That's . Indonesia also has the distinction of being the most populous Muslim country in the world. The Philippines challenged China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2013, and in Philippines v. China (2016), the Court ruled in favour of the Philippines and rejected China's claims.[124][125]. In Burma, Sakka (Indra) is revered as a Nat. No individual Southeast Asian country is religiously homogeneous. . Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [9] Ten countries in the region are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organisation established for economic, political, military, educational, and cultural integration amongst its members. Brunei Darussalam is the least populous country in Southeast Asia. [82][83] In the first century, the Funan states centered in Mekong Delta were established, encompassed modern-day Cambodia, southern Vietnam, Laos, and eastern Thailand. The prayer hall of the Goddess of Mercy Temple, the oldest Taoist temple in Penang, Malaysia. There is also a smaller but significant number of Hmong-Mien, Chinese, Dravidians, Indo-Aryans, Eurasians and Papuans, which also contributes to the diversity of peoples in the region. Its neighbors are Myanmar (Burma) to the west, Laos to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Malaysia, on the Malay Peninsula, to the south. In turn, Indian Brahmins and monks were invited by local rulers to live in their realms and help transforming local polities to become more Indianised, blending Indian and indigenous traditions. Across North America, Europe and Asia, hundreds of millions of people endured blistering conditions. In the last few years, the plight of the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar has gained international attention as Burmese military forces have been accused of committing war crimes and other atrocities against them. Singhasari rejected the proposal and injured the envoys, enraged the Mongols and made them sent a large invasion fleet to Java. The region covers about 4.5 million km and has a population of over 650 million, making it Asia's third-most populated geographical region after East Asia and South Asia. The map shows the countries and main regions of Southeast Asia with surrounding bodies of water, international borders, major volcanoes, major islands, main cities, and capitals. It is separated from Malaysia by the Johor Straits. note 1: according to Indonesia's National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping, the total number of islands in the archipelago is 13,466, of which 922 are permanently inhabited (Indonesia is the world's largest country comprised solely of islands); the country straddles the equator and occupies a strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from the Indian Ocean . The country is made up of 17,508 islands and has a total land area of 1,811,570 km2. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. The Komodo dragon is the largest living species of lizard and inhabits the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in Indonesia. Puppetry and shadow plays were also a favoured form of entertainment in past centuries, a famous one being the wayang from Indonesia. Most of the people of the Philippines practice Roman Catholicism, though there is also a sizeable Muslim population on the southernmost island of Mindanao. The main styles of traditional music include court music, folk music, music styles of smaller ethnic groups, and music influenced by genres outside the geographic region. Both countries share the island of New Guinea. Southeast Asia is a region of peninsulas and islands. Association football is the most popular sport in the region, with the ASEAN Football Federation, the region's primary regulatory body, formed on 31 January 1984, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The region has diverse metalworking, especially in Indonesia. Studies in historical linguistics, for example, have suggested that the vast majority of Southeast Asian languageseven many of those previously considered to have separate originseither sprang from common roots or have been long and inseparably intertwined. [137][138] Climate change will have a big effect on agriculture in Southeast Asia such as irrigation systems will be affected by changes in rainfall and runoff, and subsequently, water quality and supply. 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. What is the largest city in South and East Asia? The highest mountain in Southeast Asia is Hkakabo Razi at 5,967 metres (19,577 feet) and can be found in northern Burma sharing the same range of its parent peak, Mount Everest. The short answer: All three! Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the northernmost country in Southeast Asia. New York: Routledge, 1993, History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia, Boundaries between the continents of Earth, Southeast Asia is facing severe deforestation, ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, Classification schemes for Southeast Asian languages, Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, List of current heads of state and government, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100", "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2021", "The frequency of explosive volcanic eruptions in Southeast Asia", "Research Guides: Southeast Asia Research Guide: Imperialism, Colonialism, & Nationalism", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Brunei The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Cambodia The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Timor-Leste The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Indonesia The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Laos The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Malaysia The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Burma