The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to pole). It is also used to refer to Afro-Eurasia (Africa and Eurasia) and Australia, in contrast with the Western Hemisphere, which includes mainly North and South America. The Eastern Hemisphere may also be called the "Oriental Hemisphere", and may in addition be used in a cultural or geopolitical sense as a synonym for the European term, "Old World".

Geography

The almost perfect circle (the earth is an oblate spheroid that is wider around the equator), drawn with a line, demarcating the Eastern and Western Hemispheres must be an arbitrarily decided and published convention, unlike the equator (an imaginary line encircling Earth, equidistant from its poles), which divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The prime meridian at 0° longitude and the antimeridian, at 180° longitude, are the conventionally accepted boundaries, since they divide eastern longitudes from western longitudes. This convention was established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference held in Washington, D.C. where the standard time concepts of Canadian railroad engineer Sir Sandford Fleming were adopted. The Hemispheres agreed do not correspond with exact continents. Portions of Western Europe, West Africa, Oceania, and extreme northeastern Russia are in the Western Hemisphere, divorcing it from the continents which form the touchstone for most geopolitical constructs of the "Old World" and the "New World" or the Americas.

Alternate meridians of 20°W and the diametrically opposed 160°E are often used outside of matters of physics and navigation.^[1][2] This alternate definition is preferred by some since it includes all of the European and African mainlands as part of the Eastern Hemisphere. However, it also includes a small portion of northeast Greenland (typically reckoned as part of North America) and excludes more of eastern Russia and Oceania (e.g., New Zealand's two main islands). Prior to the global adoption of standard time, numerous prime meridians were decreed by various countries where time was defined by local noon (thereby, local).

The Indian Ocean is the only ocean located entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere.^[3] The centre of the Eastern Hemisphere is located in the Indian Ocean at the intersection of the equator and the 90th meridian east, 910 km west of Indonesia in the Ninety East Ridge. The nearest land is Simeulue Island at 2°35′N 96°05′E / 2.583°N 96.083°E / 2.583; 96.083.

The land mass of the Eastern Hemisphere is larger than that of the Western Hemisphere and has a wide variety of habitats. The center of all the land of the Eastern Hemisphere (excluding Antarctica) has been located at 30°00′00″N 62°15′00″E / 30.00000°N 62.25000°E / 30.00000; 62.25000 in southern Afghanistan.^[4] Even though Russia has the largest amount of total land in the Eastern Hemisphere, the largest country entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere is China at 9,596,961 km².^[5]

18 independent countries entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere have no land borders to other countries; Australia, Comoros, Federated States of Micronesia, Japan, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Nauru, Palau, Philippines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.^[6] Fiji, Kiribati and New Zealand, which have land in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere, are also borderless countries, while Brunei, Cyprus, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste are considered divided island countries due to having land borders.^[6] The United Kingdom is another divided island country, though the majority of the country is in the Western Hemisphere. Bahrain and Singapore naturally have no land borders, but are connected to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia through man-made bridges and causeways.^[7]

39 of Africa's 54 independent countries are entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere, with the five largest being DR Congo at 2,345,409 km², Sudan at 1,886,068 km², Libya at 1,759,541 km², Chad at 1,280,000 km² and Niger at 1,267,000 km². When Sudan and South Sudan split into separate countries in 2011, Algeria became the largest country in Africa at 2,381,741 km², and it straddles the prime meridian, with the greater proportion of its land being east of the prime meridian.^[8] Aside from Algeria, four additional African countries have land in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere, with another ten being entirely in the Western Hemisphere. 34 of Europe's 44 independent countries are entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere, and besides Russia, all countries associated with the Eastern Europe region are entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere. Seven European countries are partially in the Eastern Hemisphere, and three are entirely in the Western Hemisphere (those being Iceland, Ireland and Portugal). The five largest European countries entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere are Ukraine at 603,628 km², Sweden at 450,295 km², Germany at 357,022 km², Finland at 338,455 km² and Poland at 312,696 km². Norway is larger than Germany, Finland and Poland at 385,207 km², though it technically has land in the Western Hemisphere, as the remote island of Jan Mayen is west of the prime meridian. Mainland France straddles the prime meridian, but the majority of the country's 543,940 km² total land area in Europe is east of the prime meridian. The majority of Spain's 506,030 km² total land area is west of the prime meridian. Most Polynesian islands are entirely in the Western Hemisphere, including the countries of Samoa and Tonga and various semi-independent territories. However, no countries or territories in the neighboring regions of Melanesia and Micronesia are entirely in the Western Hemisphere, and only Fiji (Melanesia) and Kiribati (Micronesia) have any land in the Western Hemisphere.

Zoology

Animals exclusively occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere include those associated with regions such as Australasia, East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, like kangaroos, kiwis, koalas, pandas, orangutans and various species of tigers. Some African animals such as chimpanzees occur both east and west of the prime meridian in Africa, although giraffes, gorillas and zebras only occur in the Eastern Hemisphere portion.^[9][10][11] Bald eagles, the national symbol of the United States, can on rare occasion be found in the Eastern Hemisphere towards the end of Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, which stretches across the North Pacific Ocean.^[12] While penguins are nearly exclusive to Antarctic-influenced regions of the Southern Hemisphere, they are widely found in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.^[13] Likewise, polar bears, which are exclusive to Arctic-influenced regions of the Northern Hemisphere, can be found in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.^[14][15]

Human history

The majority of land in the Eastern Hemisphere is part of Afro-Eurasia, which is sometimes referred to as the "Old World", and whose people had varying cultural linkages for centuries.^[16] Modern humans reached Eurasia from Africa roughly 120,000 years ago, with influential cultures subsequently developing in regions such as Europe and the Middle East.^[17] Major Pacific landmasses in the Eastern Hemisphere like Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan were settled by humans roughly 65,000 to 40,000 years ago.^[18][19][20] Madagascar, New Zealand and the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia were among some of the more recently settled areas of the Eastern Hemisphere.^[21] Owing to their isolated locations, Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia and Micronesia had little contact with the peoples of Afro-Eurasia until the Age of Discovery beginning in the 16th century, similar to the Americas or the "New World".^[22] The more remote populations living in Southern Africa were also generally isolated until the Age of Discovery. Following the Age of Discovery, Australia, New Zealand and certain African states like South Africa received colonial settler populations from Europe, which disrupted the native populations, with this occurring on a much larger scale throughout the Americas.^[23][24] Israel is often regarded as another example of a colonial settler society in the Eastern Hemisphere, although it received settlers later than the aforementioned areas.^[23][24]

Areas in the Eastern Hemisphere which are believed to have been unknown to humans until the Age of Discovery include the part of Antarctica in the Eastern Hemisphere, and certain remote islands, such as Bouvet Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, Lord Howe Island, Mauritius, Seychelles and Svalbard. The Bonin Islands in the North Pacific were discovered uninhabited in 1543, however, they are theorized to have possibly had contact with Micronesians before this.^[25] Islands which were seemingly uninhabited before the Age of Discovery, like the Bonin Islands, Christmas Island and Lord Howe Island, developed high levels of endemism in their ecosystem due to their remoteness and lack of human interference.^[26][27][28] Mauritius was the only place in the world with the unique Dodo species, and it went extinct in 1662, following human discovery of the island.^[29] Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Lord Howe Island are currently part of Australia and eventually received small human populations, as did the now Japanese-administered Bonin Islands.^[30][31][32] Mauritius and Seychelles became their own independent countries in 1968 and 1976, and are some of the only nation states in the world without true Indigenous populations, along with a few others in the Western Hemisphere such as Cape Verde.^[33]

Demographics and economy

82% of humans live in the Eastern Hemisphere, and 18% in the Western Hemisphere.^[34] The difference in population is less lopsided than that of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, with 90% of humans living in the Northern Hemisphere, and only 10% in the Southern Hemisphere.^[35] In 2026, the states with the highest population density in the Eastern Hemisphere and the entire world were Macau and Monaco, which had 20,815 people and 18,333 people per kilometer.^[36] In 2026, the least densely populated states in the Eastern Hemisphere were Australia and Mongolia, which had 3 people and 2 people per kilometer.^[36] In 2025, Monaco had the highest life expectancy for both males and females in the Eastern Hemisphere and the entire world, with an average life expectancy of 84.6 years for males and 88.6 years for females.^[37] That year, Chad had the lowest life expectancy for males in the Eastern Hemisphere and the entire world (53.4 years), while Nigeria had the lowest life expectancy for females in the Eastern Hemisphere and the entire world (54.9 years).^[37]

The Eastern Hemisphere displays greater religious diversity than the Western Hemisphere, where the vast majority of countries are Christian (e.g. the whole Americas, Polynesian islands and the few European countries west of the prime meridian). Nearly all countries with Islam as the main religion are located in the Eastern Hemisphere, and the only Western Hemisphere countries with Islam as the main religion are the Northwestern African nations of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.^[38] Islam is also the main religion in the African nations of Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mali, which straddle the prime meridian. Along with the European areas east of the prime meridian, Christianity is the most common religion in several Eastern Hemisphere areas with European colonial influence, such as Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Southern Africa, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste.^[38][39] Israel has the largest Jewish population in the Eastern Hemisphere and the entire world, with 7,153,000 Jews living in the country in 2024.^[40] Other Eastern Hemisphere countries which rank high in global Jewish populations are Germany (125,000), Russia (123,000), Australia (117,000), South Africa (49,500) and Hungary (45,000).^[40] The majority of France's 438,500 Jews reside in the Eastern Hemisphere.^[40] India and Nepal are the only Hindu-majority countries in the world, and India has over a billion Hindus.^[41][42] Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia have the three next highest total number of Hindus, although Islam is the majority religion in these countries.^[42] Mauritius has a 48% Hindu population.^[41] Most countries in Southeast Asia have Buddhist-majority populations. While Buddhism was historically a prominent religion in East Asia, the majority of the modern populations in East Asian countries do not follow any religion.^[43]

In 2016, the top 25 most visited cities entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere were Bangkok, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan, Taipei, Rome, Osaka, Vienna, Shanghai, Prague, Munich, Berlin, Mumbai, Riyadh, Chennai, Beijing and Sydney.^[44] Bangkok was the most visited city in the world in 2016.^[44] In 2025, the Eastern Hemisphere countries with the highest GDPs were China, Germany and Japan, while the Eastern Hemisphere countries with the lowest GDPs were the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu (which had the lowest GDP in the world in 2025).^[45]

Countries and territories in the Eastern Hemisphere

Eastern Hemisphere organizations

See also

• Land and water hemispheres
• Eastern world
• Western Hemisphere

References

External links

• Media related to Eastern Hemisphere at Wikimedia Commons