Middle East, Central, South and Southeast Asia explained

Transcript

Asia, home to 48 countries. But do you know where the Middle East is? Which countries are part of Central Asia? And what the difference is between South, East, and Southeast Asia? So let's figure it out. Asia is the largest continent on Earth, covering almost a third of all the land on the planet. About 5 billion people live here, and nearly half of them are right here in South Asia. This region includes India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, smaller countries in the Himalayas, and island nations like Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Fourth of South Asia is a group of countries whose names end in Stan, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. So all the Stan countries except Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of Central Asia. And beyond the vast mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas and the TN Shan, lies East Asia. It includes China, Mongolia, North and South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. And everything located right here is Southeast Asia. That's Vietnam, Thailand, their neighbors on the mainland, as well as island nations like Indonesia, the Philippines, and others. And way up north is Russia. The UN classifies the whole country as part of Europe, but about 77% of its territory lies in Asia, so this part is often called Northern Asia. And finally, the Middle East. It's funny how the westernmost part of Asia is called Middle. The name comes from a European point of view. China and Japan were far East, while this region was East, but not that far. This region includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestine, and other countries. Geographically, this is western Asia, but when you hear Middle East, that often includes Egypt too, even though it lies almost entirely in Africa. So now you know.

Transcribed automatically from the video, so small errors are possible.