Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Language: Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese)

Currency: 1 pataca (P) = 100 avos

Population: 437,312

Natural Hazards: NA

Import: raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods, fuels, lubricants

Export: textiles, clothing, toys, electronics, cement, footwear,
machinery

Industries: clothing, textiles, toys, electronics, footwear, tourism

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 50 km
paved: 50 km
unpaved: 0 km

Ports & Harbors: Macau

Location: Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam

Language: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malalalam, Panjabi,
Thai; note—in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan

Currency: 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen

Population: 21,376,066

Natural Hazards: flooding, landslides

Import: machinery and equipment, chemicals, food

Export: electronic equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles

Industries: Peninsular Malaysia—rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber; Sabah—logging, petroleum production;
Sarawak—agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging

Transportation: Railways:
total: 1,798 km
narrow gauge: 1,798 km 1.000-m gauge (148 km electrified) (1998 est.)

Highways:
total: 94,500 km
paved: 70,970 km (including 580 km of expressways)
unpaved: 23,530 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 7,296 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak
2,518 km)

Ports & Harbors: Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong, Tawau

Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India

Language: Maldivian Divehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials

Currency: 1 rufiyaa (Rf) = 100 laari

Population: 300,220

Natural Hazards: low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise

Import: consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods,
petroleum products

Export: fish, clothing

Industries: fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km; note—Male has 9.6 km of coral highways within the city
 

Ports & Harbors: Gan, Male

Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia

Language: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian, Chinese

Currency: 1 tughrik (Tug) = 100 mongos

Population: 2,617,379

Natural Hazards: dust storms can occur in the spring; grassland fires

Import: machinery and equipment, fuels, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea

Export: copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool,
hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals

Industries: copper, construction materials, mining (particularly coal); food and beverage, processing of animal products

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 1,928 km
broad gauge: 1,928 km 1.524-m gauge

Highways:
total: 46,470 km
paved: 3,730 km
unpaved: 42,740 km
note: much of the unpaved rural road system consists of rough cross-country tracks

Waterways: 397 km of principal routes

Ports & Harbors: none

Location: Southern Asia, between China and India

Language: Nepali (official), 20 other languages divided into numerous dialects

Currency: 1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa

Population: 24,302,653

Natural Hazards: severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons

Import: petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%

Export: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain

Industries: tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 101 km; note—all in Kosi close to Indian border
narrow gauge: 101 km 0.762-m gauge

Highways:
total: 7,700 km
paved: 3,196 km
unpaved: 4,504 km

Ports & Harbors: none

Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea
Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea

Language: Korean

Currency: 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon

Population: 21,386,109

Natural Hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

Import: petroleum, grain, coking coal, machinery and equipment, consumer goods

Export: minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural and fishery products, manufactures (including armaments)

Industries: military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals),
metallurgy; textiles, food processing

Transportation:
Railways:
broad gauge: NA km
total: 5,000 km
standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified; 159 km double track)
narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge
dual gauge: 240 km 1.435-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails)

Highways:
total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km
unpaved: 29,203 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only

Ports & Harbors: Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north

Language: Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%

Currency: 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa

Population: 138,123,359

Natural Hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)

Import: petroleum, petroleum products, machinery,
transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals

Export: cotton, textiles, clothing, rice, leather, carpets

Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing, paper products, shrimp

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 8,163 km
broad gauge: 7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified; 1,037 km double track)
narrow gauge: 445 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
total: 224,774 km
paved: 128,121 km
unpaved: 96,653 km

Ports & Harbors: Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim

Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam

Language: Pilipino (official, based on Tagalