East Asia

East Asia is a geographical and cultural region of <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> which include <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a>, <a href="/facts/Mongolia/ogQzUcQb">Mongolia</a>, <a href="/facts/North_Korea/Q41laakP">North Korea</a>, <a href="/facts/South_Korea/pCobAaVw">South Korea</a>, and <a href="/facts/Taiwan/VcJoUD8w">Taiwan</a>, plus two <a href="/facts/Special_administrative_regions_of_China/PjIuCTrs">special administrative regions of China</a>, <a href="/facts/Hong_Kong/4nAf3mqQ">Hong Kong</a> and <a href="/facts/Macau/KEm5w6xH">Macau</a>. The economies of <a href="/facts/Economy_of_China/1yfzCmRL">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Economy_of_Japan/2KUW30va">Japan</a>, <a href="/facts/Economy_of_South_Korea/Kbb3Jm45">South Korea</a>, and <a href="/facts/Economy_of_Taiwan/wxAYXlSk">Taiwan</a> are among the world's largest and most prosperous. East Asia borders <a href="/facts/North_Asia/mKVVcogV">North Asia</a> to the north, <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asia/VafwT517">Southeast Asia</a> to the south, <a href="/facts/South_Asia/7gTqe3hY">South Asia</a> to the southwest, and <a href="/facts/Central_Asia/rB8k0CyT">Central Asia</a> to the west. To its east is the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a>.
East Asia, especially <a href="/facts/History_of_China/TNqRSvQ4">Chinese civilization</a>, is regarded as one of the earliest <a href="/facts/Cradle_of_civilization/slYINUco">cradles of civilization</a>. Other ancient civilizations in East Asia that still exist as independent countries in the present day include the <a href="/facts/History_of_Japan/XYqQMJCQ">Japanese</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_Korea/LYQ0aumw">Korean</a>, and <a href="/facts/History_of_Mongolia/1eR4wwmk">Mongolian</a> civilizations. Various other civilizations existed as independent polities in East Asia in the past but have since been absorbed into neighbouring civilizations in the present day, such as <a href="/facts/History_of_Tibet/VFnylfqH">Tibet</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_Manchuria/ckYNat17">Manchuria</a>, and <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Ryukyu_Islands/0Kty4m97">Ryukyu</a> (Okinawa), among many others. Taiwan has a relatively young <a href="/facts/History_of_Taiwan/AIzSTn0A">history</a> in the region after the <a href="/facts/Prehistory_of_Taiwan/NbckAhgt">prehistoric era</a>; originally, it was a major site of <a href="/facts/Austronesian_peoples/mMTl1M9J">Austronesian</a> civilisation prior to colonisation by European colonial powers and China from the 17th century onward. For thousands of years, China was the leading civilization in the region, exerting influence on its neighbours. Historically, societies in East Asia have fallen within the <a href="/facts/Chinese_cultural_sphere/WY2269Xy">Chinese sphere of influence</a>, and East Asian vocabularies and scripts are often derived from <a href="/facts/Classical_Chinese/gjCoUEo4">Classical Chinese</a> and <a href="/facts/Chinese_character/5pn1PFvj">Chinese script</a>. The <a href="/facts/Chinese_calendar/jKKh7mCz">Chinese calendar</a> serves as the root from which many other East Asian calendars are derived. 
Major <a href="/facts/East_Asian_religions/LJtbbIrf">religions in East Asia</a> include <a href="/facts/East_Asian_Buddhism/e3eVsYvB">Buddhism</a> (mostly <a href="/facts/Mahayana_Buddhism/hxwvCFe3">Mahayana</a>), <a href="/facts/Confucianism/Nlbwgmxw">Confucianism</a> and <a href="/facts/Neo-Confucianism/PCkHarML">Neo-Confucianism</a>, <a href="/facts/Taoism/Bk79rd9J">Taoism</a>, <a href="/facts/Ancestor_veneration_in_China/tBYpyI3G">ancestral worship</a>, and <a href="/facts/Chinese_folk_religion/5D15uYoQ">Chinese folk religion</a> in Mainland China, <a href="/facts/Hong_Kong/4nAf3mqQ">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="/facts/Macau/KEm5w6xH">Macau</a> and <a href="/facts/Taiwan/VcJoUD8w">Taiwan</a>, <a href="/facts/Shinto/HAAJ0D9C">Shinto</a> in Japan, and <a href="/facts/Christianity_in_Korea/d7nC6f8c">Christianity</a> and <a href="/facts/Korean_shamanism/V2aem5DY">Musok</a> in Korea. <a href="/facts/Mongolian_shamanism/EkDy1kHj">Tengerism</a> and <a href="/facts/Tibetan_Buddhism/xWbwElWv">Tibetan Buddhism</a> are prevalent among <a href="/facts/Mongols/fb4zx1s8">Mongols</a> and <a href="/facts/Tibetan_people/Qz832p7E">Tibetans</a> while other religions such as <a href="/facts/Manchu_shamanism/aGwYPhrA">Shamanism</a> are widespread among the indigenous populations of northeastern China such as the <a href="/facts/Manchu_people/orGs7jQx">Manchus</a>. The major <a href="/facts/Languages_of_East_Asia/vcjd02dF">languages in East Asia</a> include <a href="/facts/Mandarin_Chinese/yxvDg67C">Mandarin Chinese</a>, <a href="/facts/Japanese_language/EEv485a5">Japanese</a>, and <a href="/facts/Korean_language/dmNnRxAA">Korean</a>. The major <a href="/facts/East_Asian_people/kjxRJNsr">ethnic groups of East Asia</a> include the <a href="/facts/Han_Chinese/gMl0sKy0">Han</a> in China and Taiwan, <a href="/facts/Yamato_people/NBt0hk1o">Yamato</a> in Japan, <a href="/facts/Koreans/GDk7QLdA">Koreans</a> in North and South Korea, and <a href="/facts/Mongol_people/fb4zx1s8">Mongols</a> in Mongolia. There are 76 officially-recognized <a href="/facts/Minority_group/MWYJ3rG1">minority</a> or <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples/zyzBMXBS">indigenous</a> ethnic groups in East Asia; <a href="/facts/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_China/NhvFW5Vp">55 native to mainland China</a> (including <a href="/facts/Hui_people/pYP5gCEX">Hui</a>, Manchus, <a href="/facts/Mongols_in_China/Mm9AIYhA">Chinese Mongols</a>, Tibetans, <a href="/facts/Uyghurs/SUNJlkjn">Uyghurs</a>, and <a href="/facts/Zhuang_people/1K8DWdu3">Zhuang</a> in the <a href="/facts/Autonomous_regions_of_China/Sg8QebcG">frontier regions</a>), 16 native to the <a href="/facts/Geography_of_Taiwan/4BtYR5Hh">island of Taiwan</a> (collectively known as <a href="/facts/Taiwanese_indigenous_peoples/Fx946mFm">Taiwanese indigenous peoples</a>), one native to the <a href="/facts/Geography_of_Japan/LB8uSpNl">major Japanese island</a> of <a href="/facts/Hokkaido/kwacDkYD">Hokkaido</a> (the <a href="/facts/Ainu_people/odg3PUUW">Ainu</a>) and four native to <a href="/facts/Demographics_of_Mongolia/gC8epDmq">Mongolia</a> (<a href="/facts/Turkic_peoples/ocd7rpI3">Turkic peoples</a>). The <a href="/facts/Ryukyuan_people/oCd8tWza">Ryukyuan people</a> are an unrecognized ethnic group indigenous to the <a href="/facts/Ryukyu_Islands/94rjkv8f">Ryukyu Islands</a> in southern Japan, which stretch from <a href="/facts/Kyushu/eM5yaMe3">Kyushu</a> to Taiwan. There are also several unrecognized indigenous ethnic groups in mainland China and Taiwan.
East Asians comprise around 1.7 billion people, making up about 33% of the population in continental Asia and 20% of the global population.[needs update] The region is home to major world metropolises such as <a href="/facts/Beijing/Bg4puFBv">Beijing</a>–<a href="/facts/Tianjin/XtlF4hX1">Tianjin</a>, <a href="/facts/Busan/rHbfkIA3">Busan</a>–<a href="/facts/Daegu/FgLnjlxv">Daegu</a>–<a href="/facts/Ulsan/3Hoo3s54">Ulsan</a>–<a href="/facts/Changwon/GINjaxsa">Changwon</a>, <a href="/facts/Guangzhou/9hxfmEjq">Guangzhou</a>, <a href="/facts/Hong_Kong/4nAf3mqQ">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="/facts/Osaka/sbS1N7sl">Osaka</a>–<a href="/facts/Kyoto/gUWtvjfd">Kyoto</a>–<a href="/facts/Kobe/BRn7TPho">Kobe</a>, <a href="/facts/Seoul/H0Xloz9o">Seoul</a>, <a href="/facts/Shanghai/nYyuBo2S">Shanghai</a>, <a href="/facts/Shenzhen/B8rnXRf8">Shenzhen</a>, <a href="/facts/Taipei/uxB89v54">Taipei</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tokyo/GTvuw4ct">Tokyo</a>. Although the coastal and riparian areas of the region form one of the world's most populated places, the population in <a href="/facts/Mongolia/ogQzUcQb">Mongolia</a> and <a href="/facts/Western_China/VjzakooJ">Western China</a>, both landlocked areas, is very sparsely distributed, with Mongolia having the <a href="/facts/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_population_density/WmvuNLfW">lowest population density of a sovereign state</a>. The overall population density of the region is 133 inhabitants per square kilometre (340/sq mi), about three times the world average of 45/km2 (120/sq mi).[when?]

East Asia open-in-new

East Asia