Location of the Pacific Ocean. Pacific Ocean: geographical location and area

Foreign Asia. Economic space of the region

Foreign Asia is the most for the most part light, and it is located on the very major continent planets - Eurasia. The shores of this part of the world are washed by the waters of $2$ oceans - the Pacific and Indian, as well as marginal seas Atlantic Ocean. Coastline, especially in the east, is heavily indented and numerous islands stretch along the coast - Japanese, Ryukyu, Philippine. Islands separate the ocean itself from its marginal seas– Japanese, Yellow, East Chinese. Southeast of Overseas Asia there is the world's largest collection of archipelagos - the Greater Sunda Islands, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Maluku Islands, etc.

In southern Asia they jut towards the ocean largest peninsulas– Indochina, Hindustan, Arabian. They are separated by the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Islands located in Indian Ocean– Andaman, Nicobar, Maldives, Lakandiva, Sri Lanka also belong to Asia. To the west is a peninsula Asia Minor, which is washed by the Mediterranean, Black, Aegean and Marmara seas. From north to south, Foreign Asia stretches for $7$ thousand km, and from west to east – for $10$ thousand km and in terms of territory size – $27 million sq km – it is second only to Africa.

Asian countries have different geographical position :

1. Coastal countries - for example, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan, etc.
2. Island countries - Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Bahrain, etc.
3. Archipelagic countries - Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Maldives, etc.
4. Peninsular countries - Qatar, Oman, Republic of Korea, etc.
5. Mainland countries - Mongolia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Jordan.

The vast majority of Asian countries have a coastal location, which means access to the seas of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.

They also differ in the area they occupy:

1. Giant countries - India, China;
2. Very large – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Indonesia, etc.
3. Enough large countries, there are a lot of them.

The borders between countries follow well-defined natural boundaries.

Note 1

Thus, the peculiarities of the economic and geographical position of Asian countries include their neighboring, coastal, and inland location.

Political map and subregions of Overseas Asia

The largest part of the world is home to about 5 billion people, and $46$ states are represented on its political map. The majority of countries belong to the developing group. The formation of the political map of Asia took place under the influence of wars of conquest and colonial seizures of territories by Europeans. Even after World War II, Asia remained colonial possessions Great Britain, France, the Netherlands. And such formally independent countries as Iran, Afghanistan, China in the 19th century were divided into spheres of influence between the major powers of that time. Looks completely different political map region today. More than $20$ countries received political independence and, at the beginning of the 21st century, there were 38 sovereign states. All sovereign countries are members of the UN. Asian countries have different shapes government, so $26$ states are republics, mostly presidential, $13$ states have monarchical form board.

Countries with constitutional monarchy:

1. Empire of Japan;
2. Kingdoms – Bhutan, Jordan, Cambodia, Thailand;
3. Emirates – Kuwait, Bahrain;
4. Sultanate – Malaysia.
5. Countries absolute monarchy– Brunei, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia.

It must be said that until recently there were more monarchies in this region. For example, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran also had a monarchical form of government. There was also a monarchy in Nepal, which existed in the country for $240$ years, and in $2008 it was abolished. As for Brunei and Saudi Arabia, they belong to theocratic monarchies. This means that the king and the head of the ecclesiastical authority are one and the same person. In fact, the Islamic Republic of Iran can be considered one of these monarchies. According to the constitution, the head of the country is a religious figure - the Ayatollah. He determines the general line of development of the country and exercises control over its implementation.

Note 2

In other words, the basic principles of Iran's existence are determined by Shiite Islam, elevated to the rank of state policy, and seeks to prevent the spread of liberal views.

The administrative-territorial structure of states is more homogeneous. Thus, $33$ countries have a unitary structure, and $6$ countries are federations - India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Malaysia, UAE.

The territory of Overseas Asia is divided into the following subregions :

1. Southwest Asia;
2. South Asia;
3. South East Asia;
4. East Asia;
5. Central Asia.

Strictly speaking, these subregions are cultural and historical, where a complex of historical, ethnolinguistic, religious factors And natural differences. Analysis of the map allows us to conclude that the primacy belongs to the subregion East Asia, both in terms of population and territory size. Of course, thanks to the Chinese People's Republic. In second place, thanks to India, is the subregion South Asia. Southwest Asia will prevail in the number of countries, small in area and in population.

