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GISdevelopment > Proceedings > Map Asia 2002 > Keynote Session
3. Characterization of the major economies in South and East Asia
Some key indicators of the countries in South and East Asia are listed in Table 2. It can be seen that more than half the world population (3,210 out of 6,057 million people in 2000) lives in South and East Asia. Population densities are high, in particular in South Asia. As the rural population tends to concentrate in the river valleys and coastal plains, the actual rural population densities may be much higher. For example, the population density of China is 135 people per square km. With some 68% of the population living in rural areas, one would estimate the rural population density at some 90-95 people per square km. In reality, the rural population density is 691 people per square km of arable land, that is, a factor 7 higher (WB, 2002b, Table 3.1). Hence, on arable land, population densities may be very high, and the environment may be affected by heavy use of fertilizers, manure, biocides and machinery, or by narrow crop rotations, salinization of irrigated lands, and other side effects of intensive agriculture. On the non-arable lands, degradation of the environment may occur as a result of lack of vegetational cover, nutrient depletion and deforestation, resulting in enhanced water and wind erosion. TABLE 2 : Some key indicators of countries in South and East Asia (World Bank, 2002b, Table 1.1). All data refer to the year 2000. Population (pop) is the mid-year estimate for 2000 in millions of people. Surface area (surf) is a country's total area, including inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways, in thousands of square kilometers. Surface area differs from land area, which excludes bodies of water. Population density (pop dens) is midyear population divided by land area in number of people per square kilometer. Gross national income (GNI) is expressed in billions of US dollars. Countries of the entire world are ranked (GNI rank) in decreasing order of their GNI (from 1 to 201). GNI per capita (GNI/cap) is gross national income divided by midyear population in US dollars per head of the population. Countries are ranked (GNI/cap rank) in decreasing order of their per capita GNI (from 1 to 206). PPP-GNI/cap is per capita gross national income converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates, in dollars per head of the population. Countries of the world are ranked (ppp-GNI/cap rank) in decreasing order of per capita PPP- GNI (from 1 to 207).
Japan is the second largest economy of the world in terms of GNI, followed by China (#7), India (#12) and the Republic of Korea (#13). Per capita GNI is far below the world average ($ 5,170) and is particularly low in South-East Asia (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and Nepal. Of the middle-income countries, only Korea (#54) and Malaysia (#84) are in the top 100 of the GNI/cap ranking, all others are in the lower half of the ranking. It may thus be concluded that poverty is still widespread in the region and this may be an obstacle for introducing improved environmental management, as the latter often require knowledge infrastructure, social organization, investments and access to markets, among others. Other Sections Application | Books | Business Info | Career | Companies | Country Page | Downloads | Education | Events | GIS@development Magazine | Glossary | History | Interviews | News | Publications | Subscribe | Technology | Tenders | Thesis | Tutorials | Updates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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