Southeast Asia
Brunei Size: 5,765 square kilometres Population: 433,285
The Nation of Brunei, Abode of Peace – as it’s officially named – is a rich unitary Islamic absolute monarchy on the north coast of Borneo in Maritime Southeast Asia. It has 161 kilometres of coastline next to the South China Sea, and it shares a 381-kilometre border with Malaysia. It also has 500 square kilometres of territorial waters. Most of Brunei is within the Borneo lowland rainforests ecoregion.
Indonesia Size: 1.9 million square kilometres Population: 270.6 million
Situated in Southeast Asia, Indonesia lies strategically between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The island country stretches for 1,760 kilometres from north to south and 5,120 kilometres from east to west. The number of islands making up the archipelago has been estimated to be over 18,000. There are five major islands, namely Sulawesi, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, and Sumatra, and two primary archipelagos, the Maluku Islands and Nusa Tenggara, as well as 60 smaller archipelagos. Some of the islands are shared with other countries, including Borneo (Brunei and Malaysia), Timor (East Timor), and New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). Java is the most densely populated island in the archipelago, and in the world.
Philippines Size: 300,000 square kilometres Population: 108.1 million
The Philippines, an archipelago east of Vietnam, between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, boasts the highest portions of a partly submerged mountain chain. It is made up of more than 7,000 islands; the three main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It is the fifth largest island country in the world, and its 36,289 kilometres of coastline makes it the country with the fifth- longest coastline in the world. At 10,540 metres deep, Galathea Depth in the Philippine Trench, located in the Philippine Sea, is the deepest point in the country and the third deepest in the world.
Singapore Size: 718 square kilometres Population: 5.9 million
Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, Pulau Ujong, or Singapore Island, which is the world’s 20th most populous island and the 31st most densely populated island. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Woodlands 1st Link in the north and the Tuas 2nd Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore’s smaller islands. Since 1822, Singapore has continued to increase the area of the island through land reclamation, from 580 square kilometres in the 1960s to 718 square kilometres today.
Timor-leste Size: 15,007 square kilometres Population: 1.3 million
East Timor, or Timorleste, is a sovereign nation occupying the eastern half of the island of Timor in Maritime Southeast Asia. To the north of the island are the Ombai Strait, Wetar Strait, and the greater Banda Sea. The Timor Sea separates the island from Australia to the south. Much of the country is mountainous.