Eurasia
Eurasia covers around 54.8 million square kilometers, which equals roughly 36.2 percent of the Earth's total land area. This single landmass holds well over five billion people, representing approximately 70 percent of the human population today. Humans first settled in this region from Africa 125,000 years ago, beginning a long history of migration and settlement across the northern and eastern hemispheres. The continent stretches from Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Russian Far East in the east. It extends from the Russian Far North down to Maritime Southeast Asia in the south, though some models place the southern limit at Weber's line. Eurasia is bordered by Africa to the southwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The division between Europe and Asia remains a historical social construct rather than a strict geographical reality.
Eurasia has been the host of many ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China. During the Axial Age in the mid-first millennium BCE, a continuous belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia, shaping cultural and philosophical developments across the entire landmass. New connections emerged between subregions from the Age of Discovery onwards, with the Iberians discovering new maritime routes in the 1490s. The 1869 completion of the Suez Canal paved the way for direct passage through the Indo-Mediterranean region. A wave of Western European New Imperialism then dominated Africa and Asia until the mid-20th century. The communist presence in Eurasia, primarily driven by the Soviet Union, dominated much of the continent until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
Originally, Eurasia is simply a geographical notion representing the biggest continent on Earth. However, geopolitically, the word carries several meanings reflecting specific political interests. Russian Eurasianism corresponded initially more or less to the land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe. One of Russia's main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with countries it considers part of Eurasia. The term gained geopolitical reputation as one of three super-states in George Orwell's 1984 novel where constant surveillance and propaganda are strategic elements. Nineteenth-century Russian philosopher Nikolai Danilevsky defined Eurasia as an entity separate from Europe and Asia, bounded by the Himalayas, the Caucasus, the Alps, the Arctic, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. This definition has been influential in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
Across Eurasia, several single markets have emerged, including the Eurasian Economic Space, European Single Market, ASEAN Economic Community, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Every two years since 1996, a meeting of most Asian and European countries is organized as the Asia, Europe Meeting. The Commonwealth of Independent States is a political and economic association of ten post-Soviet republics formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It has an estimated population of 239,796,010 people who cooperate in economic, political, and military affairs. The Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015 and includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and observer members Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Cuba. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization announced its creation on the 15th of June 2001 in Shanghai, China, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population. Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward the Greater Eurasian Partnership initiative in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2015 with the aim of forming a broad integration framework.
In geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid mega block, though this remains debated by scientists. Eurasia formed between 375 and 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica. This combined landmass joined to Laurentia, which became North America, to form Euramerica. The Eurasian Plate includes Europe and most of Asia but excludes the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula or areas east of the Chersky Range in the Russian Far East. All of the 100 highest mountains on Earth are located in Eurasia within the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Hengduan, and Tian Shan mountain ranges. Every peak above 7,000 metres exists in these ranges and the Transhimalaya. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 kilometers across southern Eurasia from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe.
Common questions
What is the total land area of Eurasia?
Eurasia covers around 54.8 million square kilometers, which equals roughly 36.2 percent of the Earth's total land area.
When did humans first settle in Eurasia from Africa?
Humans first settled in this region from Africa 125,000 years ago, beginning a long history of migration and settlement across the northern and eastern hemispheres.
Where does the southern limit of Eurasia extend to according to some models?
It extends from the Russian Far North down to Maritime Southeast Asia in the south, though some models place the southern limit at Weber's line.
Who defined Eurasia as an entity separate from Europe and Asia in the nineteenth century?
Nineteenth-century Russian philosopher Nikolai Danilevsky defined Eurasia as an entity separate from Europe and Asia, bounded by the Himalayas, the Caucasus, the Alps, the Arctic, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
On what date was the Shanghai Cooperation Organization announced?
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization announced its creation on the 15th of June 2001 in Shanghai, China, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population.
When did the Eurasian Plate form between 375 and 325 million years ago?
Eurasia formed between 375 and 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica.