Asia.

• Position: World Affairs Annual 2013 - Statistical table

CHINA

With a population of 1.3 billion and a booming manufacturing sector making everything from jeans to big-screen TVs, China has surpassed Japan to become the world's second-largest economy behind the United States. China could very well overtake the U.S. for the top spot in the decade ahead.

JAPAN

It may take years for Japan to fully recover from a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Meltdowns at several damaged reactors have sparked a backlash against nuclear power, which had provided a third of Japan's electricity; they have also raised fears about nuclear safety in the United States.

AFGHANISTAN

After 11 years of war that began in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. plans to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014. Now that a deal with Taliban insurgents appears unlikely, the U.S. is concerned that Afghanistan could slip back into chaos after American troops leave.

NORTH KOREA

Following the 2011 death of dictator Kim Jong II, his young son, Kim Jong Un (below), became North Korea's ruler. So far, the younger Kim shows no signs of reforming the Communist nation's failed economy or improving relations with South Korea, where the U.S. has nearly 29,000 troops.

Asia COUNTRY AREA (SQ MI) URBAN POPULATION POP. % POP. RISE %/YEAR 252,072 23 Afghanistan 33,400,000 2.8 11,484 64 Armenia 3,300,000 0.5 Azerbaijan 33,436 53 9,300,000 1.3 56,977 25 Bangladesh 152,900,000 1.6 Bhutan 18,824 35 7 1.3 2,226 72 Brunet 400,000 1.6 69,898 21 Cambodia 15,000,000 1.7 China 3,696,100 51 1,350,400,000 0.5 26,911 53 Georgia 4,500,000 0.2 India 1,222,559 31 1,259,700,000 1.5 Indonesia 737,815 43 241,000,000 1.3 145,927 86 Japan 127,600,000 -0.2 1,052,090 55 Kazakhstan 16,800,000 1.4 Korea, North 47,399 60 24,600,000 0.5 Korea, South 38,486 82 48,900,000 0.4 77,199 35 Kyrgyzstan 5,700,000 2.0 91,429 27 Laos 6,500,000 2.0 1,277,247 63 Malaysia 29,000,000 1.5 115 35 Maldives 300,000 1.9 603,909 63 Mongolia 2,900,000 1.6 Myanmar 261,228 31 (Burma) 54,600,000 1.1 Nepal 56,827 17 30,900,000 1.8 307,374 35 Pakistan 180,400,000 2.1 115,831 63 Philippines 96,200,000 1.9 Russia (13) 6,601,700 74 143,200,000 -0.1 Singapore 274 100 5,300.000 0.5 Sri Lanka 25,332 15 21,200,000 1.2 Taiwan 13,973 78 23,300,000 0.2 55,300 26 Tajikistan 7,100,000 2.3 198,117 34 Thailand 69,900,000 0.5 Timor-Leste 5,760 30 (East Timor) 1,100,000 2.6 Turkmenistan 189,657 47 5,200,000 1.4 Uzbekistan 171,469 51 29,800,000 1.9 Vietnam 127,882 31 89,000,000 1.0...