Southeast Asia, vast region of Asia situated east of the Indian subcontinent and south

of China. It consists of two dissimilar portions: a continental projection (commonly called

mainland Southeast Asia) and a string of archipelagoes to the south and east of the
mainland (insular Southeast Asia). Extending some 700 miles (1,100 km) southward from
the mainland into insular Southeast Asia is the Malay Peninsula; this peninsula structurally
is part of the mainland, but it also shares many ecological and cultural affinities with the
surrounding islands and thus functions as a bridge between the two regions. Mainland
Southeast Asia is divided into the countries
of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and the small city-state
of Singapore at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula; Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam,
which occupy the eastern portion of the mainland, often are collectively called the
Indochinese Peninsula. Malaysia is both mainland and insular, with a western portion on
the Malay Peninsula and an eastern part on the island of Borneo. Except for the small
sultanate of Brunei (also on Borneo), the remainder of insular Southeast Asia consists of
the archipelagic nations of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Southeast Asia stretches some 4,000 miles at its greatest extent (roughly from northwest
to southeast) and encompasses some 5,000,000 square miles (13,000,000 square km) of
land and sea, of which about 1,736,000 square miles is land. Mount Hkakabo in northern
Myanmar on the border with China, at 19,295 feet (5,881 metres), is the highest peak of
mainland Southeast Asia. Although the modern nations of the region are sometimes
thought of as being small, they are—with the exceptions of Singapore and Brunei—
comparatively large. Indonesia, for example, is more than 3,000 miles from west to east
(exceeding the west-east extent of the continental United States) and more than 1,000
miles from north to south; the area of Laos is only slightly smaller than that of the United
Kingdom; and Myanmar is considerably larger than France.

All of Southeast Asia falls within the tropical and subtropical climatic zones, and much of
it receives considerable annual precipitation. It is subject to an extensive and regular
monsoonal weather system (i.e., one in which the prevailing winds reverse direction every
six months) that produces marked wet and dry periods in most of the region. Southeast
Asia’s landscape is characterized by three intermingled physical elements: mountain
ranges, plains and plateaus, and water in the form of both shallow seas and extensive
drainage systems. Of these, the rivers probably have been of the greatest historical and
cultural significance, for waterways have decisively shaped forms of settlement and
agriculture, determined fundamental political and economic patterns, and helped define
the nature of Southeast Asians’ worldview and distinctive cultural syncretism. It also has
been of great importance that Southeast Asia, which is the most easily accessible tropical
region in the world, lies strategically astride the sea passage between East Asia and the
Middle Eastern–Mediterranean world.

Within this broad outline, Southeast Asia is perhaps the most diverse region on Earth. The
number of large and small ecological niches is more than matched by a staggering variety
of economic, social, and cultural niches Southeast Asians have developed for themselves;
hundreds of ethnic groups and languages have been identified. Under these
circumstances, it often is difficult to keep in mind the region’s underlying unity, and it is
understandable that Southeast Asia should so often be treated as a miscellaneous
collection of cultures that simply do not quite fit anywhere else.

Yet from ancient times Southeast Asia has been considered by its neighbours to be a
region in its own right and not merely an extension of their own lands. The Chinese called
it Nanyang and the Japanese Nan’yō, both names meaning “South Seas,” and South
Asians used such terms as Suvarnabhūmi (Sanskrit: “Land of Gold”) to describe the area.

Modern scholarship increasingly has yielded evidence of broad commonalities uniting the
peoples of the region across time. Studies in historical linguistics, for example, have

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suggested that the vast majority of Southeast Asian languages—even many of those
previously considered to have separate origins—either sprang from common roots or have
been long and inseparably intertwined. Despite inevitable variation among societies,
common views of gender, family structure, and social hierarchy and mobility may be
discerned throughout mainland and insular Southeast Asia, and a broadly common
commercial and cultural inheritance has continued to affect the entire region for several
millennia. These and other commonalities have yet to produce a conscious or precise
Southeast Asian identity, but they have given substance to the idea of Southeast Asia as
a definable world region and have provided a framework for the comparative study of its
components.

William H. Frederick
Land

Geology and relief

The physiography of Southeast Asia has been formed to a large extent by the convergence
of three of the Earth’s major crustal units: the Eurasian, Indian-Australian, and Pacific
plates. The land has been subjected to a considerable amount of faulting, folding,
uplifting, and volcanic activity over geologic time, and much of the region is mountainous.
There are marked structural differences between the mainland and insular portions of the
region.

Physical features of Southeast AsiaEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mainland Southeast Asia

The mainland is characterized by a series of generally north–south-trending mountain

ranges separated by a number of major river valleys and their associated deltas. In many
ways these ranges resemble ribs in a fan, where the interstices are deep trenches carved
by the rivers. Although the mainland as a whole is similar in a structural sense, its various
geologic components and the time periods of their orogenic (mountain-building) episodes
differ. Much of the region has been affected by the gradual, continuing collision of the
Indian subcontinent with the Eurasian Plate over roughly the past 50 million years, an
event that—with diminishing intensity from west to east—has been responsible for
deforming the land. Nonetheless, mainland Southeast Asia is relatively stable geologically,
with no active or recently active volcanoes and, except in the northwest and north, little
seismic activity.

The ranges fan out southward from the southeastern corner of the Plateau of Tibet, where
they are tightly spaced. A major rib of this system extends through the entire western
margin of Myanmar (Burma); describing an elongated letter S, it consists of (from north
to south) the Pātkai Range, Nāga Hills, Chin Hills, and Arakan Mountains. Farther to the
south the same rib emerges from beneath the sea to become the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands of India.

Another major system extends along a straight north-south axis from eastern Myanmar
east of the Salween River through northwestern Thailand to south of the Isthmus of Kra
on the Malay Peninsula. It consists of a series of elongated blocks rather than one
continuous ridge. The core of these blocks is granite, which has intruded into previously
folded and faulted limestone and sandstone. The altitudes of the ranges diminish from
above 8,000 feet (2,440 metres) on the Chinese border in the north to below 4,000 feet
on the Isthmus of Kra, and the ranges are spread farther apart toward the south.

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The easternmost major mountain feature on the mainland is the Annamese
Cordillera (Chaîne Annamitique) in Laos and Vietnam. In the portion between Laos and
Vietnam, the chain forms a nearly straight spine of ranges from northwest to southeast,
with a steep face rising from the South China Sea to the east and a more gradual slope
to the west. The mountains thin out considerably south of Laos and become asymmetrical
in form. The upland zone is characterized by a number of plateau remnants.

The rather neat fanlike pattern of the mountain ranges is interrupted occasionally by
several old blocks of strata that have been folded, faulted, and deeply dissected. These
ancient massifs now form either low platforms or high plateaus. The westernmost of these,
the Shan Plateau of eastern Myanmar, measures some 250 miles (400 km) from north to
south and 75 miles from east to west and has an average elevation of about 3,000 feet.
The largest of these features is the Korat Plateau in eastern Thailand and west-central
Laos. This area actually is more of a low platform, which on average is only a few hundred
feet above the floodplains of the surrounding rivers. It consists of a string of hills that
direct surface drainage eastward to the Mekong River. The hills range in elevation from
500 to 2,000 feet, with the highest altitudes occurring near the southwestern rim.

The broad river valleys between the uplands and the even wider deltas at the
southernmost points contain most of the mainland’s lowland areas. These regions
generally are covered with alluvial sediments that support much of the mainland’s
cultivation and, in turn, most of its population centres. The most extensive coastal lowland
is the lower Mekong basin, which encompasses most of Cambodia and southern Vietnam.
The Cambodian portion is a broad, bowl-shaped area lying just above sea level, with
numerous hill outcrops jutting above the landscape; at its centre is a large freshwater
lake, the Tonle Sap. To the south the river’s vast, flat delta occupies the entire southern
tip of Vietnam. Outside the river deltas, the coastal lowlands are little more than narrow
strips between the mountains and the sea, except around the southern half of the Malay
Peninsula.

The Malay Peninsula stretches south for some 900 miles from the head of the Gulf of
Thailand (Siam) to Singapore and thus extends the mainland into insular Southeast Asia.
The narrowest point, the Isthmus of Kra (about 40 miles wide), also roughly divides the
peninsula into two parts: the long linear mountain ranges of the northern part described
above give way just south of the isthmus to blocks of short, parallel ranges aligned north-
south, so that the southern portion trends to the southeast and becomes much wider. In
areas such as the west coast between southern Thailand and northwestern Malaysia,
distinctive karst-limestone landscapes have developed. Peaks on the peninsula range from
5,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation.

Insular Southeast Asia

Characteristic of insular (or archipelagic) Southeast Asia are the chains of islands—
the Malay and Philippine archipelagoes—that have been formed along the boundaries of
the three crustal segments of the Earth that meet there. Crustal instability is marked
throughout the region. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are quite common along the
entire southern and eastern margin. One consequence of the seismic activity is that a
large number of lakes are found in the region.

Dominating the region is the Sunda Shelf, the portion of the Asian continental shelf that
extends southward from the Gulf of Thailand to the Java Sea. Where the shelf meets and
overrides the oceanic crust to the south, the vast volcanic arc of the Greater and Lesser
Sunda islands have been formed. The islands are characterized by highland cores, from
which flow short rivers across the narrow coastal plains. The shallow waters of the Sunda
Shelf are as important to the inhabitants as the land, since the sea
has facilitated communication and trade among the islands. At one time, sea levels were

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considerably lower than now, and land bridges existed on the Sunda Shelf that connected
the islands and allowed plants and animals to migrate throughout the region.

The extreme southeastern islands of Southeast Asia—the eastern Moluccas (Maluku) and
the island of New Guinea—lie on the Sahul Shelf, a northwestern extension of Australia,
and structurally are not part of Asia. In the east the Philippine Islands rise between two
blocks of sinking (subducted) oceanic crust at the boundary of the Eurasian and Pacific
plates.

