SE Asia

South-East Asia

made up of a mainland area which has a northern border with India & China, and many thousands of tropical islands
the region has great natural wealth - from precious stones to oil, and has recently experienced fast industrial growth
its climate is strongly affected by the monsoon, which brings warm, humid air & high rainfall to mainland SE Asia during July & to maritime SE Asia during January.
staple crop is rice, while sugar cane, coconuts, bananas & pineapples are widely grown as cash crops. In addition, Malaysia produces 25% of the world's rubber. Fishing is a major industry as is rainforest timbers.

capital: Jakarta
area: 1.9 m sq.km
pop: 224.8m (2000)
govt: republic
currency: Indonesian rupiah
language: Bahasa Indonesia (Malay) + 250 regional languages, English & Dutch
religion: muslim 88% (world's most populated Moslem country); protestant 5%; catholic minority;
geography:
- over 13,000 islands, less than half inhabited
- main islands:
  - Java
  - Sumatra
  - Kalimantan (Borneo)
  - Sulawesi (Celebes)
  - Irian Jaya (western part of island of New Guinea)
- coastal lowlands with ~60 active volcanoes

capital: Kuala Lumpur
area: 0.3 m sq.km
pop: 21.8m (2000)
govt: fed. parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarch
currency: ringgit
language:
- Peninsula - Malay; English, Chinese dialects, Tamil
- Sabah - English, Malay, tribal dialects
- Sarawak - English, Malay, Mandarin
religion: Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Confucianist, Daoist, Sikhism, indigenous
geography:
- the main part is on a peninsula bordered to the north by Thailand and close to Singapore at its southernmost tip, which is separated from Indonesia to its south by the Strait of Malacca
- the states of Sarawak & Sabah are along the north coast of the island of Indonesian Borneo
- has a wide swampy coastal plain, interior jungles & mountains

capital: Singapore
area: 648 sq.km
pop: 4.2m (2000)
govt: republic
currency: Singapore dollar
language: Malay; English (the language of administration), Chinese, Tamil
religion: Buddhist 29%, Christian 19%, Muslim 16%, Taoist 13% with Confucianist, Hindu, & Sikhism minorities
geography:
- an island off the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, linked by a causeway
- low lying with an undulating central plateau
- substantial areas are reclaimed from the sea each year.
climate:
- http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1088
- lies 1.5deg N of equator & combined with its maritime position, tends to be warm & humid all year with average temperatures usually above 25degC and usual diurnal range being 23-34 degC
- NE monsoon season - Dec to early March - NE winds, cloudy, wet periods
- pre-SW monsoon season - late March to May - light winds, afternoon/evening showers & storms
- SW monsoon season - June to Sept - SE/SW winds
- pre-NE monsoon - Oct to Nov - light winds with afternoon seabreezes, scattered afternoon/evening showers & storms
travel advice:

capital: Manila
area: 0.3m sq.km
pop: 81m (2000)
govt: republic
currency: Philippine peso
language: Filipino, English Spanish
religion: Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%
geography:
- an archipelago of 7,000 islands off the south-east coast of East Asia
- nearest neighbours are Malaysia, Indonesia & Taiwan
- the main & most densely populated island is Luzon
- mountainous with narrow coastal plains

Myanmar (Burma):

capital: Yangon
area: 678,500 sq.km
pop: 41.7m (2000)
govt: military regime
currency: kyat
language: Burmese; Karen; Shan
religion: Buddhist 89%; Muslim 4%; Catholic 3%; Baptist 1%;
geography:
- largest country in south-east Asia mainland
- bordered to the north & east by China, the south by the Andaman Sea, Laos & Thailand, and the west by India, Bangladesh, & the Bay of Bengal
- dense forests
- subject to earthquakes, floods & cyclones in wet season

capital: Bangkok
area: 514,000 sq.km
pop: 61.2m (2000)
govt: constitutional monarchy
currency: baht
language: Thai, English, Chinese, Malay, dialects
religion: Theravada Buddhist 95%, Muslim 4%
geography:
- bordered to north by Myanmar & Laos, the south by Malaysia, the east by Laos & Cambodia & the west by Myanmar.
- northern mountains, an extension of the Himalayas
- alluvial central plains
- high plateau to the east.

capital: Vientiane
area: 236,800 sq.km
pop: 5.5m (2000)
govt: communist state
currency: new hip
language: Lao, French, English, ethnic
religion: Buddhist 85% indigenous 15%
geography:
- bordered to the north by China, the south by Cambodia, the east by Vietnam, the west by Myanmar & Thailand
- the Mekong River forms much of the border with Thailand.

capital: Phnom Penh
area: 181,035 sq.km
pop: 12.2m (2000)
govt: constitutional monarchy
currency: new riel
language: Khmer; French
religion: Theravada Buddhist 95%
geography:
- bordered to the north by Laos, the north-west by Thailand, the east by Vietnam, the south by the Gulf of Thailand
- the centre is level, the south-east is hilly & mountainous;
- approx. 75% forested.

capital: Hanoi
area: 329,556 sq.km
pop: 78.8m (2000)
govt: socialist republic
currency: new dong
language: Vietnamese; French, Chinese, English, tribal
religion: Buddhist, Taoist, Confucist, Catholic, Muslim, indigenous, Protestant, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao
geography:
- bordered to north by China, the north-east by the Gulf of Tonkin, the east by the South China Sea, and the west by Laos & Cambodia
- four distinct areas:
  - the Red River Delta and surrounding mountains
  - the Mekong Delta
  - a narrow coastal plain
  - the Central Highlands

capital: Dili
area: 14,874 sq.km
pop: 0.86m (2000)
govt: constutional democracy
currency: nil
language: Bahasa, Indonesia, Portugese, Tetum & other Austronesian dialects like Kairui, Nidiki, Baiben
religion: catholic sometimes infused with Animistic beliefs
geography:
- eastern half of Indonesian Timor Island at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago
- mountainous terrain dominates the northern coastal region while swamps, river mouths & deltas feature in the southern coastal plain