Centers of economic power

Within Foreign Asia there are $5$ centers of the world economy. Among these five special place occupy such individual countries like China, India, Japan and another $2$ group of countries - new industrial and oil-exporting countries.

In socio-economic development China there were ups and downs. But, the implementation of the economic reforms, which was based on both planned and market development of the economy, led to a rapid economic growth. China, in terms of GDP, managed to reach $3$ place in the world after the United States and Japan already in $1990. Later, in $2006, the country took second position in the world economic ranking, overtaking Japan in terms of gross industrial output. By 2020, the country expects GDP to grow by $4 times.

Economy Japan, destroyed during the Second World War, was not only restored, but also radically rebuilt. Japan has become world power after the United States and became the only member of the G7 in Asia. Japanese "economic miracle"» gradually faded away, which led to a slowdown in social economic development. The Japanese economy was negatively affected by the financial crisis that engulfed Southeast Asia in the late $90s.

Note 3

Another country in this region plays a significant role in the global economy - India. The economic reforms carried out in the country in the $90s accelerated its development. India, after the G7 countries and China, ranks 9th in the world in terms of volume industrial production. True, in terms of per capita indicators, the country still lags behind many countries in the world.

The next center of economic power is newly industrialized countries Asia. This group consists of 2 “echelons”:

1. The first “echelon” is formed by the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. They are called "Asian tigers";
2. The second “echelon” is formed by $3 countries, members of ASEAN - Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia.

Back in the $80s, they rebuilt their economies according to Japanese model. Today they are successfully developing the automotive, oil refining, and petrochemical industries. They are developing shipbuilding, electrical and electronic industries. The production of consumer products – clothing, fabrics, shoes – is growing. The reason for their “economic miracle” was the activity of local businesses and foreign investment. In terms of the level of economic development in the region, such countries as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea stand out. There are also less here the developed countries– Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, etc.

The number of men exceeds the number of women.

Population settlement. At the highest density (130 people per 1 sq. km), the population is distributed extremely unevenly. Less than 1/10 of the territory contains 3/4 of the region's population. Most of the population of Overseas Asia lives in four countries: China, and. Least inhabited countries- And ( average density The population is 1 and 3 people per 1 sq. m., respectively. km). The most densely populated coastal areas and valleys large rivers(population density reaches 1500-2000 people per 1 sq. km). Among the countries the most high density population in (700 people per sq km).

Exceptionally complex ethnic composition population Foreign Asia. More than 1 thousand peoples belonging to a wide variety of people live here language families and groups (Indo-European, Semitic, Turkic, etc.). Most countries are multinational states (India, Indonesia - 150 nations; - 100; China, Vietnam - 50; Iran - up to 30). The largest nations the region are Chinese, Hindustani, Bengalis, Biharis, Japanese.

Religious composition the region is also very complex. Foreign Asia is the homeland of all, the peoples inhabiting it profess Islam (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia), Hinduism (India, etc.), Buddhism (China, Korea, Japan, etc.), Judaism (Israel), Christianity ( Philippines, Lebanon, Indonesia, etc.), Confucianism (China), etc.

Complex ethnic and religious composition is the cause of many interethnic and religious clashes in the region.

The region's population is characterized by high level birth rate in most countries, but its rate is gradually decreasing. This suggests that the countries of the region are at the end of the second stage of the demographic transition, i.e. still at the stage of population explosion. Similar demographic situation complicates many economic, social and ecological problems. However, all this does not exclude the presence of significant differences in natural increase population between individual regions Foreign Asia. Thus, while the rate of birth rate growth began to decline significantly, this decline is much slower, and is at the epicenter of a demographic explosion.

Migration has a certain influence on the distribution of the population of Foreign Asia. One of the world's centers of attraction for international work force in the region are the oil-producing countries of the Persian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia,. In addition, the region is experiencing migration from overpopulated areas to less populated areas.

In the countries of Foreign Asia it took on the character of an “urban explosion”. Despite the fact that in terms of the share of urban population, the overwhelming number of countries in the region belong to the category of medium-urbanized, with very large numbers population absolute indicators turn out to be very high. For example:

• of the 2.9 billion urban residents, 1.4 billion live in Overseas Asia;
• China and India rank first and second in the world in terms of the number of city residents;
• Of the 20 “super cities” in the world, 12 are located in Foreign Asia.

The cities of Foreign Asia are somewhat different from each other, but still geographical literature the image of an eastern (Asian) city has developed:

• clear division into old and new parts;
• the busiest place in the old city is the bazaar with adjacent shopping streets and artisans' quarters;
• presence on the streets large quantity artisans, barbers, peddlers and other people working in the open air;
• The new part is dominated by modern multi-storey buildings.

The main form of settlement rural population region is rural (sedentary). But nomadic peoples(, Afghans, Bedouin Arabs) you can also find temporary (nomadic) settlements.

The economy of the region as a whole is characterized by the following features:

• Typical for most countries transition period from feudalism to capitalism.
• The economy of most countries is developing quite rapidly, which ensures an increased role of the region as a whole in the world economy.
• The specialization of the countries in the region is very diverse.
• In the international division of labor it acts, first of all, as a major supplier of mineral and agricultural raw materials to the world market. The share of Overseas Asia in the world's manufacturing industry, especially heavy industry, is small. Its leading industries (ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemical and textile industries) are mainly represented by their enterprises in Japan and China and in a small group developing countries who have achieved in Lately significant successes in the development of their economies (India, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq). Large metallurgical plants have been created in China, Japan and Turkey.
• The leading sector of the economy of the vast majority of countries in Foreign Asia is. IN agriculture busy most of economically active population.

Agriculture of Foreign Asia

The peculiarities of agriculture in Foreign Asia are the combination of commercial and consumer farming, landowner and peasant land use, as well as the predominance of food crops over industrial crops and.

The main food crop of Foreign Asia is rice. Its countries (China, India, Japan, Pakistan, etc.) provide over 90% of world rice production. The second most important grain crop in Foreign Asia is wheat. In coastal, well-moistened areas, winter wheat is grown, and in the arid continental part - spring wheat. Among other grains, corn and millet are significant. Despite the fact that Foreign Asia produces the vast majority of rice and about 20% of the world's wheat, many of its countries are forced to buy grain, since their food problem has not been solved.

Foreign Asia occupies a prominent place in the world in the production of soybeans, copra (dried coconut pulp), coffee, tobacco, tropical and subtropical fruits, grapes, and various spices (red and black pepper, ginger, vanilla, cloves), which are also exported.

The level of development of livestock farming in Foreign Asia is lower than in other regions of the world. The main ones are cattle breeding and sheep breeding, and in countries with a non-Muslim population (China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan) - pig breeding. Horses, camels, and yaks are bred in desert and highland areas. Export livestock products are insignificant and mainly consist of wool, hides and skins. In coastal countries, fishing is of great importance.

The distribution of agriculture in the vast area of ​​​​Foreign Asia is highly dependent on factors natural environment. In general, several have formed in the region.

• The monsoon sector of East, Southeast and South Asia is the main rice growing area. Rice is sown in river valleys on flooded fields. In the higher parts of the same sector there are tea plantations (China, Japan, India, etc.) and opium poppy plantations (Laos, Thailand).
• Subtropical farming region - coast Mediterranean Sea. Fruits, rubber, dates, and almonds are grown here.
• The area of ​​grazing livestock - and South-West Asia (here livestock farming is combined with oases).

In most developing countries of Foreign Asia, industry is represented primarily by mining industries. The reason for this is their good supply of mineral resources and general low level development of processing (end-of-line) industries.

However, differences in the level of economic development various countries and regions of Foreign Asia are so significant that it is advisable to consider the economy of the region regionally.

If we proceed from the ten-member structure of the world economy, then within Foreign Asia there are five centers (among them, three centers are individual countries):

• China;
• Japan;
• India;
• Newly industrialized countries;
• Oil exporting countries.

China started in the 70s economic reform(“Gaige”), based on a combination of planned and market economy. As a result, there has been unprecedented growth in the country's economy. In 1990, China already ranked 3rd in GDP after Japan, and by 2000 it was ahead. However, based on GDP per capita, China still lags significantly behind leading countries. Despite this, China largely determines the progress of the entire Asia-Pacific region. Modern China is a powerful industrial-agrarian country, occupying important positions in (first place in the production of coal and iron ore, steel smelting, production of cotton fabrics, televisions, radios, gross grain harvest; second place in the production of electricity, chemical fertilizers, synthetic materials etc. The face of China is primarily determined by its severity.

Japan came out of the 2nd World War with completely destroyed. But it not only managed to restore the economy, but also became the No. 2 power in the world, a member of the G7, and in many ways economic indicators come out on top. first developed mainly according to evolutionary path. Using imported raw materials, such basic industries as energy, metallurgy, automotive, shipbuilding, chemical, petrochemical, and construction industries were created almost anew. After the energy and raw materials crises of the 70s, the revolutionary path of development began to prevail in Japanese industry. The country began to limit the growth of energy-intensive and metal-intensive industries and focus on the latest knowledge-intensive industries. It has become a leader in the field of electronics, robotics, biotechnology, and has begun to use energy. Japan ranks first in the world in terms of the share of spending on science. Since the 90s, the “Japanese economic miracle” has faded and the pace of economic development has slowed down, however, the country still maintains a leading position in many economic indicators.

India is one of the key countries developing world. She began economic reform in the 90s and achieved some success. However, it remains a country of still very great contrasts. For example:

• it ranks fifth in the world in terms of total industrial production, but 102nd in terms of national income per capita;
• powerful, equipped with last word enterprise techniques are combined with tens of thousands of handicraft industries (“industry at home”);
• in agriculture, large farms and plantations are combined with millions of small peasant farms;
• India ranks first in the number of cattle and one of the last in the consumption of meat products;
• in terms of the number of scientific and technical specialists, India is second only to Russia and the United States, but occupies a leading position in “brain drain”, which has affected almost all areas of science and technology, and at the same time half of the population is illiterate;
• In Indian cities, modern, well-appointed areas coexist with slums, home to millions of homeless and unemployed people.

Among the rest of the countries of Foreign Asia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, etc. stand out in terms of level of economic development.

Foreign Asia is the largest region in the world in terms of population and area, and has retained its primacy since the ancient times of the birth of the first civilizations. total area The territory of Foreign Asia reaches 27.5 million km2. The region includes 40 sovereign states, many of which belong to the group of developing countries.

All countries of Foreign Asia are quite large in area, two of them, China and India, have the status of giant countries. The borders that separate the states of Foreign Asia are established according to natural and historical boundaries.

The political structure of states is very diverse; in Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Malaysia, and Jordan there are constitutional monarchies, in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, absolute monarchical regimes have been preserved, all other states have a republican form of government.

Natural conditions and resources

Foreign Asia has a fairly homogeneous tectonic structure and relief. The region has the largest range of altitudes on the planet: mountain ensembles are combined with vast plains. The territory of Asia is located on the Precambrian platform, some areas on the Cenozoic folding.

Due to this geographical location, the states of Foreign Asia have many natural mineral resources. Rich reserves are concentrated within the Hindustan and Chinese platforms coal, manganese and iron ores and other minerals.

The main wealth of the region is the gas and oil basins, which are located in most states of South-West Asia. The agroclimatic characteristics of Asia hinder the establishment of agricultural activities.

Population

The population of Foreign Asia is more than 3 billion people. Many states are experiencing a process of so-called “demographic explosion”. Public policy many countries are aimed at reducing the birth rate, in China and Japan large families forced to pay special taxes.

The ethnic composition of Foreign Asia is diverse: representatives of more than 1 thousand ethnic groups and nationalities live here, the most numerous peoples being the Chinese, Bengalis, Hindustanis and Japanese. Only Iran and Afghanistan are among the mononational countries.

The peoples of Asia belong to 15 language families; such linguistic diversity is not found in any region of the world. Foreign Asia is the cradle of all world religions; Christianity, Islam and Buddhism were born here. Leading place The region also features Shintoism, Confucianism and Taoism.

Economy of Foreign Asia

In the last decade, the role of the countries of Foreign Asia in the world economy has increased significantly. The level of economic development here is more contrasting than in any other region of the world. Absolute leadership in industrial development belongs to Japan.

This is the only state in Foreign Asia that is part of the G7. Also to the number industrial countries include China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. The economy of the Gulf states is focused primarily on the oil industry.

Mining and metallurgy are well developed in Mongolia, Jordan, Vietnam and Afghanistan. In most countries, the main share of EAN is engaged in agricultural production. The most popular plant crops are rice, tea, wheat and millet.