ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a
geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in
Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by
Indonesia,
Malaysia, the
Philippines,
Singapore and
Thailand.
Since then, membership has expanded to include
Brunei,
Burma (Myanmar),
Cambodia,
Laos, and
Vietnam. Its aims include the acceleration of
economic growth,
social progress, cultural development among its members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
ASEAN spans over an area of 4.46 million km
2, 3% of the total land area of Earth, with a population of approximately 580 million people, 8.7% of the world population. In 2009, its combined nominal GDP had grown to more than USD $1.5 trillion.
If ASEAN was a single country, it would rank as the 9th and the 3rd largest economy in the world and Asia in terms of nominal GDP, respectively.
(Source:
www.wikipedia.org)
