Asia

Afghanistan

A rugged crossroads of empires at the heart of Asia

Armenia

An ancient Christian nation in the highlands of the Caucasus

Azerbaijan

Land of fire on the Caspian shore

Bahrain

A pearl-diving archipelago in the Persian Gulf

Bangladesh

A densely populated delta nation at the mouths of the Ganges and Brahmaputra

Bhutan

A Himalayan kingdom that measures success in Gross National Happiness

Brunei

An oil-rich sultanate on the rainforest coast of Borneo

Cambodia

The land of Angkor on the Mekong floodplain

China

The world's most populous nation reborn as an economic superpower

Cyprus

A divided island at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean

Georgia

A mountain crossroads between Europe and Asia

India

The world's most populous nation and largest democracy

Indonesia

The world's largest archipelago, spanning two oceans

Iran

An ancient Persian civilization on a high desert plateau

Iraq

Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers

Israel

A small, contested homeland on the eastern Mediterranean

Japan

An archipelago empire of volcanoes, technology, and deep tradition

Jordan

A desert kingdom of Petra and the Jordan Valley

Kazakhstan

The world's largest landlocked country, a steppe nation astride two continents

Kuwait

A small, oil-rich state at the head of the Persian Gulf

Kyrgyzstan

A mountain republic of the Tian Shan, where alpine lakes meet nomad tradition

Laos

Landlocked, mountainous heart of the Mekong

Lebanon

Mountains and Mediterranean, a mosaic of faiths

Malaysia

Two coasts of a peninsula and a slice of Borneo

Maldives

A scattering of low coral atolls in the Indian Ocean

Mongolia

The land of Genghis Khan, vast steppe and the Gobi Desert

Myanmar

A land of pagodas and rivers between India and China

Nepal

The roof of the world, home to Everest and the high Himalaya

North Korea

The world's most isolated state on the northern half of the Korean peninsula

Oman

Frankincense coast and mountains at Arabia's edge

Pakistan

A populous South Asian nation from the Indus plains to the Karakoram

Palestine

A contested homeland of the West Bank and Gaza

Philippines

An archipelago of seven thousand islands in the Pacific

Qatar

A tiny peninsula with outsized wealth and ambition

Saudi Arabia

The desert kingdom and birthplace of Islam

Singapore

A global city-state at the tip of the Malay Peninsula

South Korea

A technological powerhouse and cultural exporter on the southern peninsula

Sri Lanka

A teardrop island of tea, temples, and tropical biodiversity

Syria

An ancient Levantine crossroads remade by war

Tajikistan

The roof of Central Asia, a Persian-speaking land of the Pamir Mountains

Thailand

The never-colonized kingdom at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia

Timor-Leste

Southeast Asia's youngest nation, on a divided island

Turkey

A transcontinental bridge between Europe and Asia

Turkmenistan

A desert nation of vast gas reserves and a famously sealed society

United Arab Emirates

A federation of desert emirates turned global hub

Uzbekistan

The Silk Road heartland, home to Samarkand and Bukhara

Vietnam

An S-shaped coast from the Red River to the Mekong Delta

Yemen

Arabia Felix, a land of high mountains and deep crisis