The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Philippines The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Singapore The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Thailand The World Factbook", "East Asia/Southeast Asia:: Vietnam The World Factbook", "United Nations Statistics Division - Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49)", "Singapore - A Country Profile - Nations Online Project", "Centennial Upper Air Observation in Hong Kong cum 70th Anniversary of King's Park Meteorological Station", "Hong Kong Cultural Centre Open House on Sunday", "Hong Kong Oratorio Society Holds Christmas Concert", "A Nation Reborn? For more details, see: Languages of Indonesia. [64] Local rulers converted to Hinduism or Buddhism and adopted Indian religious traditions to reinforce their legitimacy, elevate ritual status above their fellow chief counterparts and facilitate trade with South Asian states. The largest country in Southeast Asia is Indonesia, which is composed of about 17,508 islands. Stilt houses can be found all over Southeast Asia, from Thailand and Vietnam to Borneo, to Luzon in the Philippines, to Papua New Guinea. The South China Sea is the major body of water within Southeast Asia. Philippines is a Southeast Asian country. Indonesia has the largest Protestant population in Southeast Asia. [106], The United States took the Philippines from Spain in 1898. There are nearly 800 native languages in the region. 1 South-East Asia Indonesia 2 South-East Asia Timor-Leste (East Timor) 3 South-East Asia Brunei Darussalam 4 South-East Asia Christmas Island 5 South-East Asia Malaysia 6 South-East Asia Myanmar, Burma 7 South-East Asia Philippines 8 South-East Asia Singapore 9 South-East Asia Cambodia 10 South-East Asia East Timor (Timor-Leste) The vast majority of Southeast Asia falls within the warm, humid tropics, and its climate generally can be characterised as monsoonal. Rice paddy agriculture has existed in Southeast Asia for millennia, ranging across the subregion. Muslims can be found in all mainland countries, but the most significant populations . The language composition for each country is as follows (with official languages in bold): Indonesia has over 700 languages in over 17,000 islands across the archipelago, making Indonesia the second most linguistically diverse country on the planet,[180] slightly behind Papua New Guinea. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In neighbouring Thailand, the Thais are the largest ethnic group in the country but is divided into several regional Tai groups such as Central Thais, Northern Thais or Lanna, Southern Thais or Pak Thai, and Northeastern Thai or Isan people (which is ethnically more closely related to Lao people than to Central Thais), each have their own unique dialects, history and culture. Garuda, the phoenix who is the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, is a national symbol in both Thailand and Indonesia; in the Philippines, gold images of Garuda have been found on Palawan; gold images of other Hindu gods and goddesses have also been found on Mindanao. It is based on the island of Borneo, and is surrounded by territory belonging to Malaysia, except for its northern coast, off of which is part of the South China Sea. Today, Singapore is ranked the best country on the World Banks Human Capital Index, and is also rated as one of the worlds most competitive economies. Grades 6 - 12+ Subjects Biology, Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography Photograph This material would have been more durable than paper in the tropical climate of Southeast Asia. On some occasions, Sri Lanka has been considered a part of Southeast Asia because of its cultural and religious ties to Mainland Southeast Asia. [96] In 1292, The Mongols sent envoys to Singhasari Kingdom in Java to ask for submission to Mongol rule. It is a multicultural and multilingual country. Srivijaya especially became the dominant maritime power for more than 5 centuries, controlling both Strait of Malacca and Sunda Strait. 445,900 Currency Exchange Rate: 1 USD equals 1.327 Bruneian dollar Form Of Government: monarchy (sultanate) with one advisory body (Legislative Council [45] 1) In fact, more than 300 languages are spoken in Indonesia. The country's neighbors include Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south. The country officially gained independence in 2002, after a long, often violent struggle against Indonesian rule. Timor-Leste (East Timor) is the newest and poorest country in Southeast Asia. Timor-Leste is a small country of about 1.3 million people based on part of the island of Timor. Many settled in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. The AFF Championship is the largest football competition in the region since its inaugural in 1996, with Thailand holding the most titles in the competition with seven titles. [56] A slave from the Sulu Sea was believed to have been used in Magellan's voyage as a translator. However, the Shwa occupation regime committed violent actions against civilians such as live human experimentation,[109][110][111][112][113][114][115] sexual slavery under the brutal "comfort women" system,[116] Chinese folk religions are also widely practised by the overseas Chinese community such as Mazuism. Mahayana Buddhism established presence in Maritime Southeast Asia, brought by Chinese monks during their transit in the region en route to Nalanda. String instruments are also popular in the region. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world. The mountain ranges in Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lesser Sunda Islands, and Timor are part of the Alpide belt, while the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia as well as East Timor are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Maritime Southeast Asia was often grouped with Australia and Oceania in the mid to late 1800s, rather than with mainland Asia. [51][52] They often settled along coastal areas, replacing and assimilating the diverse preexisting peoples.