ABSTRACT
Table 15.3 (1) In spite of possible inconsistencies in the definition of ‘urban’, very marked contrasts are evident in the level of urbanisation between the countries of South-east Asia. Apart from the special case of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines stand out as being the most highly urbanised, the mainland countries of Southeast Asia (apart from Malaysia) being less urbanised on account of their large agricultural populations. As noted earlier in this chapter, there is a concentration of urban population in certain large cities, including several of the national capitals, which
BOX 15.1 Notes on Buddhism
Buddhism is regarded as one of the world’s great religions, although its followers are fewer than those of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Its influence in the world is largely confined to parts of Southeast Asia, where almost all the population is nominally Buddhist in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, as well as the majority in Sri Lanka. Buddhism also has followers in Korea, Japan and parts of China, including Tibet. Since 1949 Buddhism has, however, been discouraged and at times suppressed by the atheist/secular Communist Party of the People’s Chinese Republic.
