South, East and South-East Asia - The most populous region in the World
Population and settlements
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Overview
With almost 4.4 billion inhabitants, Asia is home to more people than any other continent. Seven Asian countries - China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan, and Japan - are among the ten most populous countries in the world, each with well over 100 million inhabitants. There is a particularly high concentration of population in the broad strip stretching from the Indian subcontinent through Southeast Asia, China, and Korea to Japan (interrupted only by the high mountain ranges in eastern China). Here, the two most populous countries on earth are located, the People's Republic of China with 1.37 billion inhabitants and India with 1.32 billion inhabitants, which together are home to about one third of the world’s population.
Urban centres and less populated regions
ion to Northern Asia, these areas also include the climatically disadvantaged and extremely sparsely populated regions of Central Asia with its steppes, deserts, and mountains, where soils are too dry or rocky for agricultural use. In these areas, there is at best sporadic or insular settlement, mostly in the vicinity of important mineral resources, along major transport routes (e.g. Trans-Siberian Railway, Baikal-Amur Mainline), in isolated oases or regionally limited basin landscapes.
The interior of continental Southeast Asia (such as the Mekong region) and the large islands (such as Sumatra, Borneo), formerly completely covered with tropical rainforests, is increasingly being developed and settled. In these areas, population density is increasing. Within Southeast Asia, the agriculturally favourable region of Java stands out with the highest population densities. The difference to the other islands of Indonesia is particularly striking here.
The concentration of large metropolises is conspicuous in South and East Asia. In the ranking of the world's largest agglomerations, the metropolitan regions in Asia place in the top spots. Tokyo is in first place, followed by megacities such as Delhi, Shanghai, Mumbai, Dhaka, Jakarta, Seoul, Calcutta, Manila, and others. In the Pearl River Delta around Guangzhou and Hong Kong, a new urban agglomeration is growing that, with its soon-to-be 60 million inhabitants, could challenge Tokyo for first place as the world's largest urban agglomeration.
As a comparison with the population figures of 1990 and 2020 show, all the cities mentioned - and many others in the region – have strongly increased their populations in just a few decades. The most important reason for this development is the urban-rural divide characteristic of many developing and also emerging countries, which has greatly accelerated the urbanisation process in this part of Asia. In China, for example, less than 30 percent of the population lived in cities in 1980. Today it is already well over 50 percent.
Growth forecast and development problems
With South and Southeast Asia as growing centres in the global economy, the trend towards urbanisation will continue. China, still an underdeveloped country in the 1980s and now the world's second largest economy (after the USA), has slowed its explosive population growth through its one-child policy from 1979. In a few years, according to UN estimates, the country will lose its status as the most populous state on earth to India. At present, China's age structure is changing dramatically. The country is facing major demographic and social challenges: Despite the abandonment of the one-child policy, the number of young people is falling, while the number of old people is rising. From 2040 onwards, China's population could even decline. There is a serious disparity between the sexes. In 2011, for example, there were 118 births of boys for every 100 births of girls. As the birth of a boy is considered more socially desirable, it is not uncommon for targeted abortions to occur. Economically significant is that spending on pensions will rise sharply in the future, but the working population will shrink.
India has not experienced a quite as remarkable economic growth as China but is nevertheless one of the most rapidly expanding economies in the world. With its very young population, the country is currently experiencing the highest population growth worldwide. This trend will hardly weaken in the coming years. The reason for this is not the high birth rate - which, at 20 births per 1,000 inhabitants, is in the world average - but a significant increase in life expectancy and a very young population, i.e. a large potential parent generation.
Internal migration from the provinces to the urban centres, as it is mostly uncontrolled, leads to serious social problems. Millions of people in this part of Asia live in slums without hygienic standards, medical care, educational and employment opportunities. In China, there are now more than 270 million migrant workers, who account for more than a third of all workers. In many states in South and Southeast Asia, a significant proportion of the population still suffers from absolute poverty (less than US$1 per day) and chronic malnutrition.
Growth forecast and development problems
With South and Southeast Asia as growing centres in the global economy, the trend towards urbanisation will continue. China, still an underdeveloped country in the 1980s and now the world's second largest economy (after the USA), has slowed its explosive population growth through its one-child policy from 1979. In a few years, according to UN estimates, the country will lose its status as the most populous state on earth to India. At present, China's age structure is changing dramatically. The country is facing major demographic and social challenges: Despite the abandonment of the one-child policy, the number of young people is falling, while the number of old people is rising. From 2040 onwards, China's population could even decline. There is a serious disparity between the sexes. In 2011, for example, there were 118 births of boys for every 100 births of girls. As the birth of a boy is considered more socially desirable, it is not uncommon for targeted abortions to occur. Economically significant is that spending on pensions will rise sharply in the future, but the working population will shrink.
India has not experienced a quite as remarkable economic growth as China but is nevertheless one of the most rapidly expanding economies in the world. With its very young population, the country is currently experiencing the highest population growth worldwide. This trend will hardly weaken in the coming years. The reason for this is not the high birth rate - which, at 20 births per 1,000 inhabitants, is in the world average - but a significant increase in life expectancy and a very young population, i.e. a large potential parent generation.
Internal migration from the provinces to the urban centres, as it is mostly uncontrolled, leads to serious social problems. Millions of people in this part of Asia live in slums without hygienic standards, medical care, educational and employment opportunities. In China, there are now more than 270 million migrant workers, who account for more than a third of all workers. In many states in South and Southeast Asia, a significant proportion of the population still suffers from absolute poverty (less than US$1 per day) and chronic malnutrition.