Drainage of Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia is drained by five major river systems, which from west to east
are the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red rivers. The three largest
systems—the Irrawaddy, Salween, and Mekong—have their origins in the Plateau of Tibet.
These three rivers are somewhat atypical: their middle and upper drainage basins are not
broad catchment areas with many small tributaries feeding larger ones but rather consist
of a few streams confined to narrow, closely spaced valleys.

The Irrawaddy River flows through western Myanmar, draining the eastern slope of the
country’s western mountain chain and the western slope of the Shan Plateau. Although
the river itself is shorter than either the Salween or the Mekong rivers, its lowland areas
are more extensive. Most conspicuous is its delta, which is about 120 miles wide at its
base and is expanding rapidly into the Andaman Sea.

The Salween River flows for several hundred miles through southern China before
entering eastern Myanmar. In contrast to the Irrawaddy, the Salween is a highlands river
throughout nearly all of its course. Its drainage basin is highly restricted with few
tributaries, and its delta area is small. Even though the Salween’s catchment area is limited
and is sheltered from seasonal rains, its water volume fluctuates considerably from season
to season.

The Mekong—one of the world’s great river systems—is the longest river of mainland
Southeast Asia and has the largest drainage basin. After flowing for some 1,200 miles
through southern China, the Mekong flows for nearly 1,500 more miles
through Laos (where it also forms much of the western border of the country), Cambodia,
and Vietnam. The Tonle Sap in Cambodia, the largest lake in Southeast Asia, drains into
the vast Mekong delta. The area of the lake varies greatly with the precipitation cycle of
the region.

The Chao Phraya River is the major river of Thailand and the shortest of the great rivers
of the mainland. Rising in the northwestern highlands of Thailand, it drains the western
portion of northern Thailand. The densely populated delta contains Bangkok, Thailand’s
capital and the largest city on the mainland. The Red River of northern Vietnam has the
smallest drainage basin of the major rivers. The river follows a narrow valley through
southern China and northwestern Vietnam before flowing into a relatively small lowland.

Soils

Southeast Asia, on balance, has a higher proportion of relatively fertile soils than most
tropical regions, and soil erosion is less severe than elsewhere. Much of the region,
however, is covered by tropical soils that generally are quite poor in nutrients. Often the
profusion of plant life is more related to heat and moisture than to soil quality, even
though these climatic conditions intensify both chemical weathering and the rate of
bacterial action that usually improve soil fertility. Once the vegetation cover is removed,
the supply of humus quickly disappears. In addition, the often heavy rainfall leaches the
soils of their soluble nutrients, hastens erosion, and damages the soil texture. The leaching
process in part results in laterites of reddish clay that contain hydroxides of iron and
alumina.

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Laterite soils are common in parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and also occur in
the islands of the Sunda Shelf, notably Borneo. The most fertile soils occur in regions
of volcanic activity, where the ejecta is chemically alkaline or neutral. Such soils are found
in parts of Sumatra and much of Java in Indonesia. The alluvial soils of the river valleys
also are highly fertile and are intensively cultivated.

Climate

All of Southeast Asia falls within the warm, humid tropics, and its climate generally can be
characterized as monsoonal (i.e., marked by wet and dry periods). Changing seasons are
more associated with rainfall than with temperature variations. There is, however, a high
degree of climatic complexity within the region.

Temperatures

Regional temperatures at or near sea level remain fairly constant throughout the year,
although monthly averages tend to vary more with increasing latitude. Thus, with the
exception of northern Vietnam, annual average temperatures are close to 80 °F (27 °C).
Increasing elevation acts to decrease average temperatures, and such locations as
the Cameron Highlands in peninsular Malaysia and Baguio in the Philippines have become
popular tourist destinations in part because of their relatively cooler climates. Proximity to
the sea also tends to moderate temperatures.

Precipitation

Much of Southeast Asia receives more than 60 inches (1,500 millimetres) of rainfall
annually, and many areas commonly receive double and even triple that amount. The
rainfall pattern is distinctly affected by two prevailing air currents: the northeast (or
dry) monsoon and the southwest (or wet) monsoon.

The northeast monsoon occurs roughly from November to March and brings relatively dry,
cool air and little precipitation to the mainland. As the southwestward-flowing air passes
over the warmer sea, it gradually warms and gathers moisture. Precipitation is especially
heavy where the airstream is forced to rise over mountains or encounters a landmass.
The east coast of peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, and parts of eastern Indonesia
receive the heaviest rains during this period.

The southwest monsoon prevails from May to September, when the air current reverses
and the dominant flow is to the northeast. The mainland receives the bulk of its rainfall
during this period. Over much of the southern Malay Peninsula and insular Southeast
Asia there is little or no prolonged dry season. This is especially marked in much of the
equatorial region and along the east coast of the Philippines.

