Countries of Asia
Asia contains 48 countries according to the official UN count — from the population giants India and China to the smallest island states in the Pacific. This is the complete reference table with capitals and population figures for 2025.
How many countries does Asia have?
The United Nations General Assembly recognises 48 sovereign states on the Asian continent (as of 2025). This count includes territories that geographically belong to Asia and are members of the UN regional commissions for Asia and the Pacific, or the West Asian commission. Turkey and Russia each span two continents physically; in the UN count they fall under Asia and Europe respectively.
The largest country in Asia by area is China (9,596,960 km²), followed by India (3,287,263 km²). The most populous country is India, which overtook China in 2023 with an estimated population of 1,450,000,000 people. The smallest states are the Maldives (298 km², about 515,000 inhabitants) and Singapore (722 km², 6 million inhabitants). See also the most populous countries in the world to see how Asian countries compare to the rest.
The diversity within Asia is immense. The continent is home to both the world's largest democracy (India) and some of the smallest monarchies, federal republics and city-states. By comparison, Africa has 54 countries over a similarly large territory. On the comparison page you can see how the continents measure up side by side.
Regions of Asia
Geographers and the UN typically divide Asia into five sub-regions. East Asia encompasses China, Japan, North and South Korea and Mongolia — the economically most significant part of the continent. Southeast Asia consists of eleven states, including Indonesia (282 million inhabitants) and the Philippines. South Asia is the most densely populated sub-region, with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh together accounting for more than 1.87 billion people.
West Asia, also known as the Middle East, stretches from Turkey and Iran to the Arabian Peninsula. Central Asia consists of the five former Soviet republics — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan — and is characterised by vast steppes and deserts. The climate varies greatly between sub-regions; read more on the climate of Asia page.
Overview table: countries, capitals and population (2025)
The table below shows each country's official capital and estimated population for 2025. Figures are rounded to five significant digits; sources: UN World Population Prospects 2024 and Worldometer 2025.
| Country | Capital | Population (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| India | New Delhi | 1,450,000,000 |
| China | Beijing | 1,410,000,000 |
| Indonesia | Jakarta | 282,000,000 |
| Pakistan | Islamabad | 251,000,000 |
| Bangladesh | Dhaka | 173,000,000 |
| Japan | Tokyo | 124,000,000 |
| Philippines | Manila | 116,000,000 |
| Vietnam | Hanoi | 99,000,000 |
| Iran | Tehran | 90,000,000 |
| Turkey | Ankara | 86,000,000 |
| Thailand | Bangkok | 72,000,000 |
| South Korea | Seoul | 52,000,000 |
| Iraq | Baghdad | 44,000,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | 37,000,000 |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | 34,000,000 |
| Uzbekistan | Tashkent | 37,000,000 |
| Nepal | Kathmandu | 30,000,000 |
| Afghanistan | Kabul | 43,000,000 |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw | 55,000,000 |
| Syria | Damascus | 22,000,000 |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | 22,000,000 |
| Cambodia | Phnom Penh | 17,000,000 |
| Kazakhstan | Astana | 20,000,000 |
| Yemen | Sana'a | 35,000,000 |
| Azerbaijan | Baku | 10,000,000 |
| Tajikistan | Dushanbe | 10,000,000 |
| Jordan | Amman | 10,000,000 |
| Israel | Jerusalem | 9,700,000 |
| Laos | Vientiane | 7,600,000 |
| Singapore | Singapore | 6,100,000 |
| Lebanon | Beirut | 5,400,000 |
| North Korea | Pyongyang | 26,000,000 |
| Oman | Muscat | 4,900,000 |
| Kuwait | Kuwait City | 4,300,000 |
| Georgia | Tbilisi | 3,700,000 |
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024, Worldometer 2025. Figures are estimates; census data may differ.
Special statuses and territorial disputes
Several Asian territories have a special or disputed status. Taiwan functions as an independent state but is regarded by the People's Republic of China as its own territory; the UN does not recognise Taiwan as a member. Palestine holds UN observer status and is recognised as a state by more than 140 countries; its borders remain subject to ongoing negotiations.
Hong Kong and Macau are Special Administrative Regions of China with their own governance. The geopolitical complexity of Asia makes the continent fascinating but also difficult to count definitively. The UN count of 48 countries serves as the reference here, as on the main Asia overview page.
Population distribution and density
Population density in Asia is extremely uneven. Bangladesh, with more than 1,000 inhabitants per km², is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, while Mongolia, with around 2 inhabitants per km², is one of the most sparsely populated. The river deltas of the Ganges, the Yangtze and Java are among the most densely settled zones on Earth.
Urban growth figures are remarkable: Dhaka, Lagos and Shanghai are among the fastest-growing metropolises. Tokyo, with around 37 million people in the metropolitan area, is the largest urban agglomeration in the world. The time zones page shows how far apart Asian cities are in time.
Sources
- United Nations — World Population Prospects 2024 (population figures by country)
- Worldometer 2025 — current estimates by country
- CIA World Factbook — area, capitals and form of government
- UN Statistics Division — geoscheme regional classification of Asia