Communities

The Kingdom of Cambodia occupies the southern part of the Indochina peninsula. Its area is 181.035 square kilometres and shares its borders with Thailand, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam on land. Cambodia’s population is over 16 million.

Comprising an area of 514,000 km2 in Southeast Asia, Thailand (formerly known as Siam) extends almost two-thirds down the Malay Peninsula. It is bordered on the North East and East by Laos, on the South East by Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand (formerly the Gulf of Siam), on the South by Malaysia, on the South West by the Andaman Sea, and on the West and North West by Myanmar, with a total boundary length of 8,082 km.

Singapore is a sovereign city-state, the largest of its kind in the world. It’s located at the southernmost extremity of Eurasia and lies only about 130 kilometres north of the equator. Its population is 5.6 million and is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with its 66.000 GDP per capita data. Singapore’s economy is extremely open, trade and services provide jobs and income to most its companies and inhabitants.

Brunei is located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, facing the South China Sea, surrounded by East Malaysia. The monarchy gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984, the head of state is the Sultan of Brunei. The country has the lowest population in the ASEAN (ca. 450.000), though with one of the highest per-capita GDP level in the region. Brunei has abundant natural resources, therefore offshore oil-drilling is the base of the economy, providing 60% of the GDP and 90% of export revenue. Brunei has a low tariff regime and no personal income tax. Company tax is 55 per cent for the two oil and gas companies (Brunei Shell and Jasra Elf) and 30 per cent for other companies.

The Republic of Indonesia is the largest and most populous among the ASEAN countries. The area of Indonesia consists of more than 17.000 islands, including several of the largest on earth: the western part of New Guinea, Borneo (Kalimantan), Sumatra, Jawa and Sulawesi. By land area, Indonesia is the 14 th largest in the world, while with over 270 million people, it’s the 4 th most populous (and Jawa being the most densely populated island). Indonesia is a presidential, constitutional republic.

The only landlocked country in the ASEAN region, Lao PDR is neighbouring Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and China. It is a long, narrow country, stretching about 1,700 kilometres (km) from north to south but only about 100 km across at its narrowest width. The country’s low population of about 6.5 million in 2017 and mountainous topography limit expansion of agricultural development, with only about 10% of the country’s land area used for agriculture. Moreover, agricultural land is dispersed, especially in the northern mountains.

The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia and has been one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia Pacific region. With increasing urbanization, a growing middle class, and a large and young population, the Philippines’ economic dynamism is rooted in strong consumer demand supported by a vibrant labor market and robust remittances.

Myanmar is the second largest country in Southeast Asia. It shares borders with Thailand, Laos, China, India and Bangladesh, and has a coastline on the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The climate is tropical, with monsoonal rains making flooding and landslides common during the rainy season (June to September).

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country which is located in Southeast Asia between Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Besides that, Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories. The country's political system is a constitutional monarchy based on the British Westminster parliamentary system. Currently, the total number of population are 32 million people.

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam occupies the easternmost position on the Indochinese Peninsula. Vietnam shares its land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west, and shares maritime borders with Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia through the South China Sea, so geographically the country is a cornerstone of the ASEAN region. With an estimated 95.5 million inhabitants as of 2019, it’s the 15 th most populous country in the world. The capital city is Hanoi in the northern region, while the most populous city and largest commercial hub is Ho Chi Minh City, close to the Mekong river delta in the south.

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