While the dry and wet monsoons are important in explaining rainfall patterns, so too are
such factors as relief, land and sea breezes, convectional overturning and cyclonic
disturbances. These factors often are combined with monsoonal effects to produce highly
variable rainfall patterns over relatively short distances. While many of the cyclonic
disturbances produce only moderate rainfall, others mature into tropical storms—called
cyclones in the Indian Ocean and typhoons in the Pacific—that bring heavy rains and
destruction to the areas over which they pass. The Philippines are particularly affected by
these storms.

Plant life

The seasonal nature and pattern of Southeast Asia’s rainfall, as well as

the region’s physiography, have strongly affected the development of natural vegetation.
The hot, humid climate and enormous variety of habitats have given rise to an abundance
and diversity of vegetative forms unlike that in any other area of the world. Much of the

5
natural vegetation has been modified by human action, although large areas of relatively
untouched land still can be found.

The vegetation can be grouped into two broad categories: the tropical-evergreen
forests of the equatorial lowlands and the open type of tropical-deciduous, or “monsoon,”
forests in areas of seasonal drought. The evergreen forests are characterized by multiple
stories of vegetation, consisting of a variety of trees and plants. Although a large diversity
of tree species is found in these forests, members of the Dipterocarpaceae family account
for roughly half of the varieties. Deciduous forests are found in eastern Indonesia and
those parts of the mainland where annual rainfall does not exceed 80 inches. Just as in
the equatorial forest, a wide variety of species is normally the rule. Certain species, such
as teak, have become highly valued commercially. Teak is found in parts of
Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.

In addition to these two basic types of vegetation, other regional patterns

reflect topography. Especially noteworthy are coastal and highland plant communities.
Mangrove belts, of which there are more than 30 varieties, occur where silt is deposited
in coastal areas. Upland forests dominated by maples, oaks, and magnolias are found
especially on mainland mountain slopes.

Human activity has been rapidly altering the stands of virgin forest in Southeast Asia.
Most deforestation results from removal for fuelwood and clearing for agriculture and
grazing. Although only a relatively small portion of the total land area has been
permanently cleared for cultivation—e.g., in Java (Indonesia) and western Luzon (the
Philippines)—in some areas shifting cultivation has brought about the replacement of
virgin forest with secondary growth. In addition, nearly all countries have commercial
logging industries; notable are those in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar. A
growing problem has been illegal logging. Thus, timber harvesting has come to contribute
significantly to deforestation. Programs in social forestry and reforestation have yet to halt
the rapid denuding of the landscape.

Animal life

Southeast Asia is situated where two major divisions of the world’s fauna meet. The region
itself constitutes the eastern half of what is called the Oriental, or Indian, zoogeographic
region (part of the much larger realm of Megagaea). Bordering along the south and east
is the Australian zoogeographic region, and the eastern portion of insular Southeast Asia—
Celebes (Sulawesi), the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands—constitutes a transition
zone between these two faunal regions.

Southeast Asia is notable, therefore, for a considerable diversity of wildlife throughout the
region. These differences are especially striking between the species of the eastern and
western fringes as well as between those of the archipelagic south and the mainland
north. The differences stem largely from the isolation, over varying lengths of geologic
time, of species following their migration from the Asian continent. In addition, the tropical
rain forests in many parts of the region, with their great diversity of vegetation, have
made possible the development of complex communities of animals that fill specialized
ecological niches. Especially numerous are arboreal and flying creatures.

The distinction between the two faunal regions is best depicted by their mammal
populations. In general, Australia is inhabited largely by marsupials (pouched mammals)
and monotremes (egg-laying mammals), while Southeast Asia contains placental
mammals and such hybrid species as the bandicoot of eastern Indonesia. Small mammals
such as monkeys and shrews are the most numerous, while in many areas the larger
mammals have been pushed into more remote areas and national preserves. Bears,

6
gibbons, elephants, deer, civets, and pigs are found in both mainland and insular
Southeast Asia, as are diminishing numbers of tigers. The Malayan tapir, a relative of the
rhinoceros, is native to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, while the tarsier is found in
the Philippines and parts of Indonesia. A number of rare endemic species are found in
Indonesia and East (insular) Malaysia, including the Sumatran and Javan rhinoceros,
the orangutan, the anoa (a dwarf buffalo), the babirusa (a wild swine), and the palm
civet.

As the pace of development accelerates and populations continue to expand in Southeast

Asia, concern has increased regarding the impact of human activity on the
region’s environment. A significant portion of Southeast Asia, however, has not changed
greatly and remains an unaltered home to wildlife. The nations of the region, with only
few exceptions, have become aware of the need to maintain forest cover not only to
prevent soil erosion but to preserve the diversity of flora and fauna. Indonesia, for
example, has created an extensive system of national parks and preserves for this
purpose. Even so, such species as the Javan rhinoceros face extinction, with only a handful
of the animals remaining in western Java.

People of Southeast Asia

By the late 20th century, Southeast Asia’s population (including Indonesia and the
Philippines) was approaching a half billion, or about one-twelfth of the world’s total. This
population, however, was unevenly distributed within the region. By far the nation with
the largest population was Indonesia, with about two-fifths of the regional total; in
contrast, Brunei’s population was only a tiny fraction of that. Nearly half of the regional
population was accounted for by the mainland states, with Vietnam and Thailand being
the most populous.

