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 includes 11 countries, with the countries divided into the mainland (also known as Peninsular Southeast Asia, or Indochina) 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

of Southeast Asia

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.

Table of contents

1 Other subregions of Asia 2 See also 3 External links

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)
• Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
• 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)

Regions of the World

Antarctica | East Asia | Central Asia | Southeast Asia | South Asia | North Asia | Middle East | Levant | Arabia | North Africa | Central Africa | Great Lakes | Congo | Guinea | Sahel | Sudan | West Africa | East Africa | Southern Africa | North America | Great Plains | Central America | Caribbean | Andean States | Eastern South America | Northern South America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | Northern Europe | Scandinavia | Southern Europe | Central Europe | Balkans | Australasia or Australia | Micronesia | Melanesia | Polynesia (For more, visit subcontinent and subregion)

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