Question

South Asia and East Asia. are known for massive amounts of people. How do the masses live? What is life like in these urban/rural centers?

Answer 1

By the early 20th century, the population of Southeast Asia was close to half a billion, or about one-twelfth of the complete world population. However, this population was spread unevenly within the region. Indonesia was by far the country with the biggest population, with about two-fifths of the national total; Brunei's population, on the other hand, was only a small fraction of that. The continental countries accounted for almost half of the national population, with Vietnam and Thailand being the most populous.

Southeast Asia is predominantly rural: in non-urban regions, three-fourths of individuals live. In addition, the population is strongly grouped in fertile valleys of the river and particularly in delta regions such as the Mekong and Irrawaddy rivers. The settlement patterns have also been influenced by historical, cultural and environmental factors. Java and other key regions such as the metropolitan areas of Bangkok, Hanoi and Manila involve elevated densities of population.

While Southeast Asia's urbanization rate is comparatively small relative to other developing regions, it is quickly growing. Singapore is unique because it is basically entirely urban. Moreover, the Philippines has a much higher than average rate of urbanization, partly due to its colonial history in Spain and America. One of the most populous cities in the world is the biggest cities— Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila. Natural development drives the development of towns of all sizes, but rural-urban migration is also a major contributor. Rural residents remain attracted by the promise of jobs and other possibilities, but the informal (undocumented) financial industry in these big towns is the only hope for some type of jobs for many migrants.

In some Southeast Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, resettlement of populations to provide agricultural jobs and access to land is essential. In Indonesia, where more than four million individuals were willingly resettled from Java and Bali to the less populated islands, the biggest program was performed by far. Also a program was quite effective in Malaysia, partly because it set much lower objectives for resettlement and was better financed. Vietnamese development policy has also used people's resettlement in an attempt to revitalize regions outside significant centers of the population.