South-east Asia - Definition and Overview

Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. The name for the region was first coined in the 20th century.

The subregion has 11 countries and the countries can be divided into the mainland and the archipelago. The mainland countries include:

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

The archipelago nations are:

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

Topography of Southeast Asia; for more detailed pdf-map see http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/pdf/southeast_asia.pdf

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, one of the largest islands in the region. Malaysia is considered as an achipelago nation, however.

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

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

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