Myanmar is the largest mainland country in Southeast Asia. It is rich in mineral resources and cultural treasures and its population is one of the most ethnically diverse in the world. Formerly a kingdom, then a British colony and for many years a military dictatorship, since 2011 Myanmar has been engaged in a process of democratization and conflict resolution, with many problematic social and political issues still to resolve.

With a culture traditionally based around Buddhism and rice cultivation, Thailand is now a powerful industrial nation, and undergoing a process of profound social, cultural and political change. Marketed as the “Land of Smiles”, the country today is politically polarized, symbolized in the opposition between ‘Red shirts’ and ‘Yellow shirts’.

With a culture traditionally based around Buddhism and rice cultivation, Thailand is now a powerful industrial nation, and undergoing a process of profound social, cultural and political change. Marketed as the “Land of Smiles”, the country today is politically polarized, symbolized in the opposition between ‘Red shirts’ and ‘Yellow shirts’.

Cambodia is proud of its thousand-year culture. The heritage of Angkorian culture is still everywhere to be seen and Buddhist traditions and values persist. Following decades of war, civil war and genocides that took a heavy toll on the nation, Cambodia is a stable country today, although democracy exists only on paper. 

Vietnam has a similar population (ca. 95 million) and surface area (ca. 333,000 km²) to those of Germany. After almost 30 years of uninterrupted war (1946–1975) Vietnam has experienced rapid economic growth following the introduction of free-market reforms ("đổi mới") in 1986.

Malaysia is a mainly Muslim country with an authoritarian government. Despite this, Malaysia is open to the world and has a cosmopolitan society, especially in the cities. Regular elections are held, in which the opposition sometimes obtains a majority of the vote; however the country remains politically stable. In fact Malaysia is one of the most economically and politically stable nations in Southeast Asia. Here tradition and modernity, and Islam and capitalism, converge.

This island city-state is the economic hub of Southeast Asia and one of the most important financial centres in Asia. Singapore is a multi-ethnic country, in which Chinese, Malays and Indians make up the majority of the population.

The area of present-day Brunei is the relic of the great Sultanate of Brunei that ruled over the entire north coast of the island of Borneo from the 16th to the 19th century. Today, Brunei’s economy is founded on its enormous reserves of natural gas and oil that have enabled the country to achieve one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. 

The territory of Republic of Indonesia encompasses more than 17,500 islands with a total area of 5100 km². The country is ethnically and culturally diverse, with Muslims accounting for 88% of the population of 264 million inhabitants. The country has been a democracy since 1988; its rapid economic growth over recent years has been at enormous cost to the environment. 

The Philippines has been an independent republic since 1946. With a population of 103 inhabitants, it is the 12th most populous nation on Earth. About 12 million Filipinos live and work abroad and their remittances make an important contribution to the country’s development.  

This young nation, located between Indonesia and Australia is one of the least developed countries in the world, despite possessing significant oil and gas reserves. The capita Dili is cosmopolitan and social change is palpable even in rural areas where subsistence economies remain the norm. 

ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) is an economic community of Southeast Asian nations, founded in Bangkok on 8 August 1967. The founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. They were later joined by Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Myanmar and Laos (1996) and Cambodia (1999) to make up the current members of 10 nations. East Timor applied for membership in 2006 but its application has not yet been approved. The principal aims of ASEAN are the promotion of economic development among its member and increasing political stability in the region.