Southeast Asia

There are several theories to the Islamization process in Southeast Asia. Another theory is trade. The expansion of trade among West Asia, India, and Southeast Asia helped the spread of the religion as Muslim traders from South Arabia (Hadhramaut) brought Islam to the region with their large volume of trade. Many settled in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. This is evident in the Arab-Indonesian, Arab-Singaporean, and Arab-Malay populations who were at one time very prominent in each of their countries. Finally, the ruling classes embraced Islam and that further aided the permeation of the religion throughout the region. The ruler of the region's most important port, Malacca Sultanate, embraced Islam in the 15th century, heralding a period of accelerated conversion of Islam throughout the region as Islam provided a positive force among the ruling and trading classes. Gujarati Muslims played a pivotal role in establishing Islam in Southeast Asia.

Trade and colonization

thumb|[[Strait of Malacca]]

Trade among Southeast Asian countries has a long tradition. The consequences of colonial rule, struggle for independence, and in some cases war influenced the economic attitudes and policies of each country.

Chinese

From 111 BC to 938 AD, northern Vietnam was under Chinese rule. Vietnam was successfully governed by a series of Chinese dynasties including the Han, Eastern Han, Eastern Wu, Cao Wei, Jin, Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang, Sui, Tang, and Southern Han.

Records from Magellan's voyage show that Brunei possessed more cannon than European ships, so the Chinese must have been trading with them. (Venice was a major European trading partner, and goods were transported there via the Strait.)

European

thumb|[[Fort Cornwallis in George Town marks the spot where the British East India Company first landed in Penang in 1786, thus heralding the British colonisation of Malaya]]

Western influence started to enter in the 16th century, with the arrival of the Portuguese in Malacca, Maluku, and the Philippines, the latter being settled by the Spaniards years later, which they used to trade between Asia and Latin America. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch established the Dutch East Indies; the French Indochina; and the British Strait Settlements. By the 19th century, all Southeast Asian countries were colonised except for Thailand.

thumb|upright|[[Duit, a coin minted by the VOC, 1646–1667. 2 kas, 2 duit]]

European explorers were reaching Southeast Asia from the west and from the east. Regular trade between the ships sailing east from the Indian Ocean and south from mainland Asia provided goods in return for natural products, such as honey and hornbill beaks from the islands of the archipelago. Before the 18th and 19th centuries, the Europeans mostly were interested in expanding trade links. For the majority of the populations in each country, there was comparatively little interaction with Europeans and traditional social routines and relationships continued. For most, a life with subsistence-level agriculture, fishing and, in less developed civilisations, hunting and gathering was still hard.

Europeans brought Christianity allowing Christian missionaries to become widespread. Spain, although a European power, sent the most colonists and have sourced a significant portion of them from the Americas. This was so, that, Casimiro Díaz once wrote:|author=Casimiro Díaz

Since then the popularity of Christianity grew to about 89 percent of the Filipino population in 2021.

Thailand also allowed Western scientists to enter its country to develop its own education system as well as start sending royal members and Thai scholars to get higher education from Europe and Russia.

Japanese

During World War II, Imperial Japan invaded most of the former western colonies under the concept of "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". However, the Shōwa occupation regime committed violent actions against civilians such as live human experimentation, sexual slavery under the brutal "comfort women" system, the Manila massacre and the implementation of a system of forced labour, such as the one involving four to ten million romusha in Indonesia. A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour during the Japanese occupation. The Allied powers who then defeated Japan (and other allies of Axis) in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II then contended with nationalists to whom the occupation authorities had granted independence.

Indian

Gujarat, India had a flourishing trade relationship with Southeast Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries. The trade relationship with Gujarat declined after the Portuguese invasion of Southeast Asia in the 17th century.

Contemporary history

Most countries in the region maintain national autonomy. Democratic forms of government are practised in most Southeast Asian countries and human rights is recognised but dependent on each nation state. Socialist or communist countries in Southeast Asia include Vietnam and Laos. ASEAN provides a framework for the integration of commerce and regional responses to international concerns.

China has asserted broad claims over the South China Sea, based on its nine-dash line, and has built artificial islands in an attempt to bolster its claims. China also has asserted an exclusive economic zone based on the Spratly Islands. The Philippines challenged China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2013, and in Philippines v. China (2016), the Court ruled in favour of the Philippines and rejected China's claims.

Indochina Wars

Geography

Southeast Asia stretches from the margins of the Tibetan Plateau in Northern Myanmar. Stretching from thumb|Relief map of Southeast Asia

Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia and also the largest archipelago in the world by size. Geologically, the Indonesian Archipelago is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. Geological uplifts in the region have also produced some impressive mountains, culminating in Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia at , on the island of New Guinea; it is the only place where ice glaciers can be found in Southeast Asia. The highest mountain in Southeast Asia is Hkakabo Razi at in northern Myanmar sharing the same range of its parent peak, Mount Everest.

The regional seas that make up the vast maritime landscape are: the South China Sea, Java Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and the Andaman Sea. The South China Sea is the largest regional sea within Southeast Asia. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore, have integral rivers that flow into the South China Sea.

Tonlé Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia with a maximum surface area of .

The Gulf of Thailand is the largest gulf in SEA with a surface area of . It has a mean depth of 45 meters, and a maximum depth of 80 meters.

The Mekong is 4,900 km long and the longest river in Southeast Asia. It flows from its source in the Tibetan Plateau through multiple countries in SEA including Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Boundaries

Geographically, Southeast Asia borders Mainland China to the north, the Indian subcontinent to the west, Micronesia to the east, and the Australian continent to the south. The boundary between SEA and Australia is often considered to run through Wallacea.<!--

Halmahera, Seram, Kai Islands, Tanimbar Islands and Timor on the Asian side.

New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Raja Ampat Islands on the Australian side.

needs a ref

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thumb|World Map in outline centred on Southeast Asia, [[Pacific Asia, Melanesia and Australia.]]

Geopolitically, the northern boundary is with Mainland China and Taiwan. The western boundary is with India and Bangladesh. The eastern boundary is with the islands of Micronesia. The southern boundary is with Australia. It lies between Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian region of Western New Guinea (Papua and West Papua). Both countries share the island of New Guinea.

The islands of Micronesia are not biogeographically, geologically or historically linked to mainland Asia. They are considered part of Oceania by the United Nations, The World Factbook, and other organisations. The Oceania region is politically represented through the Pacific Islands Forum, a governing body which, up until 2022, included Australia, New Zealand and all independent territories in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Several countries of Maritime Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, are dialogue partners of the Pacific Islands Forum, but none have full membership.

Maritime Southeast Asia was often grouped with Australia and Oceania in the mid to late 1800s, rather than with mainland Asia. The term Oceania came into usage at the beginning of the 1800s, and the earlier definitions predated the advent of concepts such as Wallacea.

The non-continental Australian external territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are sometimes considered part of Maritime Southeast Asia, as they lie in much closer proximity to western Indonesia than they do to mainland Australia. They have a multicultural mix of inhabitants with Asian and European Australian ancestry, and were uninhabited when discovered by the British during the 17th century. The islands lie within the bounds of the Australian Plate, and are defined by The World Factbook as the westernmost extent of Oceania. The United Nations also include these islands in their definition of Oceania, under the same sub-region as Australia and New Zealand.

mountain areas in the northern region and the higher islands, where high altitudes lead to milder temperatures
the "dry zone" of central Myanmar in the rain shadow of the Arakan Mountains, where annual rainfall can be as low as , which under the hot temperatures that prevail is dry enough to qualify as semi-arid.
Southern areas in South Central Coast of Vietnam is marked with hot semi-arid climate due to weak monsoon activities and high temperature throughout the year. Annual rainfall of this region varies between to , with an 8-month dry season.

Climate change

thumb|upright=1.2|Under the highest-emission scenario, Southeast Asian countries would see substantial reductions in seafood available from their [[exclusive economic zones by 2050]]

Southeast Asia lags behind on mitigation measures, even though it is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change in the world. Climate change has already caused an increase in heavy precipitation events (defined as 400 mm or more in a day) Under a high-warming scenario, heat-related deaths in the region could increase by 12.7% by 2100.

Sea level rise is a serious threat. Along Philippine coasts, it occurs three times faster than the global average, while 199 out of 514 cities and districts in Indonesia could be affected by tidal flooding by 2050. Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta are amongst the 20 coastal cities which would have the world's highest annual flood losses in the year 2050.) that by 2019, the government had committed to relocate the capital of Indonesia to another city.

Climate change is also likely to pose a serious threat to the region's fisheries: By 2050–2070, around 30% of the region's aquaculture area and 10–20% of aquaculture production may be lost.

thumb|Map showing the divergent plate boundaries (oceanic spreading ridges) and recent sub-aerial [[volcanoes (mostly at convergent boundaries), with a high density of volcanoes situated in Indonesia and the Philippines.]]

Environment

thumb|Komodo dragon in [[Komodo National Park, Indonesia]]

thumb|upright|left|The [[Philippine eagle]]

thumb|The [[Mayon|Mayon Volcano, Philippines]]

The vast majority of Southeast Asia falls within the warm, humid tropics, and its climate generally can be characterized as monsoonal. The animals of Southeast Asia are diverse; on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the orangutan, the Asian elephant, the Malayan tapir, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Bornean clouded leopard can also be found. Six subspecies of the binturong or bearcat exist in the region, though the one endemic to the island of Palawan is now classed as vulnerable. Tigers of three different subspecies are found on the island of Sumatra (the Sumatran tiger), in peninsular Malaysia (the Malayan tiger), and in Indochina (the Indochinese tiger); all of which are endangered species. The Komodo dragon is the largest living species of lizard and inhabits the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in Indonesia. The Philippine eagle is the national bird of the Philippines. It is considered by scientists as the largest eagle in the world, and is endemic to the Philippines' forests. The wild water buffalo, and on various islands related dwarf species of Bubalus such as anoa were once widespread in Southeast Asia; nowadays the domestic Asian water buffalo is common across the region, but its remaining relatives are rare and endangered. The mouse deer, a small tusked deer as large as a toy dog or cat, mostly can be found on Sumatra, Borneo (Indonesia), and in Palawan (Philippines). The gaur, a gigantic wild ox larger than even wild water buffalo, is found mainly in Indochina. There is very little scientific information available regarding Southeast Asian amphibians.

Birds such as the green peafowl and drongo live in this subregion as far east as Indonesia. The babirusa, a four-tusked pig, can be found in Indonesia as well. The hornbill was prized for its beak and used in trade with China. The horn of the rhinoceros, not part of its skull, was prized in China as well.

The Indonesian Archipelago is split by the Wallace Line. This line runs along what is now known to be a tectonic plate boundary, and separates Asian (Western) species from Australasian (Eastern) species. The islands between Java/Borneo and Papua form a mixed zone, where both types occur, known as Wallacea. As the pace of development accelerates and populations continue to expand in Southeast Asia, concern has increased regarding the impact of human activity on the region's environment. A significant portion of Southeast Asia, however, has not changed greatly and remains an unaltered home to wildlife. The nations of the region, with only a few exceptions, have become aware of the need to maintain forest cover not only to prevent soil erosion but to preserve the diversity of flora and fauna. Indonesia, for example, has created an extensive system of national parks and preserves for this purpose. Even so, such species as the Javan rhinoceros face extinction, with only a handful of the animals remaining in western Java.

The shallow waters of the Southeast Asian coral reefs have the highest levels of biodiversity for the world's marine ecosystems, where coral, fish, and molluscs abound. According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat (Indonesia) is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, the Verde Passage is dubbed by Conservation International as the world's "center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity". The whale shark, the world's largest species of fish and 6 species of sea turtles can also be found in the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean territories of the Philippines.

The trees and other plants of the region are tropical; in some countries where the mountains are tall enough, temperate-climate vegetation can be found. These rainforest areas are currently being logged-over, especially in Borneo.

While Southeast Asia is rich in flora and fauna, Southeast Asia is facing severe deforestation which causes habitat loss for various endangered species such as orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in the 21st century. At the same time, haze has been a regular occurrence. The two worst regional hazes were in 1997 and 2006 in which multiple countries were covered with thick haze, mostly caused by "slash and burn" activities in Sumatra and Borneo. In reaction, several countries in Southeast Asia signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution to combat haze pollution.

The 2013 Southeast Asian haze saw API levels reach a hazardous level in some countries. Muar experienced the highest API level of 746 on 23 June 2013 at around 7 am.

