Southeast Asia
Introduction
1. Natural resources
2. Population
3. Agriculture
4. Transport
5. Foreign economic relations
6. Recreation and tourism
7. General characteristics of the economy
8. Industry
9. Natural conditions
Conclusion
List of sources used
Introduction
southeastern Asia located on the territory of the Indochina Peninsula and numerous islands of the Malay Archipelago. The countries of the region border on South and East Asia, Australia and Oceania. The region consists of 10 countries: Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore and East Timor.
southeastern Asia connects Eurasia with Australia, at the same time delimiting the basins of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The territory of the region is washed by seas, the largest of which are the South China and Philippine Seas of the Pacific Ocean, the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean.
Through the countries of the Southeast Asia important air and sea routes: The Strait of Malacca is as important for world shipping as the Strait of Gibraltar, the Panama and Suez Canals.
The location between the two ancient cells of civilization and the largest number of people, the states of the modern world - China and India - affected the formation of the political map of the region, the processes of economic development, the ethnic and religious composition of the population, and the development of culture.
Among the states of the region, there is one absolute monarchy - Brunei, three constitutional ones - Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, all the others are republics.
Southeast countries Asia are members of the UN. All but Cambodia are members of ASEAN; Indonesia - in OPEC; Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam - to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation block.
1. Natural resources
The bowels of the territory have been poorly explored, but the explored reserves indicate rich deposits of mineral resources. There was a lot of hard coal in the region, only in the north of Vietnam there are insignificant reserves of it. In the shelf zone of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, oil and gas are produced. The world's largest metallogenic "Tin Belt" stretches across the region. Asia.Mesozoic deposits determined the richest reserves of non-ferrous metals: tin (in Indonesia - 1.5 million tons, Malaysia and Thailand - 1.2 million tons each), tungsten (reserves of Thailand - 25 thousand tons, Malaysia - 20 thousand tons). The region is rich in copper, zinc, lead, molybdenum, nickel, antimony, gold, cobalt, the Philippines - in copper and gold. Non-metallic minerals are represented by potash salt (Thailand, Laos), apatite (Vietnam), precious stones (sapphire, topaz, ruby) in Thailand.
Agro-climatic game resources. Warm and humid climate is the main prerequisite for a relatively high efficiency of agriculture, 2-3 crops are harvested here throughout the year. Sufficiently fertile red and yellow feralite soils grow multi-agricultural crops of the hot zone (rice, coconut palm, rubber tree - hevea, bananas, pineapples, tea, spices). On the islands, not only coastal areas are used, but also mountain slopes smoothed by volcanic activity (terraced agriculture).
Water resources are actively used for land irrigation in all countries. Moisture deficiency in the dry period of the year requires considerable expenditures for the construction of irrigation facilities. Water mountain arteries of the Indochina Peninsula (Irrawaddy, Menam, Mekong) and numerous mountain speeches of the islands are able to provide electricity needs.
Exceptionally rich forest resources. The region is located in the Southern Forest Belt, forests cover 42% of its territory. Numerous forest areas have Brunei (87%), Cambodia (69%), Indonesia (60%), Laos (57%), and in Singapore the total forest area is only 7% (most low rate in the region). The forests of the region are especially rich in wood, which has very valuable properties (strength, fire resistance, water repellency, attractive color): tok, sandalwood, legume trees, native pine species, sundri tree (mangrove), palm trees.
Fish resources of the coastal zone of the seas and inland waters are of considerable importance in every country: fish and other marine products are widely used in the diet of the population. On some islands of the Malay Archipelago, pearls and mother-of-pearl shells are mined.
The rich natural resource potential and favorable climatic conditions of the region make it possible to engage in agriculture throughout the year, and a variety of mineral resources contribute to the development of the mining industry and oil refining. Due to the existence of valuable species of trees, the forest area is a traditional area. However, due to intensive deforestation, their area decreases every year, which worsens the ecobalance. This predetermines the need for environmental protection measures that are carried out in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and other countries to preserve the unique flora and fauna of the region.
2. Population
Population. 482.5 million people live in the region. The maximum number is in Indonesia (193.8 million), the minimum is in Brunei (310 thousand). The number of inhabitants of the country is very contrasting.
demographic features. In the southeast Asia there have always been high rates of natural population growth - an average of 2.2% per year, and in some cases - up to 40%. The child population (under 14) is 32%, the elderly - 4.5%. There are more women than men (50.3% and 49.7% respectively).
Racial composition. The vast majority of the population belongs to the transitional types between the Mongoloid and Australoid races.
In some areas, “pure” Australoid groups not mixed with the Mongoloids have survived: the Vedoids (Malacca Peninsula), the inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia close to the Papuans, the Negrito type (in the south of the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines).
Ethnic composition. Only in largest country region - Indonesia is home to over 150 nationalities. On the small territory of the Philippines compared to Indonesia, there are up to a hundred peculiar Malayo-Polynesian ethnic groups. In Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, more than 2/3 of the inhabitants are Siamese (or Thai), Viet, Khmer, Lao and Burmese. In Malaysia, up to half of the population are Malay peoples close in language. The most mixed and multilingual population of Singapore are people from neighboring Asian countries (Chinese - 76%, Malays - 15%, Indians - 6%). In all states, the Chinese are the largest national minority, and in Singapore they even represent the majority of the population.
The region has such language families: Sino-Tibetan (Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore, Burmese, Karen in Thailand); Thai (Siamese, Lao); Austro-Asiatic (Vietnamese, Khmer in Cambodia); Austronesian (Indonesians, Filipinos, Malays); Papuan peoples (in the eastern part of the Malay Archipelago and in the west of New Guinea).
Religious composition. The ethnic composition and the historical fate of the peoples of the region determined its religious mosaicity. The most common are the following confessions: Buddhism - in Vietnam (Mahayana - the most loyal form of Buddhism, coexists with local cults), in other Buddhist countries - Hinayana); Islam is practiced by almost 80% of the population of Indonesia, Malaysia, and partly in the Philippines; Christianity (Catholicism) is the main religion of the Philippines (a consequence of Spanish colonization), partly in Indonesia; Hinduism is especially pronounced on about. Balle in Indonesia.
Aboriginal peoples of the Southeast Asia local cults are widely practiced.
Population placed very unevenly. The maximum density is on about. Java, where up to 65% of the population of all Indonesia lives. Most of the inhabitants of Indochina live in the valleys of the rivers Irrawaddy, Mekong, Menem, here the population density reaches 500-600 people / km2, and in some areas - up to 2000. The mountainous outskirts of the peninsular states and most of the small islands are very poorly populated, the average population density does not exceed 3-5 people /km2. And in the center of Kalimantan and in the west about. New Guinea has uninhabited territories.
The proportion of the rural population is high (almost 60%). In recent decades, due to the migration of rural residents and natural growth, the number of the urban population has been increasing. First of all, large cities are growing rapidly, almost all of them (with the exception of Hanoi and Bangkok) arose in the colonial era. More than 1/5 of the inhabitants live in cities (Laos - 22, Vietnam - 21, Cambodia - 21, Thailand - 20%, etc.), only in Singapore they make up 100%. In general, this is one of the least urbanized regions of the world.
Millionaire cities, as a rule, are port or port centers, which were formed on the basis of trading activities. Urban agglomerations of the region: Jakarta (10.2 million people), Manila (9.6 million), Bangkok (7.0 million), Yangon (3.8 million), Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon, 3.5 million), Singapore (3 million), Bandung (2.8 million), Surabaya (2.2 million), Hanoi (1.2 million), etc.
Labor resources. There are more than 200 million people, of which
53% are employed in agriculture, 16% in industry, others are involved in the service sector.
southeastern Asia- a multinational region, which is characterized by social contrasts. The rapid growth of cities led to the influx of unskilled labor, which resulted in the concentration of people, the growth of crime, drug smuggling, unemployment, etc. ... However, since the 60s of the XX century. new business and shopping districts with modern buildings, skyscrapers built by American and Japanese companies are emerging in the countries of the region.
