There is great economic and social disparity within the region. Asia is home to two-thirds of the world’s poor, but also includes some of the world’s richest nations: Brunei, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. India and China illustrate the region’s profound economic disparities, both being leaders in terms of economic growth and poverty: together they account for 50% of the world’s population living on the equivalent of less than 1 dollar a day. Despite advances in producing extra food, levels of nutrition are still appallingly low in some Asian countries, where people continue to die from sheer lack of food.

There is a rich spiritual heritage in Asia. The dominant religion in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia is Islam. Hinduism is the major religion of India and Nepal, while Buddhism is the major religion in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. Christians are often a minority, apart from in the Philippines and East Timor. Many other religions, such as Confucianism and Taoism, are practised in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore.

Political disputes, ethnic conflict, civil wars and territorial disputes give rise to much friction in the Asia region. Indo-Pakistani relations continue to be volatile; a two-decade civil war in Sri Lanka, Maoist insurgency in Nepal, war in Afghanistan, division in the Korean peninsula, disputes over the control of the Paracel and Spratty Islands in South China Sea, the growing military ambitions of Japan, conflicts in Minanoao (Philippines), rising religious fundamentalism in Indonesia and Pakistan, in Bangladesh and India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka all pose threats to peace and security in Asia.