SOUTHEAST ASIA Subregion of Asia, consisting of the country that are south of China, east of india and the north of Australia. Consist of 2 geographic regions which is Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia. The Mainland Southeast is known as Indochina which comprises Cambonia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Peninsular of Malaysia. The Maritime Southeast Asia is analogous to the Malay Arhipelago which comprises Brunei, East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. Austronesian peoples predominate in this region. The major religions are Buddhismand Islam, followed by Christianity. However, a wide variety of religions are found throughout the region, including many Hinduand animist influenced practices.
TYPE OF COUNTRY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA.
COUNTRY
POPULATION IN 2009
CAPITAL
BRUNAI
428,000
Bandar Seri Begawan
BURMA
50,020,000
Naypyidaw
CAMBODIA
14,805,000
Phnom Penh
TIMOR LESTE
1,134,000
Dili
INDONESIA
240,271,522
Jakarta
LAOS
6,320,000
Vientiane
MALAYSIA
28,318,000
Kuala Lumpur
PHILIPPINES
91,983,000
Manila
SINGAPORE
5,076,700
Singapore
THAILAND
67,764,000
Bangkok
VIETNAM
88,069,000
Hanoi
HISTORY
MAP OF VIETNAM
MAP OF THAILAND
Very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards.The Jawa DwipaHindu kingdom in Javaand Sumatraexisted around 200 BCE. The history of the Malay-speaking world begins with the advent of Indian influence, which dates back to at least the 3rd century BCE.
Indian traders came to the archipelago both for its abundant forest and maritime products and to trade with merchants from China, who also discovered the Malay world at an early date.
Homo sapiensreached the region by around 45,000 years ago. Homo floresiensis seems to have shared some islands with modern humans until only 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor and the Philippines, migrated to South East Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE, and as they spread through the archipelago, confined the native Melanesian peoplesto the far eastern regions.
Contrary to the popular believe as depicted above, studies presented by HUGO (Human Genome Organization) through genetic studies of the Asian races, scientifically points out to a single Asian migration from South East Asia travelling northwards slowly populating Southern parts of East Asia and then East Asia itself instead of the other way around.
Passage through the Indian Oceanaided the colonization of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asiaand Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatrais thought to have reached as far west as Rome, while a slave from the Sulu Seawas believed to have been used in Magellan's voyage as a translator.
GEOGRAPHICAL
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM
BANGKOK CITY, THAILAND
It is divided into 2 which is mainland and maritime.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of Indiaare culturally part of Southeast Asia and sometimes considered both South Asian and Southeast Asian.
The Seven Sister States of India are also geographically part of southeast Asia. Hainan Islandand several other southern Chinese regions such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi are considered both East Asian and Southeast Asian.
The rest of New Guinea is sometimes included so are Palau, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, which were all part of the Spanish East Indies.
The eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor (east of Wallace Line) are considered to be ecologically part of Oceania while the Indonesian part of New Guinea is both ecologically and geographically part of Oceania.
CLIMATE
HANOI, VIETNAM
AYUTTHAYA, THAILAND
The climate in Southeast Asia is mainly tropical–hot and humid all year round with plentiful rainfall. Southeast Asia has a wet and dry season caused by seasonal shift in winds or monsoon. The tropical rain beltcauses additional rainfall during the monsoon season. The rain forest is the second largest on earth (with the Amazon being the largest). An exception to this type of climate and vegetation is the mountain areas in the northern region, where high altitudes lead to milder temperatures and drier landscape. Other parts fall out of this climate because they are desert like.
DEMOGRAPHICS
KHAO SOK NATIONAL PARK, THAILAND
Southeast Asia has an area of approximately 4,000,000 km2(1.6 million square miles). As of 2004, more than 593 million people lived in the region, more than a fifth of them (125 million) on the Indonesian island of Java, the most densely populated large island in the world.
Indonesia is the most populous country with 230 million people and also 4th most populous country in the world.
The distribution of the religions and people is diverse in Southeast Asia and varies by country.
Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witnesses more than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits. The tourism industry in India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate.
In the year 2009, 5.11 million foreign tourists visited India. Majority of foreign tourists come from USA and UK and Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were the top four states to receive inbound tourists.
Domestic tourism in the same year was massive at 650 million. Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu received the big share of these visitors.According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot from 2009–2018, having the highest 10-year growth potential.
Tourism in India need to be understood in the global context of competing destinations. It may be thought of as multiple Indias with a multitude of competing destinations Goa, Rajasthan,Kerela, Assam, Kashmir under the India umbrella.
India's 5000 years of history, its length, breadth and the variety of geographic features make its tourism basket large and varied. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with medical, business and sports tourism. India has a growing medical tourism sector. The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi are expected to significantly boost tourism in India.
