Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. The name for the region was first coined in the 20th century, it was previously known as Further India.

The subregion has 11 countries and the countries can be divided into the mainland (also known as Peninsular Southeast Asia) and the archipelago (also known as Insular Southeast Asia or Maritime Southeast Asia). The mainland countries include:

• Cambodia
• Laos
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Thailand
• Vietnam

The archipelago nations are:

• Brunei
• East Timor
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore

Malaysia has two parts and they are divided by the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia is on the mainland while East Malaysia is on Borneo, the largest islands in the region. Malaysia is considered as an archipelago nation, however.

Southeast Asia has an area of approx. 4,000,000 km² (1.6 million sq. miles). As of 2004, more than 550 million people lived in the region, a fifth of them (110 million) on the Indonesian island of Java.

Contrary to common misconception, the inhabitants of archipelagic Southeast Asia are not Pacific Islanders.

Other subregions of Asia

• East Asia
• South Asia (Indian Subcontinent)
• Central Asia
• Southwest Asia or West Asia (One definition of the Middle East is synonymous with Southwest Asia)
• North Asia (Siberia)
• Northern Eurasia (Extends into Europe)
• Central Eurasia (Extends into Europe)

See also

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• Austroasiatic languages and Austronesian languages
• History of Southeast Asia
• Wallace's line between Australasian and Southeast Asian fauna

External links

• Topography of Southeast Asia in detail (PDF)