3. Agriculture
The agriculture of the region is insufficiently provided with land resources due to the high population density. It is dominated by agriculture over animal husbandry, large handicraft costs per unit of land area and low marketability of farms. Technique and technology are mostly very primitive.
Plant growing. Subtropical and tropical agriculture is the basis of the economy of all countries. southeastern Asia- the world's largest region for growing rice - the main agricultural crop. It is harvested 2-3 times a year, the total volume is 126.5 million tons (1/4 of world production). In Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam rice fields occupy 4/5 of the sown area of the valley and delta lands of the Irrawad and Menem rivers.
The main agricultural crops in the region are also:
Coconut palm - gives nuts and koper (coconut core, from which oil is obtained). The region accounts for 70% of their world production, Malaysia - up to 49%;
Hevea - up to 90% of the world production of natural rubber falls on the countries of the region (Malaysia - 20% of world production, Indonesia, Vietnam);
Sugar cane (especially the Philippines and Thailand);
Tea (Indonesia, Vietnam);
Spices (everywhere);
Orchids (Singapore is the world leader in their cultivation);
Cotton, tobacco (dry season is grown by countries located in the north of the region);
Coffee (Laos);
Opium poppy (grown in the "Golden Triangle" - a remote region on the border of the territories of Thailand, Laos).
Notable pineapple producers and exporters are Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Peppers are grown in Indonesia and Malaysia. Also, sago, cassava, cocoa, peanuts, vegetables and fruits, jute, etc. are cultivated in the countries of the region.
Livestock. It is very poorly developed due to the lack of pastures, the spread of tropical animal diseases. Livestock is used primarily as draft power. The total livestock is 45 million pigs, 42 million large cattle, 26 million goats and sheep and almost 15 million buffaloes. Muslim peoples do not breed pigs.
Sea and river fishing is widespread. Every year, countries catch up to 13.7 million tons of fish. Fish from freshwater reservoirs is fully used on the domestic market, and a significant amount sea fish is exported. Thailand also exports a variety of tropical fish destined for aquariums.
The basis of agricultural production in the region is the plantation economy, which employs the majority of the population, and the export of plantation crops provides most of the budget revenues.
4. Transport
Generally transport region is unevenly developed. A few railroads connect the main commodity-producing regions with the capitals. Their total length is 25,339 km, while Laos and Brunei do not have railways. IN Lately the automotive industry is developing rapidly transport.The total fleet includes 5.8 million passenger cars and 2.3 million trucks.
The main role in all countries is played by water transport, in peninsular - river, island - sea. The Strait of Malacca is of great importance in the transport complex (its length is 937 km, the smallest width is 15 km, the smallest depth in the fairway is 12 m). Sailboats are also used for transportation between the islands. Singapore (11.4 million registered br. tons), Thailand (2.5 million br.-register, tons), Indonesia (2.3 million br.-register, tons) have their own merchant fleets. The port of Singapore is one of the largest in the world in terms of total cargo turnover (280 million tons) and the third after Rotterdam and Hong Kong in handling sea containers (14 million conventional commodity units). The largest ports are Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Da Nang (Vietnam), Jakarta, Surabaya (Indonesia). ), Kuantan, Klan, Kota Kina Balu (Malaysia), Bangkok (Thailand), etc. Air transport is progressing significantly in the region. There are 165 airports with regular flights. Over the past years, Changi Airport (Singapore) has been the world leader in terms of service quality and operational efficiency. Annual throughput it reached 24 million air passengers, in the near future it may increase to 60 million passengers. The main flights between domestic airports are carried out by the national airlines Garuda (Indonesia), Singapore Airlines (Singapore).
The main railways and highways connect the ports of countries with their hinterlands and serve mainly foreign economic relations.
5. Foreign economic relations
The agrarian-raw material orientation of the economy connects the countries of the region with the world market. Export of goods for them is the most important source of foreign exchange.
Exports ($422.3 billion) are dominated by:
In Brunei - oil and gas;
In Vietnam - cotton fabrics, knitwear, rubber, tea, rubber shoes, rice;
In Indonesia - oil and gas, agricultural products, plywood, textiles, rubber;
In Cambodia - rubber, wood, rosin, fruits, fish, spices, rice;
In Laos - electricity, products of the forest and woodworking industries, coffee, tin concentrate;
In Malaysia - oil and gas, rubber, tin, palm oil, wood, electronics, textiles;
In Singapore - equipment, instruments, machinery, light industry products, electronics;
In Thailand - rice, rubber, tin, corn, cassava, sugar, textiles, kenaf, jute, teak, integrated circuits;
In the Philippines - coconut oil, copper concentrate, copra, bananas, sugar, gold, electronic equipment.
The main import goods (364.0 billion dollars) are: oil and oil products, machinery, equipment, steel, chemical products, vehicles, medicines, etc... Singapore is a place of large international trade and industrial exhibitions, scientific and technical symposiums and conferences (700-750 per year).
6. Recreation and tourism
The region is rich in recreational resources, which, due to the economic backwardness of some countries, are underused. The basis for the development of the tourist area is the unique and picturesque equatorial landscapes, resort areas of the coast, historical and architectural monuments of different eras, the exotic of modern life and the traditions of different peoples.
main centers tourism are Malaysia (6.5 million tourists annually), Singapore (5.8 million), Thailand (5.7 million), and the most attractive tourist cities are Bangkok, Singapore (“ Asia in miniature, Asia for a moment").
24 objects are included in the UNESCO list:
In Vietnam (4) - architectural monuments of the medieval capital of Hue and Ha Bay, the medieval city of Hoi, etc.;
In Indonesia (6) - Borobudur and Prambanan temples, Komodo, Lorets and Ujung national parks, etc.;
In Cambodia (1) - the temple complex of Angkor Wat XII century;
In Laos (2) - the former royal residence of Luang Prabang;
In Malaysia (2) -National parks Gunun Mula and Kinabalu;
In Thailand (4) -national park Thungiai-Huai-Kha-Khaeng, ancient capitals of Sukotan and Ayutthaya (XIII-XIV centuries), archaeological excavations of Ban Chiang;
In the Philippines (5) - Tubbataha Reefs Ocean Park, Baroque churches, rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, the historic center of Vigan, etc.
In general, the tourism business in the region has not received proper development (except for Singapore and Thailand). To revive the foreign tourism various activities are carried out in the countries (construction of new hotels, expansion of the transport network of tourist routes, etc.).
7. General characteristics of the economy
During the post-war period, the role of the countries of the South-East Asia in the world, especially in Pacific region, is steadily increasing. This is due to the favorable geographical and military-strategic position of the countries, rich in natural resources, dynamic political and economic development.
In the areas of public economic development region is heterogeneous. After World War II, its countries split into 2 groups: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia focused on the Soviet command-administrative model of development, and ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei) - market. All countries of the South East Asia started from the same level, but the ASEAN countries achieved in the second half of the 20th century. tangible economic results, which had a positive impact on the social parameters of the life of their population. Since the second half of the 1980s, the former socialist states of the South-East Asia began the transition to the market, but even now they remain the least developed countries in the world. At the beginning of the 1990s, the UN classified them as a group of countries with low per capita incomes (less than $500). Malaysia and Thailand belong to the group of newly industrialized countries (NIEs) of the "second wave", while Indonesia and the Philippines belong to the NIEs of the "third wave" (with an average per capita income of $500 to $3,000). Singapore and Brunei are countries with a high level of this indicator (over $3,000).