Settlement patterns

Southeast Asia is predominantly rural: three-fourths of the people live in nonurban areas.
Moreover, population is heavily clustered in fertile river valleys and especially in delta
areas, such as those of the Mekong and Irrawaddy rivers. Historical, cultural, and
environmental influences also have affected the settlement patterns. Java and other core
areas such as the Bangkok (Thailand), Hanoi, and Manila metropolitan areas contain high
population densities.

While the rate of urbanization in Southeast Asia is relatively low compared with those of
other developing regions, it is increasing rapidly. Singapore is unique in that it is
essentially totally urban. In addition, the Philippines has a much higher than average level
of urbanization, in part because of its Spanish and American colonial history. The largest
cities—Jakarta (Indonesia), Bangkok, and Manila—are among the world’s most populous.
The growth of cities of all sizes is being fueled primarily by natural increase, but rural-
urban migration also is a significant contributor. Rural dwellers continue to be attracted
by the promise of employment and other opportunities, but for many migrants the
informal (undocumented) economic sector in these large cities is the only hope for some
form of employment.

Settlement patterns in rural areas tend to be associated with agricultural

practices. Shifting cultivation is still common in some parts of the region (notably the
remote interior areas of Myanmar, Vietnam, and the island of Borneo), although the
amount of land so utilized is gradually shrinking. The village is the unit of settlement and
often functions collectively, and typically it is moved from time to time. By contrast, wet-
rice cultivation, the dominant form of agriculture in Southeast Asia, is sedentary and
results in relatively large rural agglomerations with well-developed village life and
customs. Dry and upland farming often produces scattered homesteads.

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Population resettlement to provide agricultural employment and access to land is
important in some Southeast Asian countries, notably Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
By far the largest program has been conducted in Indonesia, where more than four million
people have been voluntarily resettled from Java and Bali to the less populated islands.
Despite considerable success, the program has been plagued by such problems as
improper site selection, environmental deterioration, migrant adjustment, land conflicts,
and inadequate financing. A program in Malaysia also has been quite successful, in part
because it has set much smaller resettlement targets and has been better funded.
Vietnamese development policy also has utilized the resettlement of people in an effort to
revitalize areas outside the major population centres.

Ethnic composition

Southeast Asia’s population includes a wide variety of ethnic groups and cultures.
This diversity is related to its position as a focus of converging land and sea routes. In
addition, over the span of human habitation, the region alternately has been a bridge and
a barrier to the movement of people. The peopling of Southeast Asia took place through
various southward migrations. The initial peoples arrived from the Asian continental
interior. Successive movement displaced these initial settlers and created a complex ethnic
pattern.

On the mainland the Khmer peoples of Cambodia remain as ancestors of earlier Pareoean
peoples. Similarly, remnants of the Mon group are found in parts of Myanmar and
Thailand; the ethnic mixture there has been produced by overlaying Tibeto-Burman
and Tai, Lao, and Shan peoples. The contemporary Vietnamese population originated
from the Red River area in the north and may be a mixture of Tai and Malay peoples.
Added to these major ethnic groups are such less numerous peoples as the Karens, Chins,
and Nāgas in Myanmar, who have affinities with other Asiatic peoples. Insular Southeast
Asia contains a mixture of descendants of Proto-Malay (Nesiot) and Pareoean peoples who
were influenced by Malayo-Polynesian and other groups. In addition, Arabic, Indian, and
Chinese influences have affected the ethnic pattern of the islands.

In modern times the Burmans account for more than two-thirds of the ethnic stock of
Myanmar, while ethnic Thais and Vietnamese account for about four-fifths of the
respective populations of those countries. Indonesia is clearly dominated by
the Javanese and Sundanese ethnic groups, while Malaysia is more evenly split between
the Malays and the Chinese. Within the Philippines, the Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, and
Bicol groups are significant.

Linguistic composition

Language patterns in Southeast Asia are highly complex and are rooted in four major
language families: Sino-Tibetan, Tai, Austro-Asiatic, and Austronesian (Malayo-
Polynesian). Languages derived from the Sino-Tibetan group are found largely
in Myanmar, while forms of the Tai group are spoken in Thailand and Laos. Austro-Asiatic
languages are spoken in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The languages
of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are rooted in an Austronesian and Polynesian
stock. Despite this broad generalization, it must be noted that innumerable separate
languages as well as dialects are used in the region. This linguistic diversity is
especially conspicuous in fragmented areas such as the Philippines and Indonesia and in
highland and remote areas on the mainland, and it has been a retarding factor in
national integration and development. Notable in this regard is Myanmar.

