Mainland Southeast Asia

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Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It comprises the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.[1][2][3][4][5] MSEA borders East Asia to the north, South Asia to the west, and Maritime Southeast Asia to the south and east.

The term Indochina (originally Indo-China) was coined in the early nineteenth century, emphasizing the historical cultural influence of Indian and Chinese civilizations on the region. The term was later adopted as the name of the colony of French Indochina (present-day Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam). Today, the term "Mainland Southeast Asia" is more commonly used, in contrast to Maritime Southeast Asia for the island groups off the coast of the continental region.

Terminology

File:Map of Indochina Burma Siam China Railway 1886 Weller.png
1886 map of Indochina, from the Scottish Geographical Magazine

In Indian sources, the earliest name connected with Southeast Asia is Template:Ill.[6] Another possible early name of mainland Southeast Asia was Script error: No such module "Lang". ('land of gold'),[6][7] a toponym, that appears in many ancient Indian literary sources and Buddhist texts,[8] but which, along with Script error: No such module "Lang". ('island' or 'peninsula of gold'),[6] are also thought to refer to insular Southeast Asia.[6]

The origins of the name Indo-China are usually attributed jointly to the Danish-French geographer Conrad Malte-Brun, who referred to the area as Script error: No such module "Lang". in 1804, and the Scottish linguist John Leyden, who used the term Indo-Chinese to describe the area's inhabitants and their languages in 1808.[9] The unfamiliar outsiders from Europe thought the region had a dual Indian and Chinese cultural makeup.[10] Much of the mainland practiced Theravada Buddhism while the east coast had a Confucian Kingdom (Đại Việt) with a language based on Chinese characters.[10] However, in reality the mainland was inhabited by about 12 different kingdoms and other territories with an ethnically diverse population descended from 23 different societies dating back to at least the 14th century.[10] The French failed to properly recognize this ethnic diversity and simply referred to the region as Indochina.[10]

Scholarly opinions at the time regarding China's and India's historical influence over the area were conflicting, and the term was itself controversial—Malte-Brun himself later argued against its use in a later edition of his Script error: No such module "Lang"., reasoning that it overemphasized Chinese influence, and suggested Chin-India instead.[11] Nevertheless, Indo-China had already gained traction and soon supplanted alternative terms such as Further India and the Peninsula beyond the Ganges. Later, however, as the French established the colony of French Indochina (covering present-day Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam), use of the term became more restricted to the French colony.[12][10] After the Vietnam War, the term Indochina gradually fell out of use in favor of the more politically correct (Mainland) Southeast Asia.[10] Today the area is usually referred to as Mainland Southeast Asia.[13][1] The regional abbreviation MSEA is used especially in academia.[14][15]

Biogeography

In biogeography, the Indochinese bioregion is a major region in the Indomalayan realm, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Oriental Paleotropical Kingdom. It includes the native flora and fauna of all the countries above. The adjacent Malesian Region covers the Maritime Southeast Asian countries, and straddles the Indomalayan and Australasian realms.[16]

Geography

File:Mekong River in Laos (1490866472).jpg
Mekong River
File:Topographic Map of Mainland Southeast Asia 2005.png
Topographic Map of Mainland Southeast Asia 2005

Mainland Southeast Asia is formally classified as a continental region which extends from the Asian landmass. It is fundamentally a "continental projection" of Asia,[1] bordered by India to the west and China to the north. It is situated completely above the equator in the Northern Hemisphere. The continental region projects southward from the Asian continent proper. It contains several mountain ranges extending from the Tibetan Plateau in the north, interspersed with lowlands largely drained by three major river systems running in a north–south direction: the Irrawaddy (Myanmar), the Chao Phraya (in Thailand), and the Mekong (flowing through Northeastern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam). To the south it forms the Malay Peninsula, located on which are Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. Singapore is a small island country that is separated from Malaysia by the 1.6 km wide Straits of Johor. The Singapore Strait is a 113 km-long waterway and eastern extension of the Strait of Malacca, linking it to the South China Sea.

Mainland Southeast Asia is separated from the archipelagoes of Maritime Southeast Asia primarily by the South China Sea to the east and southeast, the Strait of Malacca to the south, and the Andaman Sea to the west. The maritime region comprises islands and archipelagos. The physical geography of Peninsular Malaysia connects via the Kra Isthmus to Thailand which makes it part of Mainland Southeast Asia.[1][2][3][4][5] Malaysia is both mainland and insular.[4] East Malaysia is in Borneo so it is variably considered part of Maritime Southeast Asia.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

MSEA borders China to the north (East Asia), Bangladesh and India to the west (South Asia), and Indonesia as well as the Philippines to the south and east (Maritime Southeast Asia).

