<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Asia</span>

East Asia

East Asia is the easternmost region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. East Asia borders Siberia and the Russian Far East to the north, Southeast Asia to the south, South Asia to the southwest, and Central Asia to the west. To the east is the Pacific Ocean and to the southeast is Micronesia . East Asia, especially Chinese civilization, is regarded as one of the earliest cradles of civilization. Other ancient civilizations in East Asia that still exist as independent countries in the present day include the Japanese, Korean and Mongolian civilizations. Various other civilizations existed as independent polities in East Asia in the past but have since been absorbed into neighbouring civilizations in the present day, such as Tibet, Baiyue, Khitan, Manchuria, Ryukyu and Ainu among many others. Taiwan has a relatively young history in the region after the prehistoric era; originally, it was a major site of Austronesian civilization prior to colonisation by European colonial powers and China from the 17th century onward. For thousands of years, China was the leading civilization in the region, exerting influence on its neighbours. Major languages in East Asia include Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Major ethnic groups of East Asia include the Han , Yamato and Koreans . Mongols, although not as populous as the previous three ethnic groups, constitute the majority of Mongolia's population. There are 76 officially-recognised minority or indigenous ethnic groups in East Asia; 55 native to mainland China , 16 native to the island of Taiwan , one native to the major Japanese island of Hokkaido and four native to Mongolia . Ryukyuan people are an unrecognised ethnic group indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan, which stretch from Kyushu Island to Taiwan. There are also several unrecognised indigenous ethnic groups in mainland China and Taiwan. East Asian people comprise around 1.7 billion people, making up about 38% of the population in Continental Asia and 20.5% of the global population. 