About 70% of Southeast Asia's population lives in rural areas, showing a strong connection to primary activities. In this way, the bases of the economy of the countries of this region are agriculture and cattle raising and extractivism, which results in the insertion of half of the economically active population in the primary sector.
Among the agricultural activities developed in Southeast Asia, rice cultivation is one of the highlights, which is carried out in most cases on riverbanks, more specifically in the deltas of the Irrawaddy, Myanmar, Chão Phraya, Thailand, Mekong and Vietnam.
Another crop of great relevance to the Southeast Asian economy is rubber, especially in Malaysia, as this is the largest producer of plant-derived latex in the world. The subcontinent is also a major producer of tea, sugar cane and black pepper, including the production of tin (Malaysia) and wood and oil (Indonesia). Indonesia, incidentally, is one of the members of OPEC (Organization of oil exporting countries), which brings together the largest oil producers in the world.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
In the industrial sector, in general, production is restricted, as primary activity is the most widespread and because countries have not yet entered into an effective industrialization process. Despite this, some countries stand out in this productive segment, such as: Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Malaysia. This is the result of large investments from foreign capital, especially Japanese.
No country that integrates Southeast Asia has a greater prominence than Singapore, which has a relative recognition in the global scenario, as it is among the emerging or developing economies of Asia, commonly referred to as the Tigers Asians.
By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "The economy of Southeast Asian countries"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/a-economia-dos-paises-sudeste-asiatico.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