The Gulf of Thailand is the largest gulf in Southeast Asia with a surface area of Script error: No such module "convert"..[17] It has a mean depth of 45 meters, and a maximum depth of 80 meters.

Tonlé Sap in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia with a maximum surface area of Script error: No such module "convert"..

The Mekong is 4,900 km long and the longest river in Southeast Asia.[18] It flows from its source in the Tibetan Plateau through multiple countries in MSEA including Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.[18] The river basin drains a total land area of 795,000 km2 and it has the world's 10th largest mean annual discharge of 475 km3.[18]

The highest elevation is Hkakabo Razi mountain at Script error: No such module "convert". in Myanmar. The lowest point is Boh Yai mine which is at least Script error: No such module "convert". in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.[19]

Climate

File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 Southeastern Asia 1991–2020.svg
Climate of Southeast Asia

The Köppen climate classification says the northern areas of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam have a temperate climate.[20] Central Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Southern Laos have mainly a tropical savannah climate. The western coastline along the Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea and Southern Thailand each have a tropical monsoon climate. Central and Southern Vietnam have both tropical savannah and monsoon climates. The tip of Southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore have a tropical rainforest climate.

List of states and territories

File:Mainland Southeast Asia Map CIA World Factbook 2020.png
A political map of Mainland Southeast Asia

This list includes all internationally recognised sovereign countries falling even partially under any common geographical or political definitions of Mainland Southeast Asia. All countries listed are members of ASEAN.

Arms Flag Name Area
(km2) 		Population
(2025)[21] 		Population density
(/km2) 		HDI
(2021)[22] 		Capital
Template:Coat of arms CambodiaScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Cambodia 181,035[23] 17,577,760 Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.593 Phnom Penh
Template:Coat of arms LaosScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Laos 236,800[24] 7,647,000 Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.607 Vientiane
Template:Coat of arms MalaysiaScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Malaysia 132,090[25] (peninsular portion only) 27,111,506 (79.2% in peninsular portion)[26] Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.803 Kuala Lumpur Script error: No such module "anchor".*
Template:Coat of arms MyanmarScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Myanmar 676,578[27] 51,316,756 Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.585 Nay Pyi Taw
Template:Coat of arms SingaporeScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Singapore 719.2[28] 6,110,200 Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.939 Singapore
Template:Coat of arms ThailandScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Thailand 513,120[29] 65,859,640 Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.800 Bangkok
Template:Coat of arms VietnamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Vietnam 331,210[30] 101,343,800 Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". 0.703 Hanoi
Total 2,071,552.2 276,966,662 133.7 0.718

Script error: No such module "anchor".* Administrative centre in Putrajaya.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Economy

Country Currency Population (2020)[31][32] Nominal GDP(2020) $ billion[33] GDP per capita(2020)[34] GDP growth(2020)[35] Inflation(2020)[36] Main industries
Template:Country ៛ Riel US$ US Dollar 16,718,965 $26.316 $1,572 -2.8% 2.5% Clothing, gold, agriculture
Template:Country ₭ Kip 7,275,560 $18.653 $2,567 0.2% 6.5% Copper, electronics, tin
Template:Country RM Ringgit 32,365,999 $336.330 $10,192 -6% -1.1% Electronics, petroleum, petrochemicals, palm oil, automotive
Template:Country K Kyat 54,409,800 $70.890 $1,333 2% 6.1% Natural gas, agriculture, clothing
Template:Country S$ Singapore dollar 5,850,342 $337.451 $58,484 -6% -0.4% Electronics, petroleum, chemicals
Template:Country ฿ Baht 69,799,978 $509.200 $7,295 -7.1% -0.4% Electronics, automotive, rubber
Template:Country ₫ Đồng 97,338,579 $340.602 $3,498 2.9% 3.8% Electronics, clothing, petroleum

Culture

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File:Ethnolinguistic Groups of Mainland Southeast Asia.png
Ethnolinguistic groups of mainland Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia contrasts with Maritime Southeast Asia, mainly through the division of largely land-based lifestyles in Indochina and the sea-based lifestyles of the Indonesian archipelago and Philippine archipelago, as well as the dividing line between the Austroasiatic, Tai–Kadai, and Sino-Tibetan languages (spoken in Mainland Southeast Asia) versus the Austronesian languages (spoken in Maritime Southeast Asia). The languages of the mainland form the Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area: although belonging to several independent language families, they have converged over the course of history and share a number of typological similarities.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

The countries of Mainland Southeast Asia received cultural influence from both India and China to varying degrees.[37] Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia were all significantly influenced by the ancient cultures of India and Sri Lanka. Vietnam is generally considered part of the Sinosphere, although it has also been influenced to a lesser extent by India.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The former kingdom of Champa in Central and Southern Vietnam was very influenced by Indian culture.