[53][54][47]. [49] During much of this time the present-day islands of western Indonesia were joined into a single landmass known as Sundaland due to lower sea levels. They arrived in the northern Philippines between 7,000 BC to 2,200 BC and rapidly spread further into the Northern Mariana Islands and Borneo by 1500 BC; Island Melanesia by 1300 BC; and to the rest of Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Vietnam, and Palau by 1000 BC. 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. Southeast Asia was dominated by East Asian-related ancestry already in 15,000BC, predating the expansion of Austroasiatic and Austronesian peoples. According to the World Bank, some progress has been made in reducing poverty. The Philippines has seen steady economic growth in the last ten years. Regular trade between the ships sailing east from the Indian Ocean and south from mainland Asia provided goods in return for natural products, such as honey and hornbill beaks from the islands of the archipelago. Even so, such species as the Javan rhinoceros face extinction, with only a handful of the animals remaining in western Java. [68][69] Theravada Buddhism entered the region during the third century, via maritime trade routes between the region and Sri Lanka. Arguably, no other country signifies the rapid economic growth of Southeast Asia more than Singapore. South Asia is politically divided into nine autonomous countries: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Iran, and the Maldives. As a result, the Dutch moved into Indonesia, the British into Malaya and parts of Borneo, the French into Indochina, and the Spanish and the US into the Philippines. Today, Southeast Asia is predominantly governed by independent states. The insular region of Southeast Asia includes the countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This resulted in the second Mongol invasion of Burma in 1300, which was repulsed by Myinsaing. Formerly a constituent state of Malaysia, Singapore became an independent state in 1965. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The antiquity of this form of writing extends before the invention of paper around the year 100 in China. Europeans brought Christianity allowing Christian missionaries to become widespread. Asia makes up the eastern portion of the Eurasian supercontinent; Europe occupies the western portion.The border between the two continents is debated. [169] In the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, Hinduism is dominant on islands such as Bali. The flight from the United States to the Philippines takes approximately 16 hours and 44 minutes. d. Japan. Majapahit would soon grow into a regional power. During World War II, Imperial Japan invaded most of the former western colonies under the concept of "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". [16] SEAC popularised the use of the term "Southeast Asia", although what constituted Southeast Asia was not fixed; for example, SEAC excluded the Philippines and a large part of Indonesia while including Ceylon. [90] The invasions were unsuccessful, yet both Dai Viet and Champa agreed to become tributary states to Yuan dynasty to avoid further conflicts. [76], After the region came under contact with the Indian subcontinent circa 400 BCE, it began a gradual process of Indianisation where Indian ideas such as religions, cultures, architectures, and political administrations were brought by traders and religious figures and adopted by local rulers. Islam is the countrys official religion. It includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka; Afghanistan and the Maldives are often considered part of South Asia as well. A significant portion of Southeast Asia, however, has not changed greatly and remains an unaltered home to wildlife. Magellan's voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships. [79] Vietnam, especially its northern part, was never fully Indianised due to the many periods of Chinese domination it experienced. [75] Elsewhere, there are ethnic groups in Southeast Asia that resisted conversion and still retain their original animist beliefs, such as the Dayaks in Kalimantan, the Igorots in Luzon, and the Shans in eastern Myanmar. How Many Countries in Southeastern Asia As a region of Asia, Southeastern Asia is composed of 11 independent countries (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam). Thailand has had the most numerous appearances in the AFC Asian Cup with 7 while the highest-ranked result in the Asian Cup for a Southeast Asian team is second place in the 1968 by Myanmar in Iran. 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. Laos is bordered by five countries. Coauthor of, Associate Professor of History, Ohio University, Athens. Other regional groups in the country are the Kapampangans, Pangasinans, Surigaonons, Ifugao, Kalinga, Kamayo, Cuyonon and Ivatan. Besides the Thais, Thailand is also home to more than 70 ethnolinguistic groups of which the largest being Patani Malays, Northern Khmers, Karen, Hmongs and Chinese. Eastern Bangladesh and Northeast India have strong cultural ties with Mainland Southeast Asia and are sometimes considered transregional areas between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Within this broad outline, Southeast Asia is perhaps the most diverse region on Earth. 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Apart from the British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of Maldives in South Asia, Maritime Southeast Asia is the only other subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere. This page was last edited on 22 July 2023, at 19:48. Myinsaing Kingdom became the real ruler of Central Burma and challenged the Mongol rule. 