Asia is the largest and most populous continent or region, depending on the definition. It covers 8.7 percent of the Earth's total surface area, or 29.8 percent of its land area, and it contains more than 60 percent of the world's human population.
The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (about 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three different women's names are used to describe a single land mass (Europa, Asia and Libya, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus but that the Lydians say it was named after Asias, son of Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in Sardis.
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Asian Development Bank - Based in Manila, the Asian Development Bank is a multilateral finance institution that promotes economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region. It is jointly funded by 57 member governments, including 16 from outside Asia.
Meta Description: [ The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development finance institution, promotes economic and social progress by fighting poverty in Asia and the Pacific. ]
Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks - EMEAP is a cooperative organization of central banks and monetary authorities in the East Asia and Pacific region. Chock-full of information on payment systems and other systemic risk issues.