They achieved such results of economic development due to various factors. For example, Brunei is a leading oil exporter, receiving over 84% of the profits from oil exports. Singapore (NIS "first wave") is a powerful regional and international center for trade, marketing, services and development of the latest technologies, the most important transport and communication hub of the Southeast Asia. Singapore is one of the financial centers of the world, the turnover of the Singapore currency exchange is almost 160 billion dollars annually. According to this indicator, it is second only to London, New York and Tokyo. The volume of annual operations on the Singapore Stock Exchange is $23 billion. By the number of well-known banks (141, including 128 foreign ones), Singapore ranks third in the world after London and New York, and according to forecasts, its role will increase.
In terms of economic development South-Eastern Asia belongs to the most dynamic regions. The rates of economic growth of the countries in the post-war period were among the highest in the world. At the end of the 90s of the XX century. Singapore (14% per year), Thailand (12.6%), Vietnam (10.3%), Malaysia (8.5%) had the highest production growth rates. The total GNP of the countries of the region reached $2,000 billion (2000). Now the region's share in the global total product is approximately 1.4%, and in the total product of developing countries - 7.7%.
The ASEAN countries are mainly focused on the Japanese development model with its increased attention to the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution. So, since the beginning of the 80s, they have been renovating equipment that is used for research and development work in industry. At the same time, the taxation of investments on Scientific research in this domain. As a result, Singapore, for example, has one of the highest rates of robots in industrial production.
The countries of the region have a powerful export base, almost all of them are well endowed with natural resources, which are one of the important conditions for their economic development. That is why they are the largest (and sometimes monopoly) exporters of certain goods. For example, the ASEAN zone provides almost 80% of the world's production of natural rubber, 60-70% of tin and copra, over 50% of coconuts, a third of palm oil and rice. Large are the reserves of oil, copper, tungsten, chromium, bauxite, valuable wood.
Over the past decades, the R/V South-Eastern Asia made significant progress in industrial development. However, in terms of natural, scientific and technical potential and many economic indicators, they differ from each other.
In general, the countries of the region achieved economic growth due to a combination of such factors: an export-industrial development strategy; attraction of foreign capital; state regulation; creation of viable economic entities - national corporations.
The region is one of the leaders in the world in terms of investment (39.5 billion dollars in the late 90s of the XX century). The most attractive for foreign capital are the areas of manufacturing industry and infrastructure. The most active here are Japanese and American companies that locate enterprises in areas of cheap labor, where they import semi-finished products and carry out the final refinement of their products. Significant investments are made in the food industry, the metalworking industry, the production of electronics and toys, chemical fibers, and plywood.
Notable among the investors are Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. The relatively high share of these states in the total foreign investment to the countries of the Southeast Asia associated with the activities of the Chinese business community. Indonesia ($23.7 billion), Malaysia ($4.4 billion), Singapore ($3 billion), and the Philippines ($2.5 billion) are leading in the use of investments. The largest investors in the region are Hong Kong ($6.9 billion) and Japan ($5.2 billion).
In most countries of the region, powerful financial and industrial monopolistic groups have developed, whose activities, as a rule, are connected with the interests of foreign capital. The leading representatives of the sphere of big business and finance are the monopolistic associations Ailla and Soriano in the Philippines, Waringin in Indonesia, the Kuokiv family conglomerate in Malaysia, the Bangkok Bank group in Thailand and others.
TNCs played a decisive role in the formation of industrial and export specialization of the countries of the region. The creation of the export potential of the NIS was due to the active movement of labor-, energy- and material-intensive, environmentally hazardous industries to them, as well as the manufacture of mass consumer products using outdated technologies that are no longer used in industrial production. developed countries Oh.
Penetration into the economyNIS South-Eastern Asia TNCs started in light industrial areas where they can quickly reap the benefits of high speed capital turnover. Therefore, now textile, clothing, footwear are the most developed areas of the manufacturing industry. Japanese and American TNCs have the strongest positions in them. For example, in Malaysia, 15 Japanese textile TNCs control 80% of the region's production. Among them are Torey, Toyobo, Unitika, Kanebo, and others.
In the 1970s, the NIS of the region began to develop technologies for the production of electronic and electrical products. Now a developed export-industrial base for the production of components has been created here. consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment. Among the countries with a market economy, Malaysia is the third producer of semiconductors, Thailand is an important center for the production of integrated circuits. These areas are dominated by TNCs from the United States and Japan, which formed them in the region: IWM, General Electric, ITT, X'yulet Packard, Toshiba, Akai, Sony, Sharp. Western European TNCs also widely represented in Southeast Asia: "Robert Bosch", "Philips", "Eriksson", "Olivetti", etc. ... In the creation of automobile enterprises, too, the active participation of foreign capital, mainly Japanese.
Another is the development path of the former socialist countries- Vietnam and Laos, eventually - and Cambodia, which for a long time were isolated from regional economic processes. In their economic policy prevailed protectionism, a negative attitude towards foreign investment and management experience. And economic interaction with the countries of the former socialist camp contributed to the formation of an extensive model of state socialism of the 40-60s of the XX century, increasing the gap in socio-economic development with their neighbors.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, countries chose the Chinese version of economic renewal, which provides for radical reforms to preserve the political mechanism. Nevertheless, modern concepts of their socio-economic development take into account the experience of new industrial countries. Asia especially South Korea.
Economic reforms in Vietnam and Laos have generally yielded positive results. This is especially true of Vietnam, where in a short time it was possible to reduce the inflation rate from 1000% in the late 80s of the XX century. up to 4% - in 2009. The production of food crops increased more rapidly (in 1985 - 18 million tons, in 2005 - 21 million tons). Vietnam is the 3rd largest rice exporter in the world.
IN last years XX century some countries Asia, including the South-East, suffered an economic and monetary crisis. But in 2000-2001. thanks to the growth of external demand and domestic consumption, they managed to restore the trend of economic growth. The recovery of the region's economy took place due to the concentration of efforts on the export of products, especially electronic products. For example, in Malaysia, only in the first five months of 2000, exports of products increased by 19.2%, and Thailand - by 24.3%. Thanks to a positive balance of foreign trade, the balance of payments continues to improve in many countries. The inflation rate in them is almost 2%, and in 2008 it was maximum in Laos (33%), minimum - in Brunei (1%). Average level unemployment - 8.5%, in NIK - 3-4%, in post-socialist countries - 5-20%.
Recently, the banks of some countries have eliminated the loss, have become profitable, constantly expanding the volume of lending. However, the socio-economic development of many countries continues to be affected by political instability, armed conflicts and mass unrest, especially in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
In the MGPP, the region is represented by areas of the extractive industry, primarily oil and tin mining.
The cultivation of hevea and the production of natural rubber are well developed. The region is one of the world's leading producers of rice and coconut palms. The most important area of specialization is the procurement and export tropical tree. The presence in Singapore of one of the largest ports in the world and a large airport provides it with the status of an important transport and intermediary center of the region. Some countries, especially Thailand, Singapore, have a fairly strong position in the tourism business.
8. Industry
The industry as a whole in the region provides 32% of the total GNP, ranking second after the service sector.
Mining industry.Most of its products undergo primary processing. The extraction of tin and tungsten is of great export importance: Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia provide 70% of the world's tin production, Thailand is the world's second producer of tungsten. In Thailand, gemstones (rubies, sapphires) are mined and processed.
Fuel and energyindustry. The region is relatively well supplied with electricity, the total production of which reached 228.5 billion kWh. The bulk of electricity is generated by thermal and hydroelectric power plants. In 1994, the largest HPP in the region, Hoa Binh (Vietnam), was put into operation. Indonesia has the only geothermal power plant in the region, and the construction of the region's first nuclear power plant is under discussion. Petrochemistry is being developed on the basis of oil refineries in many countries. In Myanmar and Indonesia, they work on their own raw materials, Philippine, Malay and Singaporean plants - on Indonesian and Middle Eastern oil. Singapore is the 3rd largest oil processing center in the world after Houston and Rotterdam (it handles over 20 million tons of crude oil annually).
Non-ferrous metallurgy. In its development, the main attention is paid to the construction of new and modernization of existing plants, especially in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Aluminum plants in Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore process bauxite from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia. On the basis of local raw materials, one of the world's largest tin-smelting plants operate in Malaysia (providing 28% of the world's exports of this metal), Indonesia (16% of world exports) and Thailand (15%). The copper smelter operates in the Philippines.
Electronic and electrotechnical industry . It specializes in the assembly of household appliances, the production of circuit boards, microcircuits. Malaysia is one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductors, integrated circuits, air conditioners, radio and television equipment. Electrical and radio-electronic enterprises operate in Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. Science-intensive areas of high technology are actively developing in Singapore, including the production of computers and components for them, electronic telecommunications equipment, biotechnology, laser optics, highly sensitive computer disks are being developed, a plant has been built that manufactures equipment for space vehicles. In terms of computerization and the introduction of robots, Singapore ranks 2nd in Asia after Japan (in particular, 84% of Singaporean firms are equipped with modern computer technology).
Electronic industry in the ASEAN countries is under the control of American and Japanese companies (X "yulet Packard", "National", "Fujitsu", etc.), which seek to reduce production costs through the use of local cheap labor.
Automotive industry .Auto assembly is carried out by branches of Japanese firms in Malaysia (180 thousand cars annually) and Thailand. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have their own programs for the development of the aviation industry, which are increasingly buying know-how, which enable them not only to maintain aircraft themselves, but also to develop their individual parts.
Production has been established in the countries of the region modern weapons. Singapore builds torpedo ships and high-speed patrol boats, assembles transport aircraft under American licenses, develops electronic industry defensive purpose. The largest company in the Singapore military-industrial complex is Singapore Technologies. In Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, there are enterprises for the production of military aircraft and helicopters.
Ship repair and shipbuilding. This area belongs to the international specialization in Singapore, at the shipyards of which tankers with a tonnage of up to 500 thousand tons are built. Singapore occupies the 2nd place after the USA in the world in the production of mobile drilling equipment for the development of offshore oil fields.
Chemical industry . Received significant development in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia. Due to the active participation of Japanese corporations in Singapore, the largest Asia plants for the production of ethylene, propylene and plastics. Increasingly important in the world market are Indonesia as a manufacturer of acids and components of mineral fertilizers, Malaysia as a manufacturer of household chemical products and poisonous chemicals, varnishes and paints. In the north of Bangkok is one of the most powerful Asia complexes for the production of caustic soda.
Sewing, textile and footwear industry. These are traditional areas for the region, most developed in Malaysia and Thailand, which are 50-80% controlled by Japanese and American TNCs.
Wood preparation. Recently, it has sharply increased and now stands at 142.3 million m3 annually. Trees of many species have exceptional strength and color, so they are used in interior framing, in the furniture industry, and shipbuilding.
Handicraft production and folk crafts. In Indonesia - the manufacture of chased silverware, ceramic dishes, woven mats, artistic bone carving.
If by the 80s of the XX century the mining and export of minerals were the determining factors in the economic development of the region, then the modern industrial potential of the countries will melt primarily due to the development of the manufacturing industry.
9. Natural conditions
The region is located on the Indochina peninsula (the third largest peninsula on the globe) and mountainous areas in the north of it, up to the Tibetan plateau. The largest island part of the region - the Malay Archipelago - is the largest group of islands on Earth. Of the almost 15,000 islands of the archipelago, only 5 have an area of more than 100 thousand km2 each. Shores of the Southeast Asia washed by the waters of two oceans - the Pacific and Indian. From the east and south, the Malay Archipelago is surrounded by deep-sea depressions (troughs): Philippine (10,265 m) and Java (7,729 m).
The coast of the continental part of the region is cut, lagoonal and leveled alluvial types of coasts prevail here. The island part has a more dissected coast. The total length of the coastline of the region is almost 67,000 km.
The large length of the territory from west to east (over 4.5 thousand km), mountainous terrain, the presence of two parts - mainland and island - largely determine the diversity of the natural conditions of this part Asia. The region is characterized by a significant dissection of the relief, due to a complex network of faults and folds in the young mountains. In the north of Indochina, the mountains that stretch in the meridional direction (Annam, Kravan, Assam-Burmese, etc.) are quite high, to the south they gradually decrease, the chains break, and closer to the sea they break up into separate mountain ranges and ridges. In the south of Indochina, in large deltas rivers and mezhigirsky depressions are lowlands with fertile alluvial soils. The relief of the Malay Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula is dominated by mountains and uplands, which often turn into coastal, narrow marshy lowlands. There are many volcanoes here, including active ones, there are up to 60 of them in Indonesia alone.
southeastern Asia located in the equatorial (large parts of the Malay Archipelago) and subequatorial (mainland) climatic zones. High average annual temperatures (+26°С) have small seasonal fluctuations (2-3°С). The hottest month is April (+30°C). Have a huge influence monsoon winds, the change of which predetermines the change in the dry and rainy seasons. The Philippine Islands, like no other part of the world, are suffering from tropical hurricanes- typhoons. Every year there are 3-4 strong and up to 20 medium or weak typhoons.
Most of the large rivers of the mainland begin within the Himalayan-Tibetan mountain system. The dense river network is fed by rain. Filled with water during monsoon rains, the rivers become extremely shallow, and sometimes completely dry up during the dry period of the year. largest rivers region - Mekong, Hong, Ayeyarwady, Kapuas, Solo, etc.
There are few lakes. The most striking among them is Lake Sap, in which the marine fauna has been preserved. It has a lot of fish, and during the dry season, the locals collect it in baskets near the coast.
Conclusion
The countries of the region over the past three decades have made a real leap from underdevelopment to a high level of development. This was facilitated by:
Firstly, the ASEAN countries have an exceptionally advantageous geographical position. They are located at the intersection of the most important sea, airways leading from the Pacific to the Indian;
secondly, the countries of Southeast Asia have the richest mineral and raw material potential. In this region there are reserves of world significance of tin, tungsten, chromium, and wood. There are large deposits of oil, gas, nickel, cobalt, copper ores, gold, precious stones, hard coal, as well as large reserves of hydropower and agro-climatic resources;
thirdly, the countries of Southeast Asia are currently in first place in the world in terms of investment inflows, they amounted to 39.5 billion dollars. As their own capital was accumulated in a number of countries in Southeast Asia, investment flows formed within the region. ASEAN countries are implementing numerous projects in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia;
fourthly, the labor resources of these countries are huge, and they are characterized by high rates of reproduction, which allows entrepreneurs to evaluate them cheaply;
fifthly, the development model of the countries of Southeast Asia was taken by Japanese capitalism with its increased attention to the latest achievements of the scientific and technological revolution and their accelerated implementation in practice. They fly behind Japan in a "crane wedge";
sixth, the development of export-oriented production, providing these countries with a rapid integration into the world economy (electronic computers, household and industrial, textiles, shoes, clothing, watches, supertankers, bulk carriers, container ships, cars, etc.); computer science, biotechnology, fiber optics are produced; in the countries of Southeast Asia, there is a gradual transition from labor-intensive to capital-intensive industries;
seventhly, R&D costs are growing, which amount to 1-2% of GDP, and the volume of GDP per person in Hong Kong and Singapore is 14-15 thousand US dollars. Doll.;
eighth, the non-productive sphere is growing - transit international financial transactions, tourism (5 million people a year), tropical resort, etc.
List of sources used
1. Materials from websites were used to write the abstract
http://ecosocio.ru and www.azia.ru.
The agriculture of the region is insufficiently provided with land resources due to the high population density. Agriculture prevails over animal husbandry in it, manual work costs per unit of land area and low marketability of farms are large. Technique and technology are mostly very primitive.
Plant growing. Subtropical and tropical agriculture is the basis of the economy of all countries. Southeast Asia is the world's largest region for growing rice, the main agricultural crop. It is harvested 2-3 times a year, the total volume is 126.5 million tons (1/4 of world production). In Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, rice fields occupy 4/5 of the cultivated area of the valley and delta lands of the Irrawad and Menem rivers.