Overall, Mainland Southeast Asia is religiously diverse, with Buddhism forming a majority religion in parts of the region, alongside significant Muslim,[38][39] Christian, and folk religious traditions.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

The direction of road traffic is on the right side in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. It is on the left side in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Demographics

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".Mainland Southeast Asia is an ethnically diverse region with over 276 million people (2025). The metropolitan areas are densely populated. The capital cities are also economic hubs. However, the countryside of Myanmar and Thailand are sparsely populated. Cambodia and Laos have low density populations. The coastline of Vietnam is densely populated.

The biggest ethnic groups include the Thai, Lao, Viet, Burmese, Khmer and Malays. There are hundreds of other minor ethnic groups including Chinese, Indian, and various indigenous hill tribe populations. The Thai and Lao speak Kra–Dai languages which originate from South China. The Khmer and Viet speak Austroasiatic languages, but the Malays are Austronesian. The Burmese language is Tibeto-Burman.

As of April 2026, MSEA's population of around 277 million people represents 5.7% of the population in continental Asia and 3.4% of the total world population.

Religion

Template:Pie chart

Country Religions
File:Flag of Cambodia.svg Cambodia Buddhism (97%), Islam, Christianity, Animism, others
File:Flag of Laos.svg Laos Buddhism (67%), Animism, Christianity, others
File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia Islam (61.3%), Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Animism
File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar (Burma) Buddhism (89%), Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Animism, others
File:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore Buddhism (31.1%), Christianity (18.9%), Islam (15.6%), Taoism (8.8%), Hinduism (5%), others (20.6%)
File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Buddhism (93.5%), Islam (5.4%), Christianity (1.13%), Hinduism (0.02%), others (0.003%)
File:Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam Vietnamese folk religion (45.3%), Buddhism (16.4%), Christianity (8.2%), Other (0.4%), Unaffiliated (29.6%)[40]

Languages

Country/Region Languages
File:Flag of Cambodia.svg Cambodia Khmer, English, French, Teochew, Vietnamese, Cham, Mandarin, others[41]
File:Flag of Laos.svg Laos Lao, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Khmu, Hmong, Phuthai, Bru, Tai Lü, Akha, Iu Mien and others[42]
File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia Malaysian, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Daro-Matu, Kedah Malay, Sabah Malay, Brunei Malay, Kelantan Malay, Pahang Malay, Acehnese, Javanese, Minangkabau, Banjar, Buginese, Tagalog, Hakka, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Fuzhounese, Telugu, Bengali, Punjabi, Sinhala, Malayalam, Arabic, Brunei Bisaya, Okolod, Kota Marudu Talantang, Kelabit, Lotud, Terengganu Malay, Semelai, Thai, Iban, Kadazan, Dusun, Kristang, Bajau, Jakun, Mah Meri, Batek, Melanau, Semai, Temuan, Lun Bawang, Temiar, Penan, Tausug, Iranun, Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, and others[43] see: Languages of Malaysia
File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar (Burma) Burmese, Shan, Kayin (Karen), Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, Mon, Kayah, Mandarin, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and other ethnic languages.[44][45]
File:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Japanese, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Indonesian, Boyanese, Buginese, Javanese, Balinese, Singlish creole and others[46]

see: Languages of Singapore

File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Thai, Isan, Northern Khmer, Malay, Karen, Hmong, Teochew, Minnan, Hakka, Yuehai, Burmese, Iu Mien, Tamil, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic, Shan, Tai Lü, Phuthai, Mon and others[47]
File:Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam Vietnamese, Cantonese, Khmer, Hmong, Tày, Cham and others[48]

Major cities

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Template:Largest population centres

Territorial and regional data

Etymology

Flag Common Name Official name ISO 3166 Country Codes[49]
Exonym Endonym Exonym Endonym ISO Short Name Alpha-2 Code Alpha-3 Code Numeric
Template:Flagdeco Cambodia កម្ពុជា Kingdom of Cambodia ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា Cambodia KH KHM 116
Template:Flagdeco Laos ປະເທດລາວ Lao People's Democratic Republic ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Lao People's Democratic Republic (the) LA LAO 418
Template:Flagdeco Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia MY MYS 458
Template:Flagdeco Myanmar မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ Republic of the Union of Myanmar ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် Myanmar MM MMR 104
Template:Flagdeco Singapore Singapore Republic of Singapore Republic of Singapore Singapore SG SGP 702
Template:Flagdeco Thailand ประเทศไทย Kingdom of Thailand ราชอาณาจักรไทย Thailand TH THA 764
Template:Flagdeco Vietnam Việt Nam Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam Viet Nam VN VNM 704

See also

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Related regional concepts
Sub-regions

Notes

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References

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  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

External links

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Template:Timeline of sovereign states in Mainland Southeast Asia since the 1st century AD Template:Regions of Asia Script error: No such module "Authority control".

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