Manifold island realms

Twenty-five thousand islands

As geographically close and interlaced are the South Asian countries, as scattered and dissimilar are the East and South-east Asian – from Mongolia in the north to Indonesia in the south. Here is one of the world's biggest countries, China, but also mini-states such as Brunei and Singapore. Most of the states are on the mainland (Indochina, China and Korea), but there are also extensive island realms (Indonesia and the Philippines). Economic activities, politics, social relations and culture vary across the region, and it is in the two island states that women have become top leaders during the last decades.

Both Indonesia and the Philippines consist of a multitude of islands. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, comprising over 17,500 islands, of which about half are inhabited. The Philippines include more than 7,000, but the majority of the people live on 11, of which Luzon and Mindanao are the most important. Historically, geographically and culturally, the islands are very diverse. Traders, missionaries and conquerors visited them and left traces. Philosophical and religious traditions such as Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism became widespread, in addition to Islam and Christianity. Both archipelagos were exposed to prolonged colonisation, Indonesia by the Dutch and the Philippines by the Spaniards, and they had to fight for their independence. In 1898, Spain had to hand over its Asian colony, the Philippines, to the US. During World War II, the islands were occupied by the Japanese.

With more than 235 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with the largest Moslem population. The vast majority of Indonesians are Moslems. The islands include close to 340 ethnic groups. Javanese make up the largest group, with about 40 per cent of the inhabitants, and they have had a strong influence on the national government. The Philippines has just over 50 ethnic groups and more than 90 million inhabitants, most with Indo-Polynesian backgrounds. They are essentially Catholic and the Church is strong, but there are also Moslems, particularly in the south.

From egalitarian to hierarchical societies

The ethnic groups on the islands vary from relatively egalitarian hunter-gatherers to complex hierarchical societies based on the cultivation of rice. Most live by traditional farming and fishing.