The main crops in the region are also:
Coconut palm - gives nuts and koper (coconut core, from which oil is obtained). The region accounts for 70% of their world production, Malaysia - up to 49%;
Hevea - up to 90% of the world production of natural rubber falls on the countries of the region (Malaysia - 20% of world production, Indonesia, Vietnam);
Sugar cane (especially the Philippines and Thailand);
Tea (Indonesia, Vietnam);
Spices (everywhere);
Orchids (Singapore is the world leader in their cultivation);
Cotton, tobacco (in the dry season, countries located in the north of the region grow);
Coffee (Laos);
Opium poppy (grown in the area of the "Golden Triangle" - a remote region on the border of the territories of Thailand, Laos).
Notable producers and exporters of pineapples are Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Peppers are grown in Indonesia and Malaysia. Also, sago, cassava, cocoa, peanuts, vegetables and fruits, jute, etc. are cultivated in the countries of the region.
Livestock. It is very poorly developed due to the lack of pastures, the spread of tropical animal diseases. Livestock is used primarily as draft power. The total livestock is 45 million pigs, 42 million cattle, 26 million goats and sheep, and almost 15 million buffaloes. Pigs are not bred by Muslim peoples.
Sea and river fishing is widespread everywhere. Every year, countries catch up to 13.7 million tons of fish. Fish from freshwater reservoirs is fully used in the domestic market, and a significant amount of marine fish is exported. Thailand also exports a variety of tropical fish intended for aquariums.
The basis of agricultural production in the region is the plantation economy, which employs the majority of the population, and the export of plantation crops provides most of the budget revenues.
The region includes following countries: Brunei, East Timor, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Philippines.
1. EGP. Southeast Asia is a region covering the continental and insular territories between China, India and Australia. Includes the Indochina Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago.
On the continental part there are Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, on the island - Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines. Malaysia occupies the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and the northern part of the island of Borneo. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are also called the Indochinese states, and the island states are known as common name Nusantara.
Southeast Asia borders China, India, Bangladesh, Australia and Oceania. This neighborhood is favorable for the region, because Australia is a highly developed country, China and India are in the stage of economic recovery, therefore, they will not hold back its development.
There are no military conflicts in this region, which also favorably affects its development.
Southeast Asia has a coastal position; of all countries, only Laos has no access to the ocean. Here are the sea routes connecting this region with East Asia (and further with Russia and North America), South Asia (and further with Africa and Europe), Australia. It also favorably affects the development of the region, leaving it on the sidelines of trade routes and allowing trade with many regions.
Southeast Asia is located near many raw material bases, these are, first of all, the oil and gas reserves of Western Asia, the coal reserves of China and India, the reserves of ores of various metals in Australia. Also in the neighborhood are large industrial countries China and Japan. Such a neighborhood is favorable in the sense that the transportation of goods does not require large transportation costs, but on the other hand, the presence of large manufacturers nearby hinders the development of their own products.
2. Natural conditions and resources. The region includes two parts: continental (Indochina peninsula) and insular (numerous islands of the Malay Archipelago). Southeast Asia seems to “sew” the mainland of Eurasia and Australia and is the border of the Pacific and Indian oceans. The most important sea and air communications pass through the countries of the region. The Strait of Malacca is comparable to Gibraltar, the Suez and Panama Canals in terms of its importance for maritime navigation.
The key geographical position at the crossroads of the most important sea routes, a variety of natural resources, a fertile climate - all this, like a magnet, attracted Europeans here during the colonial period. (Only Thailand remained formally independent as a buffer zone between British India and French Indochina.)
The current geographical position of the countries of Southeast Asia is made up of the following factors:
The position between the world economic and political centers - Western Europe, the USA, Japan, which determine global strategy development and major regional political trends;
The situation between India and China - the largest states in the world in terms of population, major economic and influential political powers;
The position between two oceans (Pacific and Indian), which makes it possible to control the strategically important straits connecting them - Malacca and Sunda.
The peninsular part of Southeast Asia is dominated by mountain ranges that fan out across its territory, separated from each other by river valleys. The mountains are higher in the north and west than in the south and east. The mountains divide the mainland region of the region into several separate parts, land communications between which are difficult. All the islands of the Malay Archipelago also have a mountainous character. There are many volcanoes here, some of which are active. (More than 80% of all recorded tsunamis are formed in the Pacific Ocean, including in Southeast Asia. The explanation for this is simple - out of 400 active volcanoes on Earth, 330 are located in the Pacific basin. More than 80% of all earthquakes are also observed there.) In the east of Sumatra and along the coasts of Kalimantan there are relatively extensive low-lying spaces. Due to the abundance of heat and moisture, Southeast Asia as a whole is distinguished by the diversity and richness of flora and fauna, soil fertility.
The climate of this region is hot, subequatorial and equatorial, with a total precipitation of up to 3,000 mm per year. Frequent guests here tropical cyclones- typhoons with great destructive power, not to mention the increased seismic danger that awaits the population of most countries. Although most of Southeast Asia is covered with humid tropical evergreen forests (hence the second place in the world after Brazil in terms of tropical timber reserves), savannahs dominate in inner Indochina. The river network is dense, the rivers (Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy, etc.) are full-flowing.
The significance of Southeast Asia is also determined by the presence here of large reserves of the most important types of raw materials and fuel. The region is especially rich in non-ferrous metal ores: tin (in terms of its reserves, the region surpasses all countries of the world), nickel, copper, and molybdenum. Large reserves of iron and manganese ores, chromites. There are significant oil deposits and natural gas, there is brown coal, uranium. Natural wealth are valuable tree species of tropical and equatorial forests. On the whole, Southeast Asia is a hard-to-replace global source of many strategic resources.
Within the region, representatives of natural geography usually distinguish the following physical and geographical areas:
1) the peninsula of Indochina, which forms the southeastern periphery of the mainland and cuts through the basins of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are no latitudinal orographic barriers here, so in the north of Indochina one can feel the "breath" of continental air masses. The main mass of moisture is brought by the southwestern equatorial monsoons;
2) the Malay archipelago, associated with Indonesia and including the islands of Greater and Lesser Sunda, Moluccas and about. Ceram. The area is distinguished by its colossal natural specificity. Its equatorial and insular position determines the dominance of equatorial and maritime tropical air within its boundaries, uniform temperatures, constantly high humidity and an abundance of precipitation. Kingdom of tropical rainforests;
3) The Philippine Islands, sometimes included in the Malay Archipelago, but physically and geographically representing an independent region. It is located in the zone of subequatorial and partially equatorial climate with abundant precipitation.
3. Population and resettlement. About 600 million people live in the region. The number of inhabitants of the country is very contrasting. The maximum number is in Indonesia (245.6 million people), the minimum is in Brunei (402 thousand people).
demographic features. In Southeast Asia, natural population growth has always been high - an average of 2.2% per year, and in some cases - up to 40%. It currently stands at 2%. The child population (under 14) is 32%, the elderly - 4.5%, working age - 63.5%. There are more women than men (50.3% and 49.7% respectively).
Racial composition. The vast majority of the population belongs to the transitional types between the Mongoloid and Australoid races.
In some areas, “pure” Australoid groups not mixed with the Mongoloids have survived: the Vedoids (on the Malacca Peninsula), the inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia close to the Papuans, the Negrito type (in the south of the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines).
Ethnic composition. Only in the largest country in the region, Indonesia, there are more than 150 nationalities. On the territory of the Philippines, which is small compared to Indonesia, there are up to a hundred peculiar Malayo-Polynesian ethnic groups. In Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, more than 2/3 of the inhabitants are Siamese (or Thai), Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao and Burmese. In Malaysia, up to half of the population are Malay peoples close in language. The most mixed and multilingual population of Singapore are people from neighboring Asian countries (Chinese - 76%, Malays - 15%, Indians - 6%). In all states, the Chinese are the largest national minority, and in Singapore they even represent the majority of the population.