Dominant languages do exist in most of the nations. Burmese and Thai are spoken by
large groups of people in Myanmar and Thailand, respectively. Similarly, Khmer is the
primary language in Cambodia, as is Vietnamese in Vietnam. Within the Philippines,
Pilipino (Filipino) and English are the official languages, but Tagalog and Visayan also are

8
important. Malay and Indonesian are, respectively, the official languages of Malaysia and
Indonesia; these languages are quite similar and are mutually intelligible. Indonesian is a
good example of a true national language and is spoken widely across the archipelago.
Thus, unlike in Myanmar, language actually has been a unifying element in the country.

Numerous languages also have been introduced into the region by immigrant populations.
Perhaps most significant are the variety of dialects spoken by the Chinese communities in
many Southeast Asian countries. The most commonly used are Cantonese, Hokkien,
Hakka, and Teochew, reflecting the southern Chinese coastal origins of many of the
immigrants. The largest concentration of Chinese speakers is in Singapore, where
they constitute the majority population. Concentrations of ethnic Chinese also live in most
of the larger urban areas of the region.

Indian immigrants also are numerous and are associated with the economic development
of several Southeast Asian nations. Their role as labourers on the rubber plantations of
Malaysia is well known, and Tamil and Hindi speakers form significant minorities in the
country. Indian communities also are scattered throughout the region and are especially
conspicuous in Singapore and Myanmar.

Religions

Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity are all practiced within Southeast Asia. Buddhism,
particularly the more orthodox Theravada form, dominates the religious pattern of most
of the mainland; only in northern Vietnam is the more liberal Mahayana Buddhism more
common.

Islam is predominant in the southern half of the Malay Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago,
and the southern Philippines. As a result of the large Muslim population in Indonesia,
Islam is the religion of some two-fifths of Southeast Asians. The diffusion of the religion
began in the early 14th century through contact with Muslim traders in northern Sumatra.
Perhaps more than any of the other religions, Islam has been a strong force in binding
together its adherents. It has profoundly affected cultural, social, political, and economic
matters in areas where it is practiced.

The spread of Christianity came with European contact. Roman Catholicism was
introduced to insular Southeast Asia by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 16th
century and somewhat later to the Indochinese Peninsula by the French. Catholicism is
most important in the Philippines and southern Vietnam. Protestantism also is locally
important. The Batak and Minangkabau peoples in Sumatra and a growing number of
Chinese in Singapore and elsewhere adhere to various Protestant denominations.

Hinduism, once much more widespread, now is practiced by many people in the region’s
Indian communities. In addition, this religion, modified by animism and other influences,
is the primary faith on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Various forms of animism also are
practiced in the region’s more remote areas, particularly in central Borneo, northern Laos,
and northern Myanmar.

Demographic trends

The annual rate of natural increase in Southeast Asia averages slightly higher than the
annual world rate. Considerable variation exists, however, among the region’s countries.
The Philippines, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei are characterized by higher growth;
Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, on the other hand, have considerably lower rates,
primarily because of the implementation of effective family-planning programs in these
countries. In general, the pace of fertility decline is accelerating, although it is being offset
by declining infant mortality and increasing life expectancy. Infant mortality for the region
approximates the world average. In the more developed nations—especially Singapore,
Malaysia, and Thailand—health care programs for infants and children have helped bring

9
about mortality rates well below world averages, while the scarcity of these programs in
such countries as Cambodia and Laos has contributed to continued high rates. Life
expectancy in the region is somewhat below the world average, with Cambodia having
the lowest average and Singapore the highest.

Population change also is directly related to internal and external migration. As noted
above, rural-to-urban migration continues to be a major aspect of change in nearly all
Southeast Asian nations. In certain countries, considerable evidence exists for movements
between rural areas (e.g., Thailand) and mobility between urban areas (Indonesia).
Internal migration in the Philippines is dominated by movements to Manila and to the
frontier areas in the south. Perhaps most significant, given the increasing mobility of the
population and access to transport services, is the growth of nonpermanent population
movements. Seasonal and other forms of circular migration for limited periods of time are
conspicuous, especially in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. The growth in transport
access also has created greater commuting ranges for individuals who in the past often
had to leave their homes and fields for extended periods to take up work.

Refugee movements have been conspicuous in the region, particularly since the mid-
1970s. The Vietnamese out-migration to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as
to Hong Kong, is noteworthy. Cambodian and Laotian peoples also have experienced
displacement. In addition, there have been numerous instances of religious minorities
fleeing persecution, such as the departure of Muslim Burmans in the early 1990s.

Economy of Southeast Asia

Even prior to the penetration of European interests, Southeast Asia was a critical part of
the world trading system. A wide range of commodities originated in the region, but
especially important were such spices as pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The spice
trade initially was developed by Indian and Arab merchants, but it also brought Europeans
to the region. First the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British and French
became involved in this enterprise in various countries. The penetration of European
commercial interests gradually evolved into annexation of territories, as traders lobbied
for an extension of control to protect and expand their activities. As a result, the Dutch
moved into Indonesia, the British into Malaya, and the French into Indochina.

