1. There are 49 countries in Asia

These include India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and many more.

2. Two countries in Asia are also in Europe

Russia and Turkey have both land in Europe and land in Asia.

3. More than 4.7 billion people live on the continent

This makes Asia the continent with the most people living in it.

4. Asia is home to around 2,300 languages

The most widely spoken Asian languages are Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Bengali and Japanese. Hindi is also the oldest language in the world.

5. There are 12 landlocked countries in Asia

Landlocked means countries which do not have a coastline so are not on the sea.

The landlocked countries in Asia are Armenia, Bhutan, Laos, Nepal, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

6. The continent covers one-third of the Earth’s surface

This makes it the biggest continent in the world

7. Asia has the highest mountain in the world

Mount Everest is part of the Himalaya mountain range. The Himalayas are spread across five Asian countries; Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

8. The biggest island in Asia is Borneo

Borneo in South-East Asia is the third largest island in the world and the largest in Asia.

The island belongs to three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north and Indonesia in the south.

Borneo is known for its rainforests. Many animals only live on this island such as the Bornean Orangutan.

9. Asia is the birthplace of all major religions

Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism

Buddhism for example began in India and is now a key religion in China, South Korea, Japan, the Southeast Asian countries, and Sri Lanka.

10. Asia has a very varied climate

Some parts of Asia are very cold like Siberia in Russia, whereas countries like Thailand and the Maldives are known for tropical weather.

This means there is varied animals and wildlife across Asia from jungles with monkeys to polar bears in colder regions.