The following language families are represented in the region: Sino-Tibetan (Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore, Burmese, Karen in Thailand); Thai (Siamese, Lao); Austro-Asiatic (Vietnamese, Khmers in Cambodia); Austronesian (Indonesians, Filipinos, Malays); Papuan peoples (in the eastern part of the Malay Archipelago and in the west of New Guinea).
Religious composition. The ethnic composition and the historical fate of the peoples of the region determined its religious mosaicity. The most common are the following confessions: Buddhism - in Vietnam (Mahayana - the most loyal form of Buddhism, coexists with local cults), in other Buddhist countries - Hinayana); Islam is practiced by almost 80% of the population of Indonesia, Malaysia, and partly in the Philippines; Christianity (Catholicism) is the main religion of the Philippines (a consequence of Spanish colonization), partly in Indonesia; Hinduism is especially pronounced on about. Balle in Indonesia. Aborigines of the countries of Southeast Asia widely profess local cults.
The population is distributed extremely unevenly. The maximum density - on about. Java, where up to 65% of the population of all Indonesia lives. Most of the inhabitants of Indochina live in the valleys of the rivers Irivadi, Mekong, Menem, here the population density reaches 500-600 people / km 2, and in some areas - up to 2000. The mountainous outskirts of the peninsular states and most of the small islands are very poorly populated, the average population density does not exceed 3-5 people / km 2. And in the center of Kalimantan and in the west about. New Guinea has uninhabited territories.
The proportion of the rural population is high (almost 60%). IN recent decades due to the migration of rural residents and natural growth, the number of urban population is increasing. First of all, large cities are growing rapidly, almost all of them (with the exception of Hanoi and Bangkok) arose in the colonial era. More than 20% of the population lives in cities (Laos - 22, Vietnam - 21, Cambodia - 21, Thailand - 20%, etc.), only in Singapore they make up 100%. In general, Southeast Asia is one of the least urbanized regions in the world.
Cities with millionaires, as a rule, are port or port centers, which were formed on the basis of trading activities. Urban agglomerations of the region: Jakarta (10.2 million people), Manila (9.6 million), Bangkok (7.0 million), Yangon (3.8 million), Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon, 3.5 million), Singapore ( 3 million), Bandung (2.8 million), Surabaya (2.2 million), Hanoi (1.2 million).
Labor resources. They number over 200 million people, of which 53% are employed in agriculture, 16% in industry, 31% are involved in the service sector.
4. General characteristics of the economy. Over the past years, the role of the countries of Southeast Asia in the world, especially in the Pacific region, has been steadily increasing. This is due to the favorable geographical and military-strategic position of the countries, rich natural resources, dynamic political and economic development.
In terms of socio-economic development, the region is heterogeneous. After World War II, its countries split into 2 groups: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia focused on the Soviet command-administrative model of development, and the ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei) - market. All the countries of Southeast Asia started from the same level, but the ASEAN countries achieved in the second half of the 20th century. tangible economic results, which had a positive impact on the social parameters of the life of their population.
They achieved such results of economic development due to various factors. For example, Brunei is a leading oil exporter, deriving over 84% of the profits from oil exports. Singapore is a powerful regional and international center for trade, marketing, services and development of the latest technologies, the most important transport and communication hub of Southeast Asia. Singapore is one of the financial centers of the world, the turnover of the Singapore currency exchange is almost 160 billion dollars annually. According to this indicator, it is second only to London, New York and Tokyo. The volume of annual operations on the Singapore Stock Exchange is $23 billion. By the number of well-known banks (141, including 128 foreign ones), Singapore ranks third in the world after London and New York.
In terms of economic development, Southeast Asia belongs to the most dynamic regions. The rates of economic growth of the countries in the post-war period were among the highest in the world. At the end of the 90s of the XX century. Singapore (14% per year), Thailand (12.6%), Vietnam (10.3%), Malaysia (8.5%) had the highest production growth rates. The total GNP of the countries of the region reached $2,000 billion (2000). Now the share of the region in the world total product is approximately 1.4%.
The countries of the region have a strong export base, almost all of them are well endowed with natural resources, which are one of the important conditions for their economic development. That is why they are the largest (and sometimes monopoly) exporters of certain goods. For example, the ASEAN zone provides almost 80% of the world's production of natural rubber, 60-70% of tin and copra, over 50% of coconuts, a third of palm oil and rice.
The region is one of the leaders in the world in terms of investment. The areas of manufacturing industry and infrastructure are the most attractive for foreign capital. The most active here are Japanese and American companies that locate enterprises in areas of cheap labor, where they import semi-finished products and carry out the final refinement of their products. Significant investments are made in the food industry, the metalworking industry, the production of electronics and toys, chemical fibers, and plywood.
Notable among investors are Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. The relatively high proportion of these states in the total volume of foreign investment in the countries of Southeast Asia is associated with the activities of the Chinese business community. Indonesia ($23.7 billion), Malaysia ($4.4 billion), Singapore ($3 billion), and the Philippines ($2.5 billion) are leading in the use of investments. The largest investors in the region are Hong Kong ($6.9 billion) and Japan ($5.2 billion).
In most countries of the region, powerful financial and industrial monopoly groups have developed, whose activities, as a rule, are connected with the interests of foreign capital. The leading representatives of the sphere of big business and finance are the monopolistic associations Ailla and Soriano in the Philippines, Waringin in Indonesia, the Kuokiv family conglomerate in Malaysia, and the Bangkok Bank group in Thailand.
TNCs played a decisive role in shaping the industrial and export specialization of the region's countries. The creation of the export potential of NIS was due to the active transfer of labor-, energy- and material-intensive, environmentally hazardous industries to them, as well as the manufacture of mass consumer products using outdated technologies that are no longer used in industrialized countries.
TNCs began their penetration into the economy of Southeast Asia from the areas of light industry, where you can quickly get a return due to the high rate of capital turnover. Therefore, now textile, clothing, footwear are the most developed areas of the manufacturing industry. The strongest positions in them are held by Japanese and American TNCs. For example, in Malaysia, 15 Japanese textile TNCs control 80% of production.
In the 1970s, the NIS of the region began to master the technologies for the production of electronic and electrical products. Now a developed export-industrial base has been created here for the production of consumer electronics components, telecommunications equipment. Among market economies, Malaysia is the third producer of semiconductors, Thailand is an important center for the production of integrated circuits. But these areas are dominated by TNCs from the United States and Japan, which formed them in the region: IBM, General Electric, X'yulet Packard, Toshiba, Akai, Sony, Sharp. Western European TNCs are also widely represented in Southeast Asia: "Robert Bosch", "Philips", "Eriksson", "Olivetti" and others. In the creation of automobile enterprises, too, the active participation of foreign capital, mainly Japanese.
Another is the path of development of the former socialist countries - Vietnam and Laos, eventually - and Cambodia, which for a long time were isolated from regional economic processes. Their economic policy was dominated by protectionism, a negative attitude towards foreign investment and management experience. And economic interaction with the countries of the former socialist camp contributed to the formation of an extensive model of state socialism of the 40-60s of the XX century, increasing the gap in socio-economic development with their neighbors.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, countries chose the Chinese version of economic renewal, which provides for radical reforms to preserve the political mechanism. Nevertheless, modern concepts of their socio-economic development also take into account the experience of the newly industrialized countries of Asia, especially South Korea.
Economic reforms in Vietnam and Laos have generally produced positive results. This is especially true of Vietnam, where in a short time it was possible to reduce the inflation rate from 1000% in the late 80s of the XX century. up to 4% - in 2009. Currently, Vietnam has ranked 3rd in the world in rice exports.