Europe’s interest and activity in the region was further enhanced by the opening of
the Suez Canal, the development of telegraphic communications, the adoption of steam
shipping, and the prospects for trade with China. In the case of Malaya, the
gradual diffusion of British administration provided systems of law and order and of
taxation and allowed for the gradual development of infrastructure, principally reliable
transport systems. This environment attracted Chinese immigrants, and the growth of the
tin mining industry soon followed. Later rubber plantations were established, which
brought about still further immigration. Similar developments took place
in Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, and Indonesia. In Siam (Thailand) during the second half
of the 19th century, a rapid expansion of Western enterprise occurred, though not by
colonization. Both British and American firms began trading in the region. The impact of
the Western activity was essentially to remove trade from what had been a Chinese
monopoly and to emphasize the export of a single commodity, rice.
Established indigenous textile and sugar-processing industries were replaced by imports,
and the economy slowly became dependent on rice exports. The Philippines gradually
developed a plantation farming system under Spanish and later American influence,
although rice, sugar, and tobacco continued to be produced by small-scale growers and
processed by Chinese enterprises until the mid-19th century.

The incorporation of Southeast Asia into the world economy had a major impact on the
distribution of the region’s economic development, and it created more uneven patterns

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of population growth and economic activity. It also brought about a stronger sense of class
distinction and resulted in a larger discrepancy between the wealthy and poor. The
worldwide economic depression of the 1930s severely affected the commercialized areas
most dependent on the world economy. Unemployment rose, and the period produced
the seeds of political change and activism that culminated in the independence of most of
the region’s countries after World War II.

Since the 1950s the economic development strategies of virtually all the capitalist
Southeast Asian states have emphasized urban industrialization, while agricultural
development generally has been viewed as subsidiary to industrial growth. These
strategies have met with mixed success. Indeed, the trading pattern of the region by and
large has continued to be one of producing and exporting raw materials and importing
manufactured goods. Only Singapore has reached an advanced level of industrialization,
in the process becoming one of the world’s great centres of industry and commerce.

There is great disparity in development rates within the region, especially between the
member and nonmember countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN). Those belonging to this grouping—Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—generally have experienced significant economic
development since the mid-1960s; the exception has been the Philippines, the economy
of which has grown at a much slower rate. Development has been extremely slow or
nonexistent in the non-ASEAN countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, and
these are among the poorest nations in the world.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in every country in the region

except Brunei and Singapore. Agricultural employment, however, has been declining.
More than two-thirds of the workforces of Cambodia and Laos practice agriculture. As the
economies of the ASEAN countries have been restructured toward growth in industry and
services, there has been a corresponding decline in the proportion of the gross domestic
product (GDP) derived from agriculture, most significantly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Thailand.

Agricultural output in Southeast Asia has increased significantly since 1970. There are
wide variations in this growth across the region, with the greatest gains in Malaysia and
Thailand and little or no increase in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Hunger and
malnutrition are problems in pockets of even the most developed countries, but they have
been especially serious in Cambodia because of crop failures and internal strife. The
condition of the rural population everywhere is clearly related to limited access to land,
the landless experiencing greater poverty and poorer health. Landlessness is perhaps most
serious in the Philippines.

The dominant form of agriculture in the region is wet-rice cultivation. Where conditions
permit, two crops typically are planted each year. Other food crops such as corn (maize),
cassava, and pulses (legumes) frequently are grown in drier areas where there is too little
water for a second planting of rice. Rice production requires a reliable water supply.
Thailand and the Philippines rely heavily on rain-fed systems, while Indonesia utilizes
irrigation to a large extent. Irrigation or some other form of water control is especially
critical in the cultivation of the high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice that have been
introduced since the 1960s. The spread of the so-called Green Revolution—in which HYVs
and chemical fertilizers and pesticides are utilized—has brought mixed results. There is
little doubt that production has increased because of the higher yields of these hybrid
strains and because their more rapid maturation increases the possibility of multiple
annual crops. Frequently, however, poorer farmers are not able to take advantage of

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these strains, because of the high cost of their use. The goal of rice self-sufficiency has
been difficult to achieve for most countries.

A large variety of cash crops are grown for the local and export markets, both on large
commercial estates and by individual growers or smallholders. Tree crops are the most
important in terms of value, although the area devoted to them is limited largely to
equatorial areas. Rubber and palm oil are significant in Malaysia, Indonesia, and southern
Thailand, while coconuts and sugar are important in the Philippines. Other major export
crops are cacao, coffee, and spices, while crops grown largely for local and
regional consumption include chilies, sweet potatoes, peanuts (groundnuts), and tobacco.
The cultivation of opium poppies is important in parts of Myanmar and Thailand.

The emphasis on rubber and palm oil production is in response to a considerable (though
fluctuating) worldwide demand for these commodities and because of a nearly continuous
harvest period that provides year-round employment. Foreign corporations once
dominated production, but, as the region’s countries gained independence, much of the
production was nationalized. Government ownership continues to predominate, with
increasing private ownership.

