Asian Studies in Credo: Overview

The Kingdom of Bahrain, a former Emirate and now a constitutional hereditary monarchy, is an archipelago consisting of more than 30 islands in the Persian Gulf.

Iran (erän´, iran´), officially Islamic Republic of Iran, republic, 636,290 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km), SW Asia. The country's name was changed from Persia to Iran in 1935. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea; on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and on the west by Turkey and Iraq.

Country in southwest Asia, bounded north by Turkey, east by Iran, southeast by the Gulf and Kuwait, south by Saudi Arabia, and west by Jordan and Syria.

The State of Israel is a small country in the E Mediterranean. Inland lie the Judaeo-Galilean highlands, from N Israel to the N tip of the Negev Desert in the S. To the E lie part of the Great Rift Valley, River Jordan, Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea. Israel comprises most of the Biblical Holy Lands (for history pre-1947, see Palestine). In the late 19th century, Zionists began to agitate for a Jewish homeland. Most modern Israelis are descendants of immigrants who began to settle from the 1880s.

Country in southwest Asia, bounded north by Syria, northeast by Iraq, east, southeast, and south by Saudi Arabia, south by the Gulf of Aqaba, and west by Israel.

Country in southwest Asia, bounded north and northwest by Iraq, east by the Gulf, and south and southwest by Saudi Arabia.

The Republic of Lebanon is a country on the E shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Behind the coastal plain are the rugged Lebanon Mountains (Jabal Lubnán), which rise to 3,088m [10,131ft].

The Sultanate of Oman is the oldest independent nation in the Arab world. It occupies the SE corner of the Arabian peninsula and includes the tip of the Musandam Peninsula which is separated from the rest of Oman by UAE territory. This peninsula overlooks the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Territory in the Middle East, on the E shore of the Mediterranean Sea; considered a Holy Land by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The State of Qatar occupies a long, narrow peninsula jutting into the Persian Gulf. The peninsula is about 200km [12mi] long, with a greatest width of 90km [56mi].

Officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom, 829,995 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km), comprising most of the Arabian peninsula.

Officially Syrian Arab Republic, republic, 71,467 sq mi (185,100 sq km), W Asia. Damascus is the country's capital and its largest city. The Syrian Arab Republic borders on Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea in the west, on Turkey in the northwest and north, on Iraq in the east and south, and on Jordan and Israel in the southwest.

The Republic of Turkey lies in two continents. The European section (Thrace) lies W of a waterway between the Black and Mediterranean seas. Most of the Asian part, Anatolia or Asia Minor, consists of plateau and mountains.

A federation of sheikhdoms c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km) located in SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The federation, commonly known as the UAE, consists of seven sheikhdoms: Abu Dhabi (territorially the largest of the sheikhdoms), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Qaiwain. The city of Abu Dhabi is the capital.

Officially Republic of Yemen, republic, 207,300 sq mi (535,800 sq km), SW Asia, at the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula. The present nation of Yemen was formed in 1990, when the Yemen Arab Republic (the former Yemen or Northern Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (the former Southern Yemen) were unified.

Officially Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, republic, 249,999 sq mi (647,497 sq km), S central Asia. The capital and largest city is Kabul.

Officially People's Republic of Bangladesh, republic, 55,126 sq mi (142,776 sq km), S Asia.

Officially Kingdom of Bhutan, kingdom, 18,147 sq mi (47,000 sq km), in the E Himalayas, southern Asia.

Country in southern Asia, bounded to the north by China, Nepal, and Bhutan; east by Myanmar and Bangladesh; northwest by Pakistan and Afghanistan; and southeast, south, and southwest by the Indian Ocean.

Independent nation, c.54,000 sq mi (139,860 sq km), central Asia. Landlocked and isolated by the Himalayas. Katmandu is the capital. Around forty different languages are spoken in the kingdom of Nepal, with Nepali being the official language.

Officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic, 310,403 sq mi (803,944 sq km), S Asia.

Island in the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of India.

Country in western Asia, bounded east by Azerbaijan, north by Georgia, west by Turkey, and south by Iran.

Country in western Asia, bounded south by Iran, east by the Caspian Sea, west by Armenia and Georgia, and north by Russia.

