia	448,900	36,361,859	Tashkent	Uzbek	Samarkand, Taskent	78
Vietnam	South-Eastern Asia	331,690	100,987,686	Hanoi	Vietnamese	Old Quarter, War Remnants Museum	Not Listed
Yemen	Western Asia	555,000	40,583,164	Sanaa	Arabic	Socotra Island, Old City of Sanaa	Not Listed

What Are The Top 10 Biggest Countries In Asia?

Russia is the biggest country in Asia, if I also include the transcontinental countries. The table below enlists the names of the top 10 biggest countries in Asia, including their land areas and tourism market size.

Top 10 Biggest Countries In Asia	Land Area (in Km²)	Tourism Market Size (2025)	Travel & TourismDevelopment Index Ranking (World Economic Forum, May 2024)
Russia	17.1 Million	US$18.07 Billion	Not Enlisted
China	9.597 Million	US$159.94 Billion	8
India	3.287 Million	US$25.01 Billion	39
Kazakhstan	2.725 Million	US$601.64 Million	52
Saudi Arabia	2.15 Million	US$4.09 Billion	41
Indonesia	1.905 Million	US$9.22 Billion	22
Iran	1.648 Million	US$4.20 Billion	73
Mongolia	1.564 Million	US$79.83 Million	85
Pakistan	881,640	US$4.26 Billion	101
Türkiye	783,562	US$11.01 Billion	29

Though I did not find Russia on the list of Travel & Tourism Development Index Ranking, Russia is a country that inspires with the capital city of Moscow at its tourism epicenter.

Countries In Asia Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions and their answers about countries in Asia.

1. Is Turkey In Europe Or Asia?

Turkey is a bridge between Europe and Asia. So, this large peninsula is a transcontinental country.

Turkey was once the epicenter of the Ottoman Empire, and it became the modern Republic of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923. Further, since 2022, the country has been officially known and approved by the UN as Türkiye.

Moreover, the country with its heritage building and architecture and a unique geographical location, has 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex, Historic Areas of Istanbul, Hattusha: the Hittite Capital, and the Archaeological Site of Troy are some of the famous UNESCO Heritage Sites in the country.

2. What Are The Top 10 Most Powerful Countries In Asia?

The 2024 Asia Power Index by Lowy Institute has some interesting details to share. Though not a part of the continent, the USA continues its tug-of-war with China to increase its power in Asia, and it remains the most influential power with an index of 81.7.

Nevertheless, with due acknowledgment of the Beijing and Washington competition in Asia’s power contest, we name China as the most powerful country in Asia as it is a part of the continent geographically.

China has a power index of 72.7.

Meanwhile, India has made slow and steady progress in securing the third place on the list with a power index of 39.1. It has surpassed Japan with an improvement in its economic capability.

Nevertheless, here is the list of the top 10 powerful countries in Asia with their power indexes.

United States (81.7)
China (72.7)
India (39.1)
Japan (38.9)
Australia (31.9)
Russia (31.1)
South Korea (31.0)
Singapore (26.4)
Indonesia (22.3)
Thailand (19.8)

Australia is another non-Asian country that has established its power in the continent.

3. Which Is The Smallest Country In Asia?

Macao is the smallest country in Asia, with an area of 33 square kilometers. The Maldives, with an area of 300 square kilometers, and Singapore, with an area of 710 square kilometers, are the second and third smallest countries in the continent.

Macao is also known as the Las Vegas of Asia, thanks to its vibrant Casino scene. Further, it had a tourism boom in 2024, with a record 34.9 million visitors in 2024.

Moreover, MICE tourism (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions tourism) is now the focus in the country.

4, What Is The Oldest Country In Asia?

Iran, with a history dating back to 3200 BCE, is the oldest country in Asia and the world. Vietnam is the second-oldest country on the continent, with its origin going back to 2879 BCE.

Other countries in Asia are:

Armenia – 2492 BCE
North Korea – 2333 BCE
China – 2070 BCE
India – 2000 BCE
Israel – 1300 BCE
Afghanistan – 1200 BCE

5. Which Country Is Removed From Asia?

No country is removed from Asia. However, there are two Asian countries in history that no longer exist today as independent nations due to political reasons.

These two countries are Tibet and Bengal.

‣ Tibet

Tibet, for the longest time, has been troubled by the occupation of the Chinese Government. So, even though it is a sovereign state and countries like India consider it an independent nation, its autonomy remains a concern.

Currently, the United States maintains Tibet. Also, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, established on 29 April 1959, is seen as the “sole and legitimate representative” by people in and outside Tibet.

Also referred to as the Tibetan Government in Exile, CTA is based in Mussoorie, India.

However, with the US Congress passing a bill to support the Tibetan Cause and news like the celebration of Tibetan Independence Day at Shinjuku Historical Museum Hall in Tokyo surfacing, the future of Tibet as an independent nation looks hopeful.

‣ Bengal

Mughal Bengal was a de facto independent country in the 18th century. The Nawabs of Bengal ruled over it.

However, during British Rule, united or undivided Bengal was a province in India. Thanks to the partition of 1947, Bengal was divided into two halves.

The western part of Bengal, with a Hindu majority, remained a part of India. And the eastern part, with a Muslim majority, became known as East Pakistan.

After the freedom movement of 1971, East Pakistan emerged as the independent nation of Bangladesh.

6. What Is The Old Name Of Asia?

There are multiple versions of the old name of Asia or how the name Asia came.

Version 1: Asia was in the east of ancient Mesopotamia. So, it was also called “Asa,” or the land of sunrise in the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia.
The Phoenician seafarers of Canaan made the name popular.
Version 2: The old name of Asia goes back to the Bronze Age. It was earlier called Assuwa, and you can still find the mention in Hittite records. However, Assuwa referred to only a part of Anatolia then. Today, we also know Anatolia as Asia Minor, a West Asian Peninsula.
Version 3: Greeks believed that the name Asia came from a Greek mythological Tital Goddess or Nymph (Ἀσία or Ἀσίη).
Version 4: There is another Greek belief that the name Asia came from Hesione, the wife of Prometheus and the daughter of Oceanus.
Version 5: Homer’s Illiad mentions that Asios and ασιος, a marsh lowland in Lydia, were two Phrygians in the Trojan War.
Version 6: Moreover, Lydians believe that Asia comes from Asies. He was the son of Cotys and he gave the name to a tribe in Sardis.

7. What Is The Largest Country In Asia?

Russia is the largest country in Asia, with an area of 17.1 million km². However, it is a transcontinental country, stretching across Northern Asia and Eastern Europe.

So, if you consider the countries that are fully within Asia, China is the largest country with an area of 9.597 million km².

India is the second-largest country in Asia, with an area of 3.287 million km².

8. Does Asia Have 49 Countries?

No, Asia does not have 49 countries. It has 48 countries that are fully within the continent. Further, it has two transcontinental countries, Russia and the Arab Republic of Egypt.

In addition, it has three dependencies or other territories: Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. So, if you calculate all the Asia countries and regions, the total number will be 53.