Asia is the largest continent on the planet and due to its enormous territorial extension it was regionalized in five subcontinents: North Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia and Far East.
Southeast Asia covers an area of 41 00000 km2, which houses the following countries: Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The sum of the populations of all the nations mentioned above results in 400 million people. However, the countries that have the largest populations on the subcontinent are: Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Mayanmar, which account for about 360 million people in the Southeast Asian.
In Southeast Asia there is a particularity regarding the distribution of the population along the territory of the subcontinent, since approximately 70% of the inhabitants live in the countryside, which makes it clear that the countries belonging to this region have their economies linked to the primary production.
Currently, there has been an intensification of the urbanization process in Southeast Asian countries, however in a disorganized way and without any kind of prior planning, which triggers a series of problems social. Among the cities that most have this type of problem, we can mention Jakarta (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi and Singapore.
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When there is an accelerated growth in urbanization rates, there is a lack of basic services (asphalt paving, lighting, treated water, sewage and health). In other words, cities are unable to receive the high number of inhabitants with dignity, as the urban infrastructure is overloaded. In urban centers with such characteristics, social indicators are the worst, in Thailand, for example, the infant mortality rate is 34%, but there are countries, such as Cambodia, that this percentage increases to 72,5%. This aspect is not part of the reality of Singapore, the main economic center in the region, which has a population of 3 million inhabitants. As a result of its high economic power, this country has a per capita income above 19 thousand dollars, although this number does not reflect the regional reality well.
By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
DANTAS, James. "The population of Southeast Asia"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/a-populacao-sudeste-asiatico.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