In Southeast Asian countries, the cultivation of hevea and the production of natural rubber are well developed. The region is one of the world's leading rice and coconut growing regions. The most important area of specialization is the harvesting and export of tropical wood. The presence in Singapore of one of the largest ports in the world and a large airport provides it with the status of an important transport and intermediary center of the region. Some countries, especially Thailand and Singapore, have a fairly strong position in the tourism business.
5. Industries and Agriculture. The industry as a whole in the region provides 32% of the total GNP, ranking second after the service sector.
Mining industry. Most of its products undergo primary processing before export. The extraction of tin and tungsten has an important export value: Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia provide 70% of the world's tin production, Thailand is the world's second largest producer of tungsten. In Thailand, precious stones (rubies, sapphires) are mined and processed.
Fuel and energy industry. The region is relatively well provided with electricity, the total production of which reached 228.5 billion kWh. The bulk of electricity is generated by thermal and hydroelectric power plants. In 1994, the largest HPP in the region, Hoa Binh (Vietnam), was put into operation. Indonesia has the only geothermal power plant in the region, and the construction of the region's first nuclear power plant is under discussion. Petrochemistry is being developed on the basis of oil refineries in many countries. In Myanmar and Indonesia, they operate on their own raw materials, Philippine, Malay and Singaporean plants - on Indonesian and Middle Eastern oil. Singapore is the 3rd largest oil refining center in the world after Houston and Rotterdam (it handles over 20 million tons of crude oil annually).
Non-ferrous metallurgy. In its development, the main attention is paid to the construction of new and modernization of existing plants, especially in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Aluminum plants in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore process bauxite from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Based on local raw materials, some of the world's largest tin-smelting plants operate in Malaysia (providing 28% of the world's exports of this metal), Indonesia (16% of world exports) and Thailand (15%). A copper smelter also operates in the Philippines.
Electronic and electrical industry. Specializing in assembly household appliances, production of boards, microcircuits. Malaysia is one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductors, integrated circuits, air conditioners, radio and television equipment. Electrical and radio-electronic enterprises operate in Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. Science-intensive areas of high technologies are actively developing in Singapore, including the production of computers and components for them, electronic telecommunications equipment, biotechnology, laser optics, highly sensitive computer disks are being developed, a plant has been built that manufactures equipment for spacecraft. In terms of computerization and the introduction of robots, Singapore ranks second in Asia after Japan (in particular, 84% of Singaporean firms are equipped with modern computer technology).
The electronics industry in the ASEAN countries is under the control of American and Japanese companies, which seek to reduce production costs through the use of local cheap labor.
In the countries of the region, the production of modern weapons has been established. Singapore builds torpedo ships and high-speed patrol boats, assembles transport aircraft under American licenses, and develops a defense electronics industry. The largest company in the Singapore military-industrial complex is Singapore Technologies. In Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, there are enterprises producing military aircraft and helicopters.
Ship repair and shipbuilding. This area belongs to the international specialization in Singapore, whose shipyards build tankers with a tonnage of up to 500 thousand tons. Singapore ranks second after the United States in the world in the production of mobile drilling equipment for the development of offshore oil fields.
Chemical industry. Received significant development in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia. Due to the active participation of Japanese corporations, the largest plants in Asia for the production of ethylene, propylene and plastics operate in Singapore. Increasingly important in the world market are Indonesia as a manufacturer of acids and components of mineral fertilizers, Malaysia as a manufacturer of household chemical products and poisonous chemicals, varnishes and paints. In the north of Bangkok, there is one of the most powerful caustic soda production complexes in Asia.
Sewing, textile and footwear industry. These are traditional areas for the region, most developed in Malaysia and Thailand, which are 50-80% controlled by Japanese and American TNCs.
Wood preparation. Recently, it has sharply increased and now it is 142.3 million m 3 annually. Trees of many species have exceptional strength and color, so they are used in interior framing, in the furniture industry, and shipbuilding.
The agriculture of the region is insufficiently provided with land resources due to the high population density. It is dominated by agriculture, large are the costs of manual work per unit of land area and low marketability of farms. Technique and technology are mostly very primitive.
Plant growing. Subtropical and tropical agriculture is the basis of the economy of all countries. Southeast Asia is the world's largest region for growing rice, the main agricultural crop. It is harvested 2-3 times a year, the total volume is 126.5 million tons (1/4 of world production). In Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, rice fields occupy 4/5 of the cultivated area of the valley and delta lands of the Irivadi and Menem rivers.
The main crops in the region are also:
Coconut palm - gives nuts and koper (coconut core, from which oil is obtained). The region accounts for 70% of their world production, Malaysia - up to 49%;
Hevea - up to 90% of the world production of natural rubber falls on the countries of the region (Malaysia - 20% of world production);
Sugar cane (especially the Philippines and Thailand);
Tea (Indonesia, Vietnam);
Spices (everywhere);
Orchids (Singapore is the world leader in their cultivation);
Cotton, tobacco (in the dry season, countries located in the north of the region grow);
Coffee (Laos);
Opium poppy (grown in the area of the "Golden Triangle" - a remote region on the border of the territories of Thailand, Laos).
Notable producers and exporters of pineapples are Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Peppers are grown in Indonesia and Malaysia. Also, sago, cassava, cocoa, peanuts, vegetables and fruits, jute, etc. are cultivated in the countries of the region.
Livestock. It is very poorly developed due to the lack of pastures, the spread of tropical animal diseases. Livestock is used primarily as draft power. The total livestock is 45 million pigs, 42 million cattle, 26 million goats and sheep, and almost 15 million buffaloes. Pigs are not bred by Muslim peoples.
The region of Southeast Asia, consisting of 9 countries, is heterogeneous; in the post-war period, in the process of the formation and strengthening of national sovereignty, there was a demarcation into 2 groups of states. One of them - Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia - chose the path of socialist development, and the other, represented by the Association of Southeast Asia (ASEAN), which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and since 1984 - Brunei, went along the path of the market economy.
All countries started from approximately the same starting level. However, the former socialist countries of Asia have not been able to achieve such impressive results of economic development as neighboring ASEAN member countries. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia had an agrarian orientation with a significant use of traditional methods of arable farming, were characterized by an almost complete absence of a manufacturing industry, widespread use of subsistence farming, and a traditional production structure. These countries have begun the transition to the market, but they still belong to the group of countries with low per capita income.
At the same time, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea are the newly industrialized countries of the “first wave”; Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia are the “second wave” NIEs and belong to middle-income countries.
Singapore and Brunei are countries with a high level of per capita income. True, success in the economic development of these countries was achieved due to various factors: Singapore is a state with a developed industrial potential, and Brunei is an oil-exporting country that receives a significant part of its GDP from oil production and export.
In general, Southeast Asia, as a special economic zone, was characterized by dynamic development. The economic growth rates of the countries of this region in the post-war period were among the highest in the world. Although, behind the external favorable picture, there was a deep differentiation in the rates of economic development of individual countries in Southeast Asia.
But due to the fact that the population of the region was 7.7% of the world's population, and their GNP was only 1.4% of the world product, the countries of Southeast Asia are characterized by relatively low level GNP per capita. However, it should be taken into account that the difference between these levels between the countries of the region and the industrialized states not only did not increase, but even decreased.
The implementation of foreign economic policy aimed at intensifying foreign economic relations has led to the fact that the region's exports and imports have grown at a rather high rate, and their share in world trade has increased even in years of unfavorable economic conditions.
The countries of Southeast Asia have a powerful export base, almost all of them are well endowed with natural resources, which are one of the important conditions for their economic development. They became the largest exporters of certain goods. For example, natural rubber, tin, copper, yarn, coconuts, palm oil, rice. There are significant reserves of oil, tungsten, chromium, bauxites, very large reserves of valuable timber, which are mainly exported.
