South-East Asia - Economy and land use
Economy and changes in land use
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 136 | Ill. 1
Overview
The founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967 to improve economic, political, and social cooperation was a key event in the economic integration of the countries of Southeast Asia. The benefits of the economic opening policy became apparent in the success of those countries for which the terms Tiger States (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong) or Panther States (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines) became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the transformation of former developing countries into modern industrialised nations has not been equally successful everywhere. Despite much progress, Southeast Asia is a heterogeneous economic area. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), Singapore and Brunei are among the countries with "very high" human development, while Myanmar is counted among the least developed countries in the world The other ASEAN countries are distributed in the upper to lower middle range in the HDI ranking.
Economic structure by country
Singapore has a highly industrialised economy that is strongly oriented towards the global market through international networking and tax incentives. Major industries include petroleum refining, electronics and engineering, and, increasingly, biotechnology. In some service sectors, especially transport, logistics and finance, Singapore is a hub of international standing. In the future, the smallest country in Southeast Asia in terms of area will strive for a leading position in selected areas such as information technology, biotechnology, and genetic engineering.
Brunei's economy in north-western Borneo is almost entirely based on the production of oil and natural gas. Revenues from this sector account for 95% of export earnings and contribute about two-thirds of GDP. Based on the natural gas deposits, the sultanate is aiming to establish further petrochemical industries. More than half of the labour force is employed in the public sector, and manual work is mainly done by immigrant workers from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, etc.
Vietnam, which was badly damaged by war, has experienced a remarkable economic upswing with strong growth rates since the end of the 1980s. Major exports include food (coffee, tea, rice, bananas, etc.), textiles, petroleum, and electronic equipment. However, the growing prosperity is very unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. For example, about a quarter of the country's economic power is concentrated in the greater Ho Chi Minh City area, while only 20% of national income is generated in the rural regions, where 60% of the inhabitants live. A second economic centre is the capital Hanoi.
Thanks to a sustained economic upswing, Malaysia has developed from a supplier of raw materials into a diversified industrial location. According to the HDI, it is one of the countries with high human development. The economy is export-oriented: Malaysia supplies microchips and solar cells all over the world, for example. A second focus is on raw materials such as crude oil, natural gas and palm oil. A large part of the palm oil produced worldwide comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. At the same time, the country is one of the world's largest rubber producers. Two-thirds of the global demand for latex gloves, for example, is covered by Malaysia. The exports of the state-owned oil company contribute to state revenues.
Myanmar was still run by a military government until 2010, which isolated the country internationally for a long time. Although Myanmar has enormous potential thanks to vast agricultural land and considerable reserves of natural gas (the largest in Southeast Asia), timber, precious stones, copper, and other raw materials, it is one of the least developed countries in the world. There are realistic hopes for an economic upswing, but the infrastructure is currently still desolate.
Indonesia, with its 255 million inhabitants, is the economic leader of the region. The country is rich in raw materials such as natural gas, oil, tin, nickel, copper, bauxite, and gold, and is also the world's largest exporter of steam coal. A dominant factor in the Indonesian economy is agriculture. The country has rich timber resources and exports agricultural products such as palm oil, rubber, cocoa, tea, coffee and tobacco. Other important industries are textiles, clothing, footwear and furniture. The Jakarta metropolitan region is a service centre of international standing.
The economy in Thailand is based in roughly equal parts on services and industry, with agriculture contributing only marginally to GDP. The most important export goods are electrical and electronic equipment, automobiles and automobile parts, chemical and agricultural products (rubber, rice, bananas, pineapples, seafood). Tourism has developed into a significant economic sector in the last 20 years.
The economy of the Philippines is typically divided into two parts: on the one hand, there is a modern electronics industry (e.g. semiconductors, electronic components) and a booming service sector (telecommunications, outsourcing destination for call centres, etc.). At the same time, a large part of the poor rural population lives from subsistence-oriented agriculture. Currently, the country with its thousands of islands is increasingly relying on the expanding tourism industry. Thanks to large deposits of gold, copper and nickel, the mining sector has considerable potential.
Although Cambodia was able to significantly reduce its poverty rate - from 53% in 2004 to less than 18% in 2019 - it is still one of the least developed countries in the world. Deficiencies in infrastructure, high energy costs, corruption and low levels of education hamper economic development. The most important economic sectors are agriculture, textile and shoe production, the construction industry and tourism.
Laos has similar development problems as Cambodia but is pushing ahead with modernisations. The most important motors of economic development are mining (gold, copper, iron ore), hydropower generation, agriculture, the textile industry and tourism, whose income has more than quadrupled since 2000.
East Timor (Timor-Leste) is not a member of ASEAN but applied for membership in 2011. Because the economy is largely based on oil exports, government revenues are dependent on fluctuating world market prices. Almost 40% of the population live on less than 1.25 US dollars a day, and only a third of the population has access to electricity. Besides oil, the most important export goods are agricultural products such as coffee, vanilla, cocoa, and peanuts. The tourism potential has hardly been exploited.
Economic structure by country
Singapore has a highly industrialised economy that is strongly oriented towards the global market through international networking and tax incentives. Major industries include petroleum refining, electronics and engineering, and, increasingly, biotechnology. In some service sectors, especially transport, logistics and finance, Singapore is a hub of international standing. In the future, the smallest country in Southeast Asia in terms of area will strive for a leading position in selected areas such as information technology, biotechnology, and genetic engineering.
Brunei's economy in north-western Borneo is almost entirely based on the production of oil and natural gas. Revenues from this sector account for 95% of export earnings and contribute about two-thirds of GDP. Based on the natural gas deposits, the sultanate is aiming to establish further petrochemical industries. More than half of the labour force is employed in the public sector, and manual work is mainly done by immigrant workers from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, etc.
Vietnam, which was badly damaged by war, has experienced a remarkable economic upswing with strong growth rates since the end of the 1980s. Major exports include food (coffee, tea, rice, bananas, etc.), textiles, petroleum, and electronic equipment. However, the growing prosperity is very unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. For example, about a quarter of the country's economic power is concentrated in the greater Ho Chi Minh City area, while only 20% of national income is generated in the rural regions, where 60% of the inhabitants live. A second economic centre is the capital Hanoi.
Thanks to a sustained economic upswing, Malaysia has developed from a supplier of raw materials into a diversified industrial location. According to the HDI, it is one of the countries with high human development. The economy is export-oriented: Malaysia supplies microchips and solar cells all over the world, for example. A second focus is on raw materials such as crude oil, natural gas and palm oil. A large part of the palm oil produced worldwide comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. At the same time, the country is one of the world's largest rubber producers. Two-thirds of the global demand for latex gloves, for example, is covered by Malaysia. The exports of the state-owned oil company contribute to state revenues.
Myanmar was still run by a military government until 2010, which isolated the country internationally for a long time. Although Myanmar has enormous potential thanks to vast agricultural land and considerable reserves of natural gas (the largest in Southeast Asia), timber, precious stones, copper, and other raw materials, it is one of the least developed countries in the world. There are realistic hopes for an economic upswing, but the infrastructure is currently still desolate.
Indonesia, with its 255 million inhabitants, is the economic leader of the region. The country is rich in raw materials such as natural gas, oil, tin, nickel, copper, bauxite, and gold, and is also the world's largest exporter of steam coal. A dominant factor in the Indonesian economy is agriculture. The country has rich timber resources and exports agricultural products such as palm oil, rubber, cocoa, tea, coffee and tobacco. Other important industries are textiles, clothing, footwear and furniture. The Jakarta metropolitan region is a service centre of international standing.
The economy in Thailand is based in roughly equal parts on services and industry, with agriculture contributing only marginally to GDP. The most important export goods are electrical and electronic equipment, automobiles and automobile parts, chemical and agricultural products (rubber, rice, bananas, pineapples, seafood). Tourism has developed into a significant economic sector in the last 20 years.
The economy of the Philippines is typically divided into two parts: on the one hand, there is a modern electronics industry (e.g. semiconductors, electronic components) and a booming service sector (telecommunications, outsourcing destination for call centres, etc.). At the same time, a large part of the poor rural population lives from subsistence-oriented agriculture. Currently, the country with its thousands of islands is increasingly relying on the expanding tourism industry. Thanks to large deposits of gold, copper and nickel, the mining sector has considerable potential.
Although Cambodia was able to significantly reduce its poverty rate - from 53% in 2004 to less than 18% in 2019 - it is still one of the least developed countries in the world. Deficiencies in infrastructure, high energy costs, corruption and low levels of education hamper economic development. The most important economic sectors are agriculture, textile and shoe production, the construction industry and tourism.
Laos has similar development problems as Cambodia but is pushing ahead with modernisations. The most important motors of economic development are mining (gold, copper, iron ore), hydropower generation, agriculture, the textile industry and tourism, whose income has more than quadrupled since 2000.
East Timor (Timor-Leste) is not a member of ASEAN but applied for membership in 2011. Because the economy is largely based on oil exports, government revenues are dependent on fluctuating world market prices. Almost 40% of the population live on less than 1.25 US dollars a day, and only a third of the population has access to electricity. Besides oil, the most important export goods are agricultural products such as coffee, vanilla, cocoa, and peanuts. The tourism potential has hardly been exploited.
