The Gulf states and South-East Asia

Indonesia lies in South-East Asia between the Pacific and Indian Oceans on thousands of islands and is the largest island state in the world. Its area is about 1.9 million km², population about 280 million (4th in the world) and capital Jakarta (on Java); a new capital, Nusantara, is being built. Nearly 60 % of people live on Java, one of the most densely populated places on Earth. It sits in the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, with over 100 active volcanoes and a high risk of earthquakes and tsunamis. The climate is equatorial: hot and humid all year. It is rich in oil, gas, coal, tin and nickel; Indonesia leads in coal exports and in nickel mining. About 300 peoples live there, the Javanese being the largest; it has the most Muslims of any country. Rice, rubber, oil palm, coffee and cocoa are important crops. Malaysia has two parts: the Malay peninsula and northern Borneo; its capital is Kuala Lumpur and its population about 34 million; it is a constitutional monarchy and a federation, in which state rulers elect the king from among themselves. The climate is equatorial with wide equatorial forests; there are oil, tin and gas. Most people live on the peninsula; Malays are over half, with Chinese and Indians too, and Islam is the state religion. Electronics, cars and petrochemicals are important, as are oil palm and rubber; it is a newly industrialised state. Singapore is a city-state on a small island south of the Malay peninsula; its area is about 730 km² and population about 6 million. Minerals and fresh water are scarce, so raw materials and part of the water are imported, and water recycling and desalination are used too. Population density is among the highest in the world, urbanisation is 100 %, and most people are Chinese; official languages are English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Singapore is one of the world’s busiest ports and is advanced in electronics, petrochemicals, finance and services; GDP per person is very high.