Fishing contributes only a token amount to the GDP of Southeast Asian countries, but it
is an important livelihood in certain areas and supplies a significant portion of the local
diet. Marine output has gradually expanded with new technologies. The maritime nations
of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines all have globally important fishing
industries. Shrimp catches are especially in demand in the world economy. Aquaculture
has become increasingly important in the region, such species as shrimp, carp, and
grouper being raised in excavated ponds.

Industry of Southeast Asia

Industrialization in Southeast Asia is a relatively recent phenomenon, much of the

development having occurred only since the early 1960s. As mentioned above,
industrialization policies have been critical goals in the market economies of
the ASEAN countries; and, in all of them except Brunei, industry’s share of the GDP has
grown considerably. The most significant increases have occurred in Singapore, Thailand,
and the Philippines. Manufacturing in particular has accounted for the greatest changes,
with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand making especially large gains during the 1980s.

Small factories dominate, both in terms of the number of companies and the number of
workers employed. Agricultural processing is most important in virtually all nations. The
notable exception is Singapore, where the manufacture of a variety of products, headed
by electrical and electronic and transport equipment, is dominant. In Thailand, Myanmar,
and the Philippines, textiles and clothing are significant, as is the chemical industry in
Thailand and Indonesia. Light, labour-intensive goods, such as electrical and electronic
products, are increasingly important. It is in the manufacture of these products and
textiles that the most employment has been gained.

Tin is the most important metallic mineral in the region in terms of value, and Thailand,
Malaysia, and Indonesia account for more than half of world production. In Malaysia and
elsewhere, however, alluvial lodes are becoming depleted, and the remaining
concentrations are less economical to mine. Fluctuating market prices have also
discouraged tin production. Nickel, copper, and chromite are also mined, although the
quantities produced in the region are minor in terms of world production. Southeast Asia
has considerable reserves of oil and natural gas, notably in Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Brunei.

Trade

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Given Southeast Asia’s strategic location and the early development of trade there, it is
not surprising that trade is especially important to all nations in the region. The value of
regional trade is about one-third that of the United States. Most striking is the almost total
dominance of trade by the market economies. Exports, as a percentage of the GDP, are
small in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos and moderately so in Thailand, the
Philippines, and Indonesia. Countries with a relatively large proportion of export trade are
Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. Composition of exports is important. In this respect,
Indonesia—the trade structure of which long has been dominated by oil—has been
relatively successful in diversifying its exports toward plywood, rattan, coffee, rubber, and
textiles. Conversely, Malaysia, with a trade pattern of exporting palm oil, tropical
hardwoods, and tin, now derives the majority of its export income from petroleum
products. This revenue has been used to build up the country’s industrial base. Thailand
exhibits a much less diverse export structure, where food and manufactured goods
account for nearly all of its total trade. Likewise, Brunei relies almost entirely on its
petroleum exports. Singapore, however, has utilized its unique geographic position and
highly educated labour force to attract multinational corporations. As a result, investment
in the manufacturing and, increasingly, service sectors has greatly expanded.

Intraregional trade among the ASEAN members, while important, accounts for only about
one-fifth of Southeast Asia’s total trade. Philippine trade within the region is especially
small, reflecting its long-term orientation toward the United States. Far more important,
therefore, is the trade with countries outside the region, dominated by that with
Japan, Europe, and the United States; increasingly significant, however, is the trade
with Taiwan, China (especially Hong Kong), and South Korea.

Transportation and communications

Before World War II the various colonial powers of the region attempted to provide
reliable transport systems. Emphasis first was placed on developing road networks,
followed by railways. The infrastructure that was built during the colonial period, however,
deteriorated rapidly after the war; since achieving independence, many of the countries
gradually have been restoring and extending their road networks. This activity has been
notable in Indonesia, where, because of the country’s vastness, the task has been
enormous. Transport systems in Myanmar and the countries of the Indochinese Peninsula
in general are poorly developed, except in some parts of Vietnam, where improvements
were made during wartime.

Road transport continues to be of overwhelming importance in the region. Since all

countries but Laos have maritime access, water transport is next in importance. It is
especially vital in archipelagic Indonesia and the Philippines and also is significant in
Malaysia and Thailand. Railways are of minor importance, in part because the region’s
archipelagic nature is not conducive to their construction but more critically because the
relatively short hauling distances allow road transport to be more competitive. Even in
Thailand—where the potential for rail transport is greatest—an extensive highway system
and the availability of reliable vehicles provide a formidable challenge to rail.

All of the ASEAN countries have strong domestic air transport systems. The most extensive
is in Indonesia, which provides critical links between the islands. In addition, the
Indonesian government maintains subsidized air services to the smaller islands. Most
ASEAN nations also have international air fleets, the largest of which are maintained by
Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

There has been increased emphasis on the development of communications throughout

the ASEAN states. Singapore has become renowned for its extensive communications
infrastructure and capability. Telephone service is most abundant in the urban areas of
the more developed states, although telecommunications in the rural areas of the

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Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand remains deficient. Indonesia has made significant
improvements in its communications infrastructure through the deployment of satellites
that enhance television and telephone transmission to remote areas of the archipelago.

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