The economic potential of the ASEAN countries is growing not only due to the development of the extractive industry or the agricultural sector, but primarily due to the creation of a developed manufacturing industry, which is represented by the traditional types of production for the Asian region - textile, clothing, as well as modern high-tech industries - electronic, electrical, chemical industry, mechanical engineering and production of equipment and equipment.
The peculiarities of the agriculture of Foreign Asia are the combination of commodity and consumer economy, landowner and peasant land use, as well as the predominance of food crops over industrial crops and animal husbandry.
The main food crop of Foreign Asia is rice. Its countries (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, etc.) account for over 90% of the world's rice production. The second most important grain crop in Foreign Asia is wheat. In coastal, well-moistened areas, winter wheat is grown, in the arid continental part - spring wheat. Among other grain crops, corn and millet are significant. Despite the fact that Foreign Asia produces the vast majority of rice and about 20% of the world wheat harvest, many of its countries are forced to buy grain, since the food problem has not been solved in them.
Foreign Asia occupies a prominent place in the world in the production of soybeans, copra (dried coconut pulp), coffee, tobacco, tropical and subtropical fruits, grapes, various spices (red and black pepper, ginger, vanilla, cloves), which are also exported.
The level of development of animal husbandry in Foreign Asia is lower than in other regions of the world. The main branches of animal husbandry are cattle breeding and sheep breeding, and in countries with a non-Muslim population (China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan) - pig breeding. Horses, camels, yaks are bred in desert and high mountain regions. Export livestock products are insignificant and mainly consist of wool, hides and skins. Fishing is of great importance in coastal countries.
Accommodation agriculture in the vast area of foreign Asia is highly dependent on factors natural environment. In general, several agricultural areas have formed in the region.
1. The monsoon sector of East, Southeast and South Asia is the main rice growing area. Rice is sown in river valleys in flooded fields. In more high parts in the same sector there are tea plantations (China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, etc.) and opium poppy plantations (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand).
2. Subtropical farming area - coast mediterranean sea. Fruits, rubber, dates, almonds are grown here.
3. Area of pasture animal husbandry - Mongolia and Southwest Asia (here animal husbandry is combined with agriculture in oases).
In most developing countries of foreign Asia industry represented mainly by mining industries. The reason for this is their good supply. mineral resources and a general low level of development of manufacturing (closing) industries.
However, the differences in the level of development of the economy of various countries and regions of Foreign Asia are so significant that it is advisable to consider the economy of the region region by region.
If we proceed from the ten-member structure of the world economy, then within the limits of Foreign Asia there are five centers (among them, three centers are individual countries):
2. Japan;
4. Newly industrialized countries;
5. Oil exporting countries.
China in the 1970s, he began an economic reform (“Gaige”) based on a combination of planned and market economy. As a result, there has been an unprecedented growth of the country's economy. In 1990, China was already ranked 3rd in terms of GDP after the US and Japan, and by 2000 it was ahead of Japan. However, based on the calculation of GDP per capita, China still lags far behind the leading countries. Despite this, China largely determines the progress of the entire Asia-Pacific region. Modern China is a powerful industrial-agrarian country, which occupies an important position in the world economy (first place in coal mining and iron ore, steel smelting, production of cotton fabrics, televisions, radios, for the gross grain harvest; second place in the production of electricity, chemical fertilizers, synthetic materials, etc. The face of China is primarily determined by heavy industry.
Japan came out of the 2nd World War with a completely destroyed economy. But it not only managed to restore the economy, but also to become the No. 2 power in the world, a member of the G7, and come out on top in many economic indicators. The industry of Japan at first developed mainly along an evolutionary path. Based on imported raw materials, such basic industries as energy, metallurgy, automotive, shipbuilding, chemical, petrochemical, and construction industries were practically recreated. After the energy and raw material crises of the 1970s, the revolutionary path of development began to prevail in Japan's industry. The country began to limit the growth of energy-intensive and metal-intensive industries and focus on the latest high-tech industries. It has become a leader in the field of electronics, robotics, biotechnology, and has begun to use non-traditional energy sources. - In terms of the share of spending on science, Japan ranks first in the world. Since the 90s, the "Japanese economic miracle" has come to naught and the pace of economic development has slowed down, however, the country still retains a leading position in many economic indicators.
India is one of the key countries in the developing world. She began economic reform in the 1990s and achieved some success. However, it remains a country of very great contrasts. For example:
In terms of total industrial production, it ranks fifth in the world, but in terms of national income per capita, it ranks 102nd;
Powerful, state-of-the-art enterprises are combined with tens of thousands of handicraft industries (“industry at home”);
In agriculture, large farms and plantations are combined with millions of small farms;
India ranks first in the number of cattle and one of the last in the consumption of meat products;
In terms of the number of scientific and technical specialists, India is second only to Russia and the United States, but occupies a leading position in the "brain drain" that has affected almost all areas of science and technology, while half of the population is illiterate;
In the cities of India, modern, well-groomed areas coexist with slums, where millions of homeless and unemployed people live.
India's industry employs 20% of the economically active population. From a country of light and food industries, India has become a country with a developed heavy industry. India produces machine tools, diesel locomotives, cars, tractors, televisions, as well as the latest electronic equipment, equipment for nuclear power plants and space research. In the development of the nuclear industry, India ranks first in the developing world.
India's agriculture employs 60% of EAN. In recent years, as a result of public investment and the use of the achievements of the Green Revolution, the harvest of grain has increased significantly and the country has become mainly self-sufficient in grain, albeit at a very low level of consumption (250 kg per person).
The natural conditions in India are favorable for the development of agriculture. India has two main agricultural seasons and two main agricultural zones:
The main rice growing zone is the southeastern part of the Indo-Ghana lowland;
The main wheat zone is the northwestern part of the Indo-Ghana lowland.
In addition to these zones, there are areas for the cultivation of fibrous, oilseed, sugar-bearing, and tonic crops.
India has developed a special territorial structure of the economy, which distinguishes it from other developing countries. There is no single dominant center in the country. There are, as it were, four "economic capitals"
- in the west - Bombay (machine-building, petrochemical, cotton enterprises, nuclear power, the largest port);
In the east - Calcutta (the second industrial center and port after Bombay, stands out for the processing and export of jute);
In the north - Delhi (large industrial, transport, administrative and cultural center);
To the south is Madras.
Newly industrialized countries consist of two layers:
First echelon - Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (together with Hong Kong - "four Asian tigers");
The second tier is Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia.
All these countries in short time achieved significant economic success, especially in the automotive industry, shipbuilding, oil refining, petrochemistry, electronics, electrical engineering, and light industry. In their development, they were guided by the experience of Japan. However, the decisive role in their development was played by Transnational Corporations (TNCs), which focused on cheap labor force. Therefore, almost all high-tech products of these countries go to the West.
Oil exporting countries specialize in oil production and petrochemistry. These are the countries of the Persian Gulf, which received rapid development due to oil and very quickly entered from feudalism into capitalism. Most of these countries' income comes from oil and gas exports (Saudi Arabia - 98%)
Among other countries of Foreign Asia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea stand out in terms of economic development.
The least developed countries of the region and the world as a whole include Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia.
6. Overseas Asia transportation- one of the weak links in most countries (with the exception of Japan). Transport system these countries is not yet fully formed. There is a predominance of one or two modes of transport, a high proportion of pack, horse-drawn and bicycle transport.
Rail transport is most developed in India and Pakistan, pipeline transport in the Middle East, road transport in India and China, maritime transport in Japan, China, Singapore, and the countries of the Persian Gulf.
7. Environmental issues region has become much worse in recent years. The most pressing problem is depletion water resources, soil erosion, land alienation, deforestation (especially Nepal and India), etc. The main causes of exacerbation environmental issues are the transfer of “dirty production” to the region and the overpopulation of many countries.
Subregions of Overseas Asia
1. Southwest Asia;
2. South Asia;
3. Southeast Asia;
4. East Asia (China, Mongolia, North Korea, Korea, Japan).
AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA