List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia

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 [|49 generally recognized sovereign states], all of which are members of the United Nations; two states with substantial but not general international recognition, one of which is a United Nations General Assembly non-member observer state; three largely unrecognized de facto states; and [|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, 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, 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.
The division between Asia and Africa is normally considered to be the Suez Canal, placing the Sinai peninsula 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	Capital	Population	Area
		Afghanistan Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan AFG		Kabul Dari and
		Armenia Republic of Armenia ARM		Yerevan
		Azerbaijan Republic of Azerbaijan AZE		Baku
		Bahrain Kingdom of Bahrain BHR		Manama
		Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh BGD		Dhaka
		Bhutan Kingdom of Bhutan BTN		Thimphu
		Brunei Brunei Darussalam BRN		Bandar Seri Begawan	460,356
		Cambodia Kingdom of Cambodia KHM		Phnom Penh
		China People's Republic of China CHN	中国 – 中华人民共和国	Beijing 北京
		Cyprus Republic of Cyprus CYP		Nicosia
		Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt EGY	Arabic:	Cairo Arabic:
		Georgia GEO	საქართველო	Tbilisi / T'bilisi თბილისი
		India Republic of India IND		New Delhi
		Indonesia Republic of Indonesia IDN		Jakarta
		Iran Islamic Republic of Iran IRN		Tehran
		Iraq Republic of Iraq IRQ		Baghdad
		Israel State of Israel ISR		Jerusalem
		Japan JPN		Tokyo
		Jordan Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan JOR		Amman
		Kazakhstan Republic of Kazakhstan KAZ		Astana
		North Korea Democratic People's Republic of Korea PRK		Pyongyang
		South Korea Republic of Korea KOR		Seoul
		Kuwait State of Kuwait KWT		Kuwait City
		Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Republic KGZ		Bishkek
		Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic LAO		Vientiane
		Lebanon Lebanese Republic LBN		Beirut
		Malaysia MYS	Malay: Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
		Maldives Republic of Maldives MDV		Malé / Male'
		Mongolia MNG		Ulaanbaatar
		Myanmar Republic of the Union of Myanmar MMR		Nay Pyi Taw
		Nepal Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal NPL		Kathmandu
		Oman Sultanate of Oman OMN		Muscat
		Pakistan Islamic Republic of Pakistan PAK		Islamabad
		Philippines Republic of the Philippines PHL		Manila
		Qatar State of Qatar QAT		Doha
		Russia Russian Federation RUS		Moscow
		Saudi Arabia Kingdom of Saudi Arabia SAU		Riyadh
		Singapore Republic of Singapore SGP	新加坡 – 新加坡共和国 '	Singapore 新加坡 '
		Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka LKA		Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
		Syria Syrian Arab Republic SYR		Damascus
		Tajikistan Republic of Tajikistan TJK		Dushanbe
		Thailand Kingdom of Thailand THA		Bangkok
		Timor-Leste Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste TLS	Tetum: Timor Lorosa'e – Repúblika Demokrátika Timor Lorosa'e	Dili Tetum: Díli
		Turkey Republic of Türkiye TUR		Ankara
		Turkmenistan TKM		Ashgabat
		United Arab Emirates ARE		Abu Dhabi
		Uzbekistan Republic of Uzbekistan UZB		Tashkent
		Vietnam / Viet Nam Socialist Republic of Vietnam VNM		Hanoi
		Yemen Republic of Yemen YEM		Sana'a