The continent of Asia covers 29.4% of the Earth's land area and has a population of around 4.87 billion (), accounting for about 60% of the world population. The combined population of both China and India is estimated to be over 2.8 billion people . Asia's population is projected to grow to 5.25 billion by 2055, or about 54% of projected world population at that time. Population growth in Asia was close to 0.55% p.a. , with highly disparate rates. Many Western Asian and South Asian countries have growth rates far above the world average, notably Pakistan at 2% p.a., and India with a 0.6% increase in 2022. On the other hand, East Asian nations are in the middle of a demographic stagnation, with China experiencing a small decrease of –0.06%, after years of rapidly slowing growth.

Population

History Population of Asia, 1–1820 AD (in millions) Source: Maddison et al.

Year110001500160017001820China59.6 59.0 103.0 160.0 138.0 381.0India 75.0 75.0 110.0 135.0 165.0 209.0Japan 3.0 7.5 15.4 18.5 27.0 31.0Korea 1.6 3.9 8.0 10.0 12.2 13.8Indonesia 2.8 5.2 10.7 11.7 13.1 17.9Indochina 1.1 2.2 4.5 5.0 5.9 8.9Other East Asia 5.9 9.8 14.4 16.9 19.8 23.6Iran 4.0 4.5 4.0 5.0 5.0 6.6Turkey 6.1 7.3 6.3 7.9 8.4 10.1Other West Asia 15.1 8.5 7.5 8.5 7.4 8.5Total Asia 174.2182.9 283.8378.5 401.8710.4

Shares of world population, Asia, 1–1998 AD (percent of world total) Source: Maddison et al.

Year11000150016001700182018701913195019731999China25.822.023.528.8 22.9 36.628.224.421.722.521.0India32.528.025.1 24.3 27.3 20.119.917.014.214.816.5Japan1.3 2.83.53.34.53.02.72.93.32.82.1Other Asia 15.915.412.711.711.98.69.410.315.517.319.8Total Asia (excluding Japan)74.265.4 61.364.862.1 65.357.551.751.454.757.4World100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Countries ranking by international organisations

+ 2024 World Population Prospects by the United Nations Population Division Countries Population (Thousands) TFR Population Growth Rate (percentage) Life Expectancy at birth (years) Median Age as of 1 July (years) Net Migration Rate (per 1000 people) 1,444,436.244 1.96 0.90 72.2 28.4 −0.4 1,420,909 1.01 −0.22 78.0 39.6 −0.2 282,354 2.12 0.80 71.3 30.1 −0.1 249,336 3.55 1.54 67.8 20.4 −5.6 172,507 2.14 1.22 74.9 25.7 −2.7 124,071 1.22 −0.51 84.9 49.4 1.2 115,371 1.89 0.82 69.9 25.7 −1.4 100,675 1.90 0.62 74.7 32.9 −0.6 91,115 1.68 0.99 77.9 33.4 2.1 87,372 1.62 0.23 77.4 33.0 −3.2 71,689 1.20 −0.06 76.6 40.1 0.3 54,320 2.10 0.66 67.1 29.8 −0.7 51,738 0.73 −0.08 84.4 45.1 1.5 45,558 3.22 2.10 72.4 20.6 −0.4 42,045 4.76 2.83 66.3 17.1 −1.0 33,661 2.31 1.78 79.0 29.6 3.6 36,010 3.49 1.93 72.5 27.0 −0.2 35,344 1.54 1.20 76.8 30.5 4.9 39,987 4.50 2.94 69.4 18.3 −0.3 29,674 1.96 −0.15 70.6 25.0 −13.5 26,460 1.78 0.29 73.7 36.3 −0.1 23,038 1.95 0.56 77.7 33.1 −1.2 24,175 2.70 4.04 72.6 22.8 22.2 20,464 2.98 1.25 74.5 29.6 −0.4 17,533 2.55 1.20 70.8 26.0 −1.9 11,531 2.60 0.38 78.0 24.5 −13.5 10,305 1.67 0.62 74.6 33.1 1.1 10,492 3.04 1.87 71.9 22.1 −2.0 9,322 2.79 1.39 82.7 29.2 1.1 10,839 1.21 3.41 83.1 31.6 25.3 7,718 2.40 1.34 69.2 24.6 −1.3 7,433 0.73 −0.49 85.6 46.8 −2.6 7,131 2.78 1.54 71.8 25.3 0.5 7,431 2.66 1.70 70.2 26.6 2.0 5,812 0.95 0.68 83.9 35.7 3.4 5,786 2.23 0.70 77.9 28.6 −3.0 5,165 2.51 4.41 80.2 29.5 29.2 4,884 1.52 2.04 80.6 34.8 12.5 3,808 1.80 −0.01 74.7 37.0 0.5 3,454 2.63 1.22 72.0 26.9 0.0 2,984 1.72 −0.71 75.8 36.1 −10.1 3,012 1.72 2.36 82.5 33.6 15.1 1,588 1.81 2.40 81.4 33.2 14.1 1,392 2.63 1.27 67.9 21.3 −1.8 1,352 1.38 0.95 81.8 38.2 6.0 789 1.45 0.61 73.3 29.9 −0.4 719 0.68 0.39 83.2 38.9 2.2 527 1.56 0.36 81.3 31.9 −4.6 461 1.73 0.80 75.5 32.2 0 Asia 4,792,493 1.88 0.60 74.8 32.1 −0.5 Population Replacement 2.1

Socioeconomics

Asia is home to some of the world's largest economies, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, several of which are members of the G20 and BRICS. Economic and social development varies significantly across the continent.

The Human Development Index (HDI) provides a broad measure of socioeconomic well-being, combining income, life expectancy, and education. Across Asia, HDI scores range from very high in countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, to lower levels in parts of South and Southeast Asia. The table below shows the 10 highest and lowest HDI scores in the region.

10 highest HDIs Rank Country HDI 2023 data (2025 report) rankings 0.955 0.946 0.940 0.937 0.925 0.919 0.913 0.900 0.899 0.886

10 lowest HDIs Rank Country HDI 2018 data (2019 report) rankings 0.455 0.478 0.544 0.577 0.585 0.593 0.602 0.607 0.607 0.633

Ethnicities

Central Asian peoples: Turkic peoples, Iranian peoples East Asian peoples: List of Chinese ethnic groups (historical), Japanese people, Koreans, Mongols South Asian peoples: Ethnic groups of India, Ethnic groups in Pakistan, Dravidians, Indo-Aryans, Munda people Southeast Asian peoples: Austronesian peoples, Tai peoples; List of ethnic groups in Cambodia, ethnic groups in Indonesia, List of ethnic groups in Laos, Ethnic groups of the Philippines, List of ethnic groups in Vietnam West Asian peoples: Arab people, Jews, Samaritans, Druze, Peoples of the Caucasus (transcontinental), Ethnic minorities in Iran, Ethnic minorities in Iraq; Iranian peoples, Turkmen, Turks

See also

Asian diaspora

References

External links

World Population: Major Trends