Economy

thumb|The [[Port of Singapore is the busiest transshipment and container port in the world, and is an important transportation and shipping hub in Southeast Asia]]

Even prior to the penetration of European interests, Southeast Asia was a critical part of the world trading system. A wide range of commodities originated in the region, but especially important were spices such as pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The spice trade initially was developed by Indian and Arab merchants, but it also brought Europeans to the region. First, Spaniards (Manila galleon) who sailed from the Americas and Kingdom of Portugal, then the Dutch, and finally the British and French became involved in this enterprise in various countries. The penetration of European commercial interests gradually evolved into annexation of territories, as traders lobbied for an extension of control to protect and expand their activities. As a result, the Dutch moved into Indonesia, the British into Malaya and parts of Borneo, the French into Indochina, and the Spanish and the US into the Philippines. An economic effect of this imperialism was the shift in the production of commodities. For example, the rubber plantations of Malaysia, Java, Vietnam, and Cambodia, the tin mining of Malaya, the rice fields of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and the Irrawaddy River delta in Myanmar, were a response to the powerful market demands.

The overseas Chinese community has played a large role in the development of the economies in the region. The origins of Chinese influence can be traced to the 16th century, when Chinese migrants from southern China settled in Indonesia, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries. Chinese populations in the region saw a rapid increase following the Communist Revolution in 1949, which forced many refugees to emigrate outside of China. In 2022, Malaysian petroleum industry through its oil and gas company, Petronas, was ranked eighth in the world by the Brandirectory. Seventeen telecommunications companies contracted to build the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable to connect Southeast Asia to the US This is to avoid disruption of the kind caused by the cutting of the undersea cable from Taiwan to the US in the 2006 Hengchun earthquakes.thumb|[[Proton Persona is one of the indigenously developed car model by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton ]]

Tourism has been a key factor in economic development for many Southeast Asian countries, especially Cambodia. According to UNESCO, "tourism, if correctly conceived, can be a tremendous development tool and an effective means of preserving the cultural diversity of our planet." Since the early 1990s, "even the non-ASEAN nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Burma, where the income derived from tourism is low, are attempting to expand their own tourism industries." In 1995, Singapore was the regional leader in tourism receipts relative to GDP at over 8%. By 1998, those receipts had dropped to less than 6% of GDP while Thailand and Lao PDR increased receipts to over 7%. Since 2000, Cambodia has surpassed all other ASEAN countries and generated almost 15% of its GDP from tourism in 2006. Furthermore, Vietnam is considered as a growing power in Southeast Asia due to its large foreign investment opportunities and the booming tourism sector.

By the early 21st century, Indonesia had grown to an emerging market economy, becoming the largest economy in the region. It was classified a newly industrialised country and is the region's singular member of the G-20 major economies. Indonesia's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) for 2020 was US$1,088.8 billion (nominal) or $3,328.3 billion (PPP) with per capita GDP of US$4,038 (nominal) or $12,345 (PPP). By GDP per capita in 2023, Singapore is the leading nation in the region with US$84,500 (nominal) or US$140,280 (PPP), followed by Brunei with US$41,713 (nominal) or US$79,408 (PPP) and Malaysia with US$13,942 (nominal) or US$33,353 (PPP). Besides that, Malaysia has the lowest cost of living in the region, followed by Brunei and Vietnam. On the contrary, Singapore is the costliest country in the region, followed by Thailand and the Philippines.

Southeast Asia's GDP per capita is US$4,685 according to a 2020 International Monetary Fund estimates, which is comparable to South Africa, Iraq, and Georgia.

!Nominal GDP<br />(2020) $ billion

!GDP per capita<br />(2020)

!GDP growth<br />(2020)

!Inflation<br />(2020)

!Main industries

|B$ Brunei dollar

| style="text-align:right" |437,479

| style="text-align:right" |$10.647

| style="text-align:right" |$23,117

| style="text-align:right" |0.1%

| style="text-align:right" |0.3%

|Petroleum, petrochemicals, fishing

|៛ Riel US$ US Dollar

| style="text-align:right" |16,718,965

| style="text-align:right" |$26.316

| style="text-align:right" |$1,572

| style="text-align:right" |-2.8%

| style="text-align:right" |2.5%

|Clothing, gold, agriculture

|Rp Rupiah

| style="text-align:right" |270,203,917 By 2023, 97% of the population had access to electricity and 81% to clean cooking, placing the region on track for near-universal electrification by 2040.

thumb|300x300px|Electricity generation by source in South East Asia, 2005-2023. In 2023, electricity generation increased by 4.3% compared to the previous year, accounting for 1,322.2 TWh. Renewables generation increased with the average of 26% within the last 5 years. Despite commitments to reduce coal use, [[Coal in Indonesia|Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines still plan substantial new coal capacity. ASEAN countries are net importers of oil but exporters of natural gas, supported by extensive refining and LNG infrastructure. Oil is mainly used in transport (powering 91.2% of the transport sector), while natural gas provides about one-fifth of the energy mix.

Renewable energy is expanding but remains underdeveloped relative to potential. Under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2026–2030, member states aim for a 30% renewable share in TPES and 45% in installed capacity by 2030. Growth is expected to be led by solar and wind, supported by energy storage and grid integration.

|label1 = Islam

|value1 = 40.08

|color1 = Green

|label2 = Buddhism

|value2 = 28.41

|color2 = Gold

|label3 = Christianity

|value3 = 21.33

|color3 = Blue

|label4 = Folk religion

|value4 = 4.16

|color4 = Red

|label5 = No religion

|value5 = 4.70

|color5 = Grey

|label6 = Hinduism

|value6 = 1.09

|color6 = Darkorange

|label7 = Other

|value7 = 0.23

|color7 = Purple

Countries in Southeast Asia practice many different religions and the region is home to many world religions including Abrahamic, Indian, East Asian and Iranian religions. By population, Islam is the most practised faith with approximately 240 million adherents, or about 40% of the entire population, concentrated in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and in the Southern Philippines. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world. Meanwhile, Islam is constitutionally the official religion in Malaysia and Brunei.

There are approximately 190–205 million Buddhists in Southeast Asia, making it the second-largest religion in the region. Approximately 28 to 35% of the world's Buddhists reside in Southeast Asia. Buddhism is predominant in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Singapore, and adherents may come from Theravada or Mahayana schools. Ancestor worship and Confucianism are also widely practised in Vietnam and Singapore. Taoism and Chinese folk religions such as Mazuism are also widely practised by the overseas Chinese community in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In certain cases, they may include Chinese or local deities in their worshipping practises such as Tua Pek Kong, Datuk Keramat and many more.

Christianity is predominant in the Philippines, eastern Indonesia, East Malaysia, and Timor-Leste. The Philippines has the largest Roman Catholic population in Asia. and Portuguese rule. In October 2019, the number of Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, in Southeast Asia reached 156 million, of which 97 million came from the Philippines, 29 million from Indonesia, 11 million from Vietnam, and the rest from Malaysia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei. In addition, Eastern Orthodox Christianity can also be found in the region. In addition, Judaism is practised in certain countries such as in the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia due to the presence of Jewish diaspora. There is a small population of Parsis in Singapore who practise Zoroastrianism, and Baháʼí is also practised by very small population in Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand.

No individual Southeast Asian country is religiously homogeneous. Some groups are protected de facto by their isolation from the rest of the world. In the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, Hinduism is dominant on islands such as Bali. Christianity also predominates in the rest of the part of the Philippines, New Guinea, Flores, and Timor. Pockets of Hindu population can also be found around Southeast Asia in Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Garuda, the phoenix who is the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, is a national symbol in both Thailand and Indonesia; in the Philippines, gold images of Garuda have been found on Palawan; gold images of other Hindu gods and goddesses have also been found on Mindanao. Balinese Hinduism is somewhat different from Hinduism practised elsewhere, as animism and local culture is incorporated into it. Meanwhile, Hindu community in Malaysia and Singapore are mostly South Indian diaspora, hence the practices are closely related to the Indian Hinduism. Additionally, Sikhism is also practised by significant population especially in Malaysia and Singapore by North Indian diaspora specifically from Punjab region. Small population of the Indian diaspora in the region are Jains and can be found in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Christians can also be found throughout Southeast Asia; they are in the majority in Timor-Leste and the Philippines, Asia's largest Christian nation. In addition, there are also older tribal religious practices in remote areas of Sarawak in East Malaysia, Highland Philippines, and Papua in eastern Indonesia. In Myanmar, Sakka (Indra) is revered as a Nat. In Vietnam, Mahayana Buddhism is practised, which is influenced by native animism but with a strong emphasis on ancestor worship. Vietnamese folk religions are practised by majority of population in Vietnam. Caodaism, a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement, is also practised by less than one percent of the population in Vietnam. Due to the presence of Japanese diaspora in the region, the practice of Shinto has growingly made appearance in certain countries such as in Thailand.

The religious composition for each country is as follows: Some values are taken from the CIA World Factbook:

{| class="wikitable"

! width=175 | Country

! Religions

|Islam (81%), Buddhism, Christianity, others (indigenous beliefs, etc.)

|Buddhism (97%), Islam, Christianity, Animism, others

|Islam (87%), Protestantism (7.6%), Roman Catholicism (3.12%), Hinduism (1.74%), Buddhism (0.77%), Confucianism (0.03%), others (0.4%)

|Buddhism (67%), Animism, Christianity, others

|Islam (61.3%), Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Animism

|Buddhism (89%), Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Animism, others

|Roman Catholicism (80.6%), Islam (6.9%-11%), Evangelicals (2.7%), (Church of Christ) (2.4%), Members Church of God International (1.0%), Other Protestants (2.8%), Buddhism (0.05%-2%), Animism (0.2%-1.25%), others (1.9%)

|Buddhism (31.1%), Christianity (18.9%), Islam (15.6%), Taoism (8.8%), Hinduism (5%), others (20.6%)

|Buddhism (93.5%), Islam (5.4%), Christianity (1.13%), Hinduism (0.02%), others (0.003%)

|Roman Catholicism (97%), Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism

| Vietnamese folk religion (45.3%), Buddhism (16.4%), Christianity (8.2%), Other (0.4%), Unaffiliated (29.6%)

Languages

Each of the languages has been influenced by cultural pressures due to trade, immigration, and historical colonisation as well. There are nearly 800 native languages in the region.

The language composition for each country is as follows (with official languages in bold):

{| class="wikitable"

! Country/Region !! Languages

|width=175|

|Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil, Indonesian and indigenous Bornean dialects (Iban, Murutic language, Lun Bawang.)

|Khmer, English, French, Teochew, Vietnamese, Cham, Mandarin, others

|Indonesian, Javanese, Sundanese, Batak, Minangkabau, Buginese, Banjar, Papuan, Dayak, Acehnese, Ambonese, Balinese, Betawi, Madurese, Musi, Manado, Sasak, Makassarese, Batak Dairi, Karo, Mandailing, Jambi Malay, Mongondow, Gorontalo, Ngaju, Kenyah, Nias, North Moluccan, Uab Meto, Bima, Manggarai, Toraja-Sa'dan, Komering, Tetum, Rejang, Muna, Sumbawa, Bangka Malay, Osing, Gayo, Bungku-Tolaki languages, Moronene, Bungku, Bahonsuai, Kulisusu, Wawonii, Mori Bawah, Mori Atas, Padoe, Tomadino, Lewotobi, Tae', Mongondow, Lampung, Tolaki, Ma'anyan, Simeulue, Gayo, Buginese, Mandar, Minahasan, Enggano, Ternate, Tidore, Mairasi, East Cenderawasih Language, Lakes Plain Languages, Tor-Kwerba, Nimboran, Skou/Sko, Border languages, Senagi, Pauwasi, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Tamil, Punjabi, and Arabic.

Indonesia has over 700 languages in over 17,000 islands across the archipelago, making Indonesia the second most linguistically diverse country on the planet, slightly behind Papua New Guinea. The official language of Indonesia is Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), widely used in educational, political, economic, and other formal situations. In daily activities and informal situations, most Indonesians speak in their local language(s). For more details, see: Languages of Indonesia.

|Lao, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Khmu, Hmong, Phuthai, Bru, Tai Lü, Akha, Iu Mien and others

|Malaysian, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Daro-Matu, Kedah Malay, Sabah Malay, Brunei Malay, Kelantan Malay, Pahang Malay, Acehnese, Javanese, Minangkabau, Banjar, Buginese, Tagalog, Hakka, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Fuzhounese, Telugu, Bengali, Punjabi, Sinhala, Malayalam, Arabic, Brunei Bisaya, Okolod, Kota Marudu Talantang, Kelabit, Lotud, Terengganu Malay, Semelai, Thai, Iban, Kadazan, Dusun, Kristang, Bajau, Jakun, Mah Meri, Batek, Melanau, Semai, Temuan, Lun Bawang, Temiar, Penan, Tausug, Iranun, Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, and others see: Languages of Malaysia

|Burmese, Shan, Kayin (Karen), Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, Mon, Kayah, Mandarin, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and other ethnic languages.

|Filipino (Tagalog), English, Bisayan languages (Aklanon, Cebuano, Kinaray-a, Capiznon, Hiligaynon, Waray, Masbateño, Romblomanon, Cuyonon, Surigaonon, Butuanon, Tausug), Ivatan, Ilocano, Ibanag, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Bikol, Sama-Bajaw, Maguindanao, Maranao, Spanish, Chavacano and others

see: Languages of the Philippines

|English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Japanese, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Indonesian, Boyanese, Buginese, Javanese, Balinese, Singlish creole and others

see: Languages of Singapore

|Thai, Isan, Northern Khmer, Malay, Karen, Hmong, Teochew, Minnan, Hakka, Yuehai, Burmese, Iu Mien, Tamil, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic, Shan, Tai Lü, Phuthai, Mon and others

|Portuguese, Tetum, Mambae, Makasae, Tukudede, Bunak, Galoli, Kemak, Fataluku, Baikeno, others

|Vietnamese, Cantonese, Khmer, Hmong, Tày, Cham and others in that Singapore, although being geographically a Southeast Asian nation, is home to a large Chinese majority and Vietnam was in China's sphere of influence for much of its history. Indian influence in Singapore is most prominently evident through the Tamil migrants, which influenced, to some extent, the cuisine of Singapore. Throughout Vietnam's history, it has had no direct influence from India – only through contact with the Thai, Khmer and Cham peoples. Moreover, Vietnam is also categorised under the East Asian cultural sphere along with China, Korea, and Japan due to a large amount of Chinese influence embedded in their culture and lifestyle.

thumb|[[Paddy field in Vietnam]]

Rice paddy agriculture has existed in Southeast Asia for millennia, ranging across the subregion. Some dramatic examples of these rice paddies populate the Banaue Rice Terraces in the mountains of Luzon in the Philippines. Maintenance of these paddies is very labour-intensive. The rice paddies are well-suited to the monsoon climate of the region.

Stilt houses can be found all over Southeast Asia, from Thailand and Vietnam to Borneo, to Luzon in the Philippines, to Papua New Guinea. The region has diverse metalworking, especially in Indonesia. This includes weaponry, such as the distinctive kris, and musical instruments, such as the gamelan.

Influences

The region's chief cultural influences have been from some combination of Islam, India, and China. Diverse cultural influence is pronounced in the Philippines, derived particularly from the period of Spanish and American rule, contact with Indian-influenced cultures, and the Chinese and Japanese trading era.

As a rule of thumb, the peoples who ate with their fingers were more likely influenced by the culture of India, for example, than the culture of China, where the peoples ate with chopsticks; tea, as a beverage, can be found across the region. The fish sauces distinctive to the region tend to vary.

Arts

thumb|The [[Royal Ballet of Cambodia (Paris, France 2010)]]

The arts of Southeast Asia have an affinity with the arts of other areas. Dance in much of Southeast Asia includes movement of the hands as well as the feet, to express the dance's emotion and meaning of the story that the ballerina is going to tell the audience. Most of Southeast Asia introduced dance into their court; in particular, Cambodian royal ballet represented them in the early seventh century before the Khmer Empire, which was highly influenced by Indian Hinduism. The Apsara Dance, famous for strong hand and feet movement, is a great example of Hindu symbolic dance.

Puppetry and shadow plays were also a favoured form of entertainment in past centuries, a famous one being the wayang from Indonesia. The arts and literature in some of Southeast Asia are quite influenced by Hinduism, which was brought to them centuries ago. Indonesia, despite large-scale conversion to Islam which opposes certain forms of art, has retained many forms of Hindu-influenced practices, culture, art, and literature. An example is the (shadow puppet) and literature like the Ramayana. The show has been recognised by UNESCO on 7 November 2003 as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

It has been pointed out that Khmer and Indonesian classical arts were concerned with depicting the life of the gods, but to the Southeast Asian mind, the life of the gods was the life of the peoples themselves—joyous, earthy, yet divine. The Tai, coming late into Southeast Asia, brought with them some Chinese artistic traditions, but they soon shed them in favour of the Khmer and Mon traditions, and the only indications of their earlier contact with Chinese arts were in the style of their temples, especially the tapering roof, and in their lacquerware.

Music

thumb|right|The [[angklung, designated as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]]

Traditional music in Southeast Asia is as varied as its many ethnic and cultural divisions. The main styles of traditional music include court music, folk music, music styles of smaller ethnic groups, and music influenced by genres outside the geographic region.

Of the court and folk genres, gong chime ensembles and orchestras make up the majority (the exception being lowland areas of Vietnam). Gamelan and angklung orchestras from Indonesia; piphat and pinpeat ensembles of Thailand and Cambodia; and the kulintang ensembles of the southern Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi and Timor are the three main distinct styles of musical genres that have influenced other traditional musical styles in the region. String instruments are also popular in the region.

On 18 November 2010, UNESCO officially recognised the angklung as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and encouraged the Indonesian people and government to safeguard, transmit, promote performances and to encourage the craftsmanship of angklung making.

Writing

thumb|left|[[Thai script|Thai manuscript from before the 19th-century writing system]]

The history of Southeast Asia has led to a wealth of different authors, from both within and without writing about the region.

Some of the earliest writing systems of Southeast Asia stem from those of India. This is shown through Brahmic forms of writing present in the region, such as the Balinese script shown on split palm leaves called lontar (see image to the left – magnify the image to see the writing on the flat side, and the decoration on the reverse side).

thumb|Sign in [[Balinese script|Balinese and Latin script at a Hindu temple in Bali]]

The antiquity of this form of writing extends before the invention of paper around the year 100 in China. Note each palm leaf section was only several lines, written longitudinally across the leaf, and bound by twine to the other sections. The outer portion was decorated. The alphabets of Southeast Asia tended to be abugidas, until the arrival of the Europeans, who used words that also ended in consonants, not just vowels. Other forms of official documents, which did not use paper, included Javanese copperplate scrolls. This material would have been more durable than paper in the tropical climate of Southeast Asia.

In Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore, the Malay language is now generally written in the Latin script. The same phenomenon is present in Indonesian, although different spelling standards are utilised (e.g. 'Teksi' in Malay and 'Taksi' in Indonesian for the word 'Taxi').

The use of Chinese characters, in the past and present, is only evident in Vietnam and more recently, Singapore and Malaysia. The adoption of chữ Hán in Vietnam dates back to around 111 BC when it was occupied by the Chinese. A Vietnamese script called chữ Nôm used modified chữ Hán to express the Vietnamese language. Both chữ Hán and chữ Nôm were used up until the early 20th century.

Rapa Nui is an Austronesian language like those of Indonesian, Tagalog, and many other Southeast Asian languages. Rongorongo is presumed to be the script of Rapa Nui and if proven so, would place it as one of very few inventions of writing in human history.

Sports

Association football is the most popular sport in the region, with the ASEAN Football Federation, the region's primary regulatory body, formed on 31 January 1984, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The AFF Championship is the largest football competition in the region since its inaugural in 1996, with Thailand holding the most titles in the competition with seven titles. The current reigning winner is Vietnam, who defeated Thailand in the 2024 final. Thailand has had the most numerous appearances in the AFC Asian Cup with 7 while the highest-ranked result in the Asian Cup for a Southeast Asian team is second place in the 1968 by Myanmar in Iran. Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian team to have played in the 1938 FIFA World Cup as the Dutch East Indies.

ASEAN has also committed to preserving traditional sports and games (TSG) in the region.

Notes

References

Cited works

External links

Topography of Southeast Asia in detail (PDF) (previous version)
Southeast Asia Digital Library at Northern Illinois University
Southeast Asia Visions, a collection of historical travel narratives Cornell University Library Digital Collection
Official website of the ASEAN Tourism Association
Art of Island Southeast Asia, a full text exhibition catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art