Country in central Asia, bounded north by Russia, west by the Caspian Sea, east by China, and south by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Central Asian state in the mountainous Tian Shan and Pamir systems, officially Kyrgyz Republic, home of the Kirghiz people. Incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1864, it became part of the Turkestan Soviet republic in 1918 and a full member of the Soviet Union in 1936. It declared independence on 15 December 1990 under its popular president, Askar Akayev.

Officially the Russian Federation, Rus. Rossiya, republic, 6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km). Moscow is the capital and largest city.

Officially Republic of Tajikistan, republic, 55,251 sq mi (143,100 sq km), central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital and largest city.

Uzbek Ozbekiston, officially Republic of Uzbekistan, republic, 173,552 sq mi (449,500 sq km), central Asia.

Mandarin Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo [central glorious people's united country; i.e., people's republic], officially People's Republic of China, country. Since the 2d millennium B.C. a unique and fairly uniform culture has spread over almost all of China. Today, one in five people in the world lives in China. This vast country is almost the same size as the whole of Europe, and is the third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada. China has a 4,000-mi (6,400-km) coast that fronts on the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea.

Jap. Nihon or Nippon, country, 145,833 sq mi (377,835 sq km), occupying an archipelago off the coast of E Asia. The capital is Tokyo, which, along with neighboring Yokohama, forms the world's most populous metropolitan region. Historically, the divine design of the empire—supposedly founded in 660 B.C. by the emperor Jimmu, a lineal descendant of the sun goddess and ancestor of the present emperor—was held as official dogma until 1945.

Country in east-Central Asia, bounded north by Russia and south by China. Mongolia is a multiparty democracy with a dual executive of president and prime minister. Under its 1992 constitution it has a 76-member parliament.

Country in East Asia, bounded northeast by Russia, north and northwest by China, east by the Sea of Japan, south by South Korea, and west by the Yellow Sea. North Korea has a centralized authoritarian political regime, dominated by the elite within the ruling party and with a cult of personality around the leader.

Country in East Asia, bounded north by North Korea, east by the Sea of Japan, south by the Korea Strait, and west by the Yellow Sea.

Portuguese Formosa, officially Republic of China, island nation, 13,885 sq mi (35,961 sq km), in the Pacific Ocean, separated from the mainland of S China by the 100-mi-wide (161-km) Taiwan Strait.

Country comprising two enclaves on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo, bounded to the landward side by Sarawak and to the northwest by the South China Sea.

Khmer Kampuchea, officially Kingdom of Cambodia, constitutional monarchy, 69,898 sq mi (181,035 sq km), SE Asia. Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city. Cambodia is bordered by Thailand on the west and north, by Laos on the north, by Vietnam on the east, and by the Gulf of Thailand on the south.

Country in southeast Asia, made up of 13,677 islands situated on or near the Equator, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's fourth most populous country, surpassed only by China, India, and the USA.

Officially Lao People's Democratic Republic, republic, 91,428 sq mi (236,800 sq km), SE Asia. The capital and largest city is Vientiane. A landlocked nation, Laos is bordered by China on the north, by Vietnam on the east, by Cambodia on the south, and by Thailand and Myanmar on the west.

Independent federation in Southeast Asia. Malaysia consists of two parts: West Malaysia, also called Peninsular Malaysia or Malaya, 50,700 sq mi (131,313 sq km), on the Malay Peninsula.

Country in Southeast Asia, bounded northwest by India and Bangladesh, northeast by China, southeast by Laos and Thailand, and southwest by the Bay of Bengal.

Country in southeast Asia, on an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands west of the Pacific Ocean and south of the Southeast Asian mainland.

Thai Prathet Thai [land of the free], officially Kingdom of Thailand, constitutional monarchy, 198,455 sq mi (514,000 sq km), Southeast Asia. Occupying a central position on the Southeast Asia peninsula, Thailand is bordered by Myanmar on the west and northwest, by Laos on the north and east, by Cambodia on the southeast, and by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia on the south.

Largest and most easterly of the Lesser Sunda Islands, in the Malay Archipelago; area 33,610 sq km/12,973 sq mi. It is divided into West Timor, under Indonesian rule, and the country of East Timor.