Asia is the largest continent that covers a third of earth's landmass, 17,226,00 square miles (44,614,000 sq. kilometer). Geographically it falls into several sub-sections and often people do not even realize that these sub-divisions are parts of Asia.

Southwest Asia includes Iran, Turkey, nations of the Fertile Crescent and Arabian Peninsula, and is characterized by an arid climate and irrigated agriculture, massive gas and the petroleum reserves and predominance of Islam.

South Asia also known as the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bharat (India), Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the small Himalayan nations. The area is naturally fortified from the rest of Asia by some of the highest mountain ranges. Entry in the region is possible through select few passes such as the historical Khyber Pass (Pakistan), which was Alexander's route into the South-Asian sub-continent. Buddhism, Hindi, and Islam are the dominant faiths. The climate varies and regions include the rich Ganges Delta and Indus-River Valley. People are of Indo-Aryan stock and original Dravidians.

Southeast Asia often overlaps with the Far East and the nations of the Southeastern peninsula, the East Indies, the Philippines, Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The region is characterized by monsoon climate, great cultural and ethnic diversity with a fusion of Indian and Chinese cultures and people.

East Asia covers the countries around the Pacific rim such as Brunei, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, just to name a few. The region is often known as the Far East, which is located in the mid-latitude on the Pacific Ocean, and characterized by cultures strongly influenced by civilizations of Huang He and the Yangtze river systems. This is considered to be the most industrialized region of Asia.

Russian Asia is the northern third of Asia that consists of the vast region of Siberia and the Russian Far East.

Central Asia is in the center of the continent. It comprises newly independent countries created from former Soviet Republics. It is characterized as desert with considerable amount of oil and gas reserves, mostly irrigated agriculture and traditional nomadic herding.

Other identifiable sub-divisions are often called the Middle East, Asia Minor and Antolia. The Middle East includes the countries of the Fertile Crescent and Gulf states. Asia Minor is identified as Turkey, which sometimes is also described as Anatolia.