Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia.

Population

Southeast Asia has an area of approx. 4,000,000 km² (1.6 million sq miles). As of 2004, more than 593 million people lived in the region, far over a sixth of them (+114 million) on the Indonesian island of Java, the most densely populated island in the world. The distribution of the religions and people is diverse in Southeast Asia and varies by country. And about 28 million Overseas Chinese are living here. see Chinatowns

Related Topics:
As of 2004 - Java - Overseas Chinese - Chinatowns

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Religions in the subregion

Countries in mainland Southeast Asia practise mainly Buddhism. These countries are Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Singapore's population also largely practises Buddhism. In the Malay Archipelago, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are mainly Muslim. Christianity is predominant in the Philippines and East Timor.

Related Topics:
Buddhism - Muslim

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The religious composition for each country is as follows:

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• Brunei: Islam (67%), Buddhism (13%), Christianity (10%), indigenous beliefs, and others(10%)
• Cambodia: Theravada Buddhism (93%), Animism, and others
• East Timor: Christianity (95%)
• Indonesia: Islam (81%), Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and others
• Laos: Theravada Buddhism (60%), Animism, and others (40%)
• Malaysia: Islam (61%), Mahayana Buddhism (20%), Christianity, Hinduism, and Animism
• Myanmar: Theravada Buddhism (89%), Islam (4%), Christianity (4%), Hinduism (1%), and Animism
• Philippines: Christianity (92%), Islam (5%), Buddhism and others (3%)
• Singapore: Chinese Religions (Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism) (51%), Islam (15%), Christianity (14%), Hinduism (4%), others(16%)
• Thailand: Theravada Buddhism (95%), Islam (3%), Hinduism, Christianity, and Taoism
• Vietnam: Mahayana Buddhism (50%), Confucianism, and Christianity

Religions and peoples are diverse in Southeast Asia and not one country is homogenous. In the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, Hinduism is dominant on islands such as Bali. Christianity also predominates in Papua and Timor. Pockets of Hindu population can also be found around Southeast Asia in Singapore, Malaysia etc. Garuda (Sanskrit: Garu?a), 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. It should be noted that Balinese Hinduism is somewhat different from Hinduism practised elsewhere as Animism and local culture is incorporated into it. Christian minorities can also be found throughout Southeast Asia; they are in the majority in East Timor and the Philippines. In addition, there are also older tribal religious practices in remote areas of Sarawak in East Malaysia and Irian Jaya in eastern Indonesia. In Vietnam, the form of Mahayana Buddhism practiced is heavily influenced by the Animism and tribal religions, of the native peoples of the region. With a heavier importance placed upon Ancestor Worship that is different from many of Vietnam's cutural neighbors.

Related Topics:
Bali - Papua - Timor - Garuda - Phoenix - Vishnu - Thailand - Indonesia - Philippines - Palawan - Mindanao - Sarawak - Irian Jaya - Animism - Ancestor Worship

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Languages in the subregion

The languages spoken in the region include, on mainland Southeast Asia: Khmer, Vietnamese, Thai, various Chinese dialects, Burmese and Lao/Isan; on the Malay archipelago, the family of Austronesian languages (the most widely dispersed language family in the world, geographically) includes: Malay, the Indonesian languages, the Philippine languages, and so forth. Within each of these languages, there are many local distinct dialects distributed throughout the region. There are also many other local languages spoken by tribal peoples, such as the Orang Asli in the Malay peninsula. It should be noted that each of the languages have been influenced by cultural pressures due to trade and historical colonization as well. Thus, for example, a Filipino, educated in English and Tagalog, as well as in his native tongue, might well speak another language, for economic reasons; a Malay might well speak Chinese as well as English, again for economic reasons.

Related Topics:
Khmer - Vietnamese - Thai - Chinese dialects - Burmese - Lao - Isan - Austronesian languages - Malay - Indonesian languages - Orang Asli

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