TOURISM IN PAKISTAN
Tourism in Pakistan has been stated as being the tourism industry's next big thing. Pakistan with its diverse cultures, people and landscapes has attracted 0.7 million tourists to the country. Almost double to that of a decade ago.
The country's attraction range from the ruin of civilization such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports.
Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2. The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic AnimistKalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. The romance of the historic Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is timeless and legendary. Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the Global economic crisis Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists annually.
In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, The Guardian released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, The Karakoram Highway, Karimabad and Lake Saiful Muluk.
In 2009, The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites. Ranging from mangroves in the South, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization which included Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.
HISTORY
TAJ MAHAL, INDIA
South Asia, also known asSouthern Asia, is thesouthern regionof theAsiancontinent, which comprises the sub-Himalayancountries and, for some authoritiesalso includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east. Topographically, it is dominated by theIndian Plate, which rises above sea level as theIndian subcontinentsouth of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is surrounded clockwise, fromwest byWestern Asia,Central Asia,Eastern Asia,Southeastern Asiaand theIndian Ocean. Due to similar scope, South Asia is also referred to as theIndian subcontinentin general usage.According to theUnited Nationsgeographical region classification,Southern Asia comprises the countries ofIndia,Pakistan,Bangladesh,Bhutan,Nepal,Maldives,Afghanistan,IranandSri Lanka. By other definitions and interpretationsMyanmarandTibetare also sometimes included in the region of South Asia.
GEOGRAPHICAL PHYSICAL REGIONS AND CLIMATE SOUTH ASIA
AIR FORCE MUSEUM KARACHI, PAKISTAN
The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how South Asia is defined. South Asia's north, east, and west boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean lies in the South. It is a peninsular region in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east, and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. The UN subregion of Southern Asia's northern boundary would be the Himalayas, its western boundary would be made up of the Iraq-Iran border, Turkey-Iran border, Armenia-Iran border, and the Azerbaijan-Iran border. Its eastern boundary would be the India-Burma border and the Bangladesh-Burma border.
MAHABODHI TEMPLE, INDIA
Most of this region is a subcontinent resting on the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separated from the rest of Eurasia. It was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50-55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lunmountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).
The region is home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only the altitude, but also by factors such as proximity to the sea coast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons.
IMPORTANCE GEOGRAPHICAL PHYSICAL AND CLIMATE SOUTH ASIA TOURISM
BADSHAHI MOSQUE, PAKISTAN
Most of this region is a subcontinent resting on the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separated from the rest of Eurasia. It was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50-55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).
The region is home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only the altitude, but also by factors such as proximity to the sea coast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons.
Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon period. The northern belt of Indo-Gangetic plains also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalayan ranges. As the Himalayas block the north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For most part, the climate of the region is called the Monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favors the cultivation of jute, tea, rice and various vegetables in this region.
DEMOGRAPHY
Population
The distribution of population, depends to a large extent on the quality of the land and itself, which is very uneven. Where the land is well suited to agricultural or there are natural resources for industrial development the population will naturally be larger than in areas where climatic conditions are hostile or where resources are few.
Thus the distribution of population has all along been quite uneven. More than 90% of population lives in the Northern hemisphere. The continent of Asia (inc.ex-USSR) alone has nearly two thirds of the World's population.
Country Population (in million)
China 1050
India 850
ex-Soviet Union 280
The United States 241
Indonesia 168
Brazil 143
Japan 122
Nigeria 105
Bangladesh 104
Pakistan 102
Ethnic Group
NALANDA, INDIA
South Asia which consists of the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries - including various Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups and amalgamation of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and native societies has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs.
CLIMATE
PAKISTAN MONUMENT
The climate of South Asia can be divided into three basic kinds which is tropical, dry, and temperate. The northeast is from tropical to subtropical (temperate). Moving west the moisture and elevation change, causing a steppe and a desert climate that is like the Middle East. There is also a part of steppe climate in the center of the lower peninsula. Two parts of the South Aisna climate especially affect the people. One is the monsoons. These changing winds bring lots of the area's rain, so when they do not come early, the land becomes very dry. Hurricanes also happen every year and sometimes destroy many things. In the extreme north of India and Pakistan, the climate is affected by the mountains.
NATURAL RESOURCES
The natural resource most used by the people is the rich land. Most of the people living there are farmers. They make lots of cashews, millets, peanuts, sesame seeds, and tea. Lots of natural gas are there, but these resources are usually underdeveloped. Many people there raise cattle and sheep. The cattle are raised for their milk or to carry things in Hindu areas.