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. Various sources such as the Nagarakertagama also mention that its influence spanned over parts of Sulawesi, Maluku, and some areas of western New Guinea and southern Philippines, making it one of the largest empire to ever exist in Southeast Asian history. Geopolitically, the boundary lies between Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian region of Western New Guinea (Papua and West Papua). [65] It is still the dominant branch of Buddhism practised by Indonesian and Malaysian Buddhists. It was the last major Hindu kingdom and the last regional power in the region before the arrival of the Europeans. The spread of these two Indian religions confined the adherents of Southeast Asian indigenous beliefs into remote inland areas. [55] Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome. Patrick Foto / Getty Images. For the majority of the populations in each country, there was comparatively little interaction with Europeans and traditional social routines and relationships continued. Each of the languages has been influenced by cultural pressures due to trade, immigration, and historical colonisation as well. [5] Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean. The oldest country in Southeast Asia is Cambodia. [121] A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour during the Japanese occupation. Southeast Asia usually experiences its hottest months of the year in April and May. Peninsular Malaysia and the Riau Islands of Indonesia are located north and south of Singapore, respectively. When the Khmer Rouge was finally overthrown by Vietnamese forces in 1979, at least 1.7 million Cambodians had been killed. [88] The Champa civilisation was located in what is today central Vietnam, and was a highly Indianised Hindu Kingdom. Brief description and list of states located in Southeast Asia. [167] East Timor is also predominantly Roman Catholic due to a history of Indonesian[168] and Portuguese rule. [139] Climate change is impacting agriculture, threatening food security, and is compounded by the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. [147], In 2022, Malaysian petroleum industry through its oil and gas company, Petronas, was ranked eighth in the world by the Brandirectory.[148]. Ancient remains of hunter-gatherers in Maritime Southeast Asia, such as one Holocene hunter-gatherer from South Sulawesi, had ancestry from both the Papuan-related and East Asian-related branches of the Eastern non-African lineage. [55] This dominance started to decline when Srivijaya were invaded by Chola Empire, a dominant maritime power of Indian subcontinent, in 1025. Formerly a Dutch colony, Indonesia has been independent since 1945. The hunter-gatherer individual had approximately ~50% "Basal-East Asian" ancestry, and was positioned in between modern East Asians and Papuans of Oceania. Ten of the eleven states of Southeast Asia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while East Timor is an observer state. The only landlocked country is the rural and remote country of Laos, which borders China, Vietnam, and Thailand. China has asserted broad claims over the South China Sea, based on its nine-dash line, and has built artificial islands in an attempt to bolster its claims. Christianity also predominates in the rest of the part of the Philippines, New Guinea, Flores and Timor. But the region remains wary of the US-China rivalry, Southeast Asian nations renew alarm over Myanmar violence. Its influence spread to other parts Southeast Asia. [92][93] However, in 1297, a new local power emerged. The history of Southeast Asia has led to a wealth of different authors, from both within and without writing about the region. As a rule, the peoples who ate with their fingers were more likely influenced by the culture of India, for example, than the culture of China, where the peoples ate with chopsticks; tea, as a beverage, can be found across the region. [12], The region, together with part of South Asia, was well known by Europeans as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Hardy said the high prices were suppressing Asia's LNG consumption, which is projected to increase from 252 million tonnes in 2022 to 260 million tonnes this year still lower than 272 . The spice trade initially was developed by Indian and Arab merchants, but it also brought Europeans to the region. [97][98], After the departure of the Mongols, Wijaya established the Majapahit Empire in eastern Java in 1293. While Peninsular Malaysia is geographically situated in Mainland Southeast Asia, it shares many similar cultural and ecological affinities with surrounding islands, thus it is often grouped with them as part of Maritime Southeast Asia. These islands are not biogeographically, geologically or historically linked to mainland Asia, and are considered part of Oceania by the United Nations, The World Factbook and other organisations. While Southeast Asia is rich in flora and fauna, Southeast Asia is facing severe deforestation which causes habitat loss for various endangered species such as orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. It has a strong manufacturing sector and exports a significant amount of electrical appliances, parts, and components. Most of Southeast Asia introduced dance into their court; in particular, Cambodian royal ballet represented them in the early seventh century before the Khmer Empire, which was highly influenced by Indian Hinduism. Jayma October 2, 2022. As of 2021, around 676 million people live in the region, more than a fifth live (143 million) on the Indonesian island of Java, the most densely populated large island in the world. 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.