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Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km (20,846,000 mi) or about 10.6% of the...

Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km (20,846,000 mi) or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface (36.2% of the land area). Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia (and Eurasia is a portmanteau of the two), concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are somewhat arbitrary. Eurasia, in turn, is part of the yet larger landmass of Afro-Eurasia, whereby Eurasia is joined to Africa at the Isthmus of Suez. Eurasia is inhabited by almost 4.8 billion people, more than 71% of the world's population. Jared Diamond, in his book Guns, Germs and Steel, credits Eurasia's dominance in world history to the east-west extent of Eurasia and its climate zones, and the availability of Eurasian animals and plants suitable for domestication. He sometimes includes North Africa in his definition of Eurasia. The Silk Road symbolizes trade and cultural exchange linking Eurasian cultures through history and has been an increasingly popular topic. Over recent decades the idea of a greater Eurasian history has developed with the aim of investigating the genetic, cultural and linguistic relationships between