This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia. It includes fully recognized states, states with limited but substantial international recognition, de facto states with little or no international recognition, and dependencies of both Asian and non-Asian states. In particular, it lists (i) 49 generally recognized sovereign states, all of which are members of the United Nations; (ii) two states with substantial but not general international recognition, one of which is a United Nations General Assembly non-member observer state; (iii) three largely unrecognized de facto states; and (iv) six dependent and other territories.
The 49 generally recognized sovereign states listed here include two countries that are generally classified as European or African nations but with portions of their territory being in Asia, while the two states with substantial but not general recognition are both fully encompassed in Asia. Though a majority of the Russian Federation's land area is located within Asia, it is generally considered a European country because of its historical, cultural, ethnic, and political ties to Europe. Its capital and largest city, Moscow is located within Europe, and the vast majority of its population lives within its European part. South Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Turkey, and Cyprus are also often considered part of Europe based on political, economic, and historical-cultural criteria. In addition, while Egypt extends into Asia through the Sinai Peninsula, it is generally considered to be an African country because most of its population and geographic area is in Africa.
Geographical boundaries of Asia
The divisions between Asia and Europe occur at the Ural Mountains, Ural River, and Caspian Sea in the east, the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Bosporus Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles and the Aegean Sea in the south. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey all have territory in both Asia and Europe. Armenia and Cyprus are entirely in Western Asia but are socio-politically European countries and members of the Council of Europe, with Cyprus also being a member of the European Union. Georgia and Turkey are both considered EU candidate countries situated on Asian and European territories.
The division between Asia and Africa is normally considered to be the Suez Canal, placing the Sinai peninsula (which is part of Egypt) in Asia. Therefore, Egypt, an African country, may also be considered to be a country in Asia.
The division between Southeast Asia and Australia/Oceania is disputed and currently placed somewhere between Java and New Guinea. Indonesia spans both areas, but is ordinarily considered to be an Asian country. Timor-Leste is sometimes considered to be part of Australasia or Melanesia, but due to its being surrounded by Indonesia, and its once being politically part of Indonesia, it is generally considered to be in Southeast Asia. Papua New Guinea is occasionally thought of as a Southeast Asian country, but it is generally considered to be part of Australasia or Melanesia. The division between East Asia and Oceania is usually placed somewhere between the Japanese archipelago and the Northern Mariana Islands of Micronesia. Certain Japanese islands are often categorized as being within Micronesia due to non-continental geology and similar biogeography. The division between Asia and North America is considered to be the Bering Strait. Some of the Aleutian Islands, however, may be considered to be in Asia.
Sovereign states
A sovereign state is a political organization with effective sovereignty over a population for whom it makes decisions in its interest. According to the Montevideo convention, a state must have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
United Nations member states There are 49 Asian states or states with substantial territory in Asia in this list. All are members of the United Nations.
Flag Map English short, formal names, and ISO Domestic short and formal name(s) Capital Population Area AfghanistanIslamic Emirate of AfghanistanAFG () ()KabulDari and () ArmeniaRepublic of ArmeniaARM () Yerevan () AzerbaijanRepublic of AzerbaijanAZE Baku BahrainKingdom of BahrainBHR () Manama () BangladeshPeople's Republic of BangladeshBGD () Dhaka () BhutanKingdom of BhutanBTN () Thimphu () BruneiBrunei DarussalamBRN () Bandar Seri Begawan () 460,356 CambodiaKingdom of CambodiaKHM () Phnom Penh () ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaCHN () Beijing () CyprusRepublic of CyprusCYP () Nicosia () EgyptArab Republic of EgyptEGY Arabic: (Miṣr—Jumhūrīyat Miṣr al-ʿArabiyya) CairoArabic: (al-Qāhirah) GeorgiaGEO () Tbilisi / T'bilisi () IndiaRepublic of IndiaIND () New Delhi () IndonesiaRepublic of IndonesiaIDN Jakarta IranIslamic Republic of IranIRN () Tehran () IraqRepublic of IraqIRQ () Baghdad () IsraelState of IsraelISR () () Jerusalem (Claimed and de facto) () () JapanJPN () Tokyo () JordanHashemite Kingdom of JordanJOR () Amman () KazakhstanRepublic of KazakhstanKAZ () () Astana () () North KoreaDemocratic People's Republic of KoreaPRK () Pyongyang () South KoreaRepublic of KoreaKOR () Seoul () KuwaitState of KuwaitKWT () Kuwait City () KyrgyzstanKyrgyz RepublicKGZ () () Bishkek () () LaosLao People's Democratic RepublicLAO () Vientiane () LebanonLebanese RepublicLBN () Beirut () MalaysiaMYS Malay: Malaysia Kuala Lumpur MaldivesRepublic of MaldivesMDV () Malé / Male' () MongoliaMNG () Ulaanbaatar () MyanmarRepublic of the Union of MyanmarMMR () Nay Pyi Taw () NepalFederal Democratic Republic of NepalNPL () Kathmandu () OmanSultanate of OmanOMN () Muscat () PakistanIslamic Republic of PakistanPAK () Islamabad () PhilippinesRepublic of the PhilippinesPHL Manila QatarState of QatarQAT () Doha () RussiaRussia is a transcontinental country located in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, but is considered European historically, culturally, ethnically, and politically, and the vast majority of its population (78%) lives within its European part.Russian FederationRUS () MoscowMoscow is located in Europe. () (including Crimea) Saudi ArabiaKingdom of Saudi ArabiaSAU () Riyadh () SingaporeRepublic of SingaporeSGP () () Singapore () () Sri LankaDemocratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaLKA () () Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte () () SyriaSyrian Arab RepublicSYR () Damascus () TajikistanRepublic of TajikistanTJK () () Dushanbe () ThailandKingdom of ThailandTHA () Bangkok () Timor-LesteDemocratic Republic of Timor-LesteTLS Tetum: Timor Lorosa'e – Repúblika Demokrátika Timor Lorosa'e DiliTetum: Díli TurkeyRepublic of TürkiyeTUR Ankara TurkmenistanTKM Ashgabat United Arab EmiratesARE () Abu Dhabi () UzbekistanRepublic of UzbekistanUZB Tashkent Vietnam / Viet NamSocialist Republic of VietnamVNM Hanoi YemenRepublic of YemenYEM ()Sana'a ()
States with limited, but substantial, international recognition In this list, Palestine is a state with substantial international recognition and UN General Assembly non-member observer state status but without practical control over tangible territory, while Taiwan is a de facto state with full practical sovereignty over its territory and unofficial ties with most of the international community but not widely recognized de jure. Although a founding member of the United Nations as the Republic of China, since 1971 Taiwan is no longer recognized by the United Nations.
Flag Map English short, formal names, and ISO Status Domestic short and formal names Capital Population Area PalestineState of PalestinePSE Recognized by . See International recognition of the State of Palestine. One of two United Nations General Assembly non-member observer states () Ramallah (de facto)()Jerusalem (declared)() TaiwanRepublic of ChinaTWNClaimed as part of the People's Republic of China. Officially recognized as sovereign by and the Holy See, which deem it to be the rightful government of all of China. In addition, Taiwan maintains unofficial relations with most other countries and is de facto recognized by most sovereign states. See Political status of Taiwan for more information about the situation.Traditional Chinese: 臺灣/台灣 – 中華民國 ()TaipeiTraditional Chinese: 台北 (Táiběi)
De facto states with little or no international recognition
The three de facto states on this list have little or no international recognition and are not members of the United Nations. All are defined as states by the declarative theory.
Flag Map English short and formal names Status Domestic short and formal names Capital Population (2011) Area AbkhaziaRepublic of Abkhazia Claimed as an autonomous republic of Georgia. Recognised by 5 UN states. () Sukhumi / Sokhumi () 250,000 Northern CyprusTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Claimed as part of the Republic of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey. North Nicosia 285,356 South OssetiaRepublic of South Ossetia - State of Alania Claimed as part of Georgia. Recognised by 5 UN states. () () Tskhinvali () 70,000
Dependencies and other territories
The four territories in this list are controlled by a state of which they are not considered to be a part.
Flag Map English short, formal names, and ISO Status Domestic short and formal names Capital Population Area Akrotiri and DhekeliaSovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia British overseas territory () Episkopi Cantonment () 15,700 British Indian Ocean TerritoryIOT British overseas territory Camp Justice 4,000 Christmas IslandTerritory of Christmas IslandCXR Territory of Australia Flying Fish Cove / The Settlement 1,843 Cocos (Keeling) IslandsTerritory of the Cocos (Keeling) IslandsCCK Territory of Australia West Island / Bantam 544
Special areas of internal sovereignty
The following two entities are integral areas of their controlling state, but have a political arrangement that was decided through an international agreement.
Flag Map English short, formal names, and ISO Status Domestic short and formal names Capital Population Area Hong KongHong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of ChinaHKG Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Traditional Hong Kong 7,582,000 Macau / MacaoMacao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of ChinaMAC Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Traditional Macau / Macao 693,000
See also List of Asian countries by GDP List of predecessors of sovereign states in Asia List of states with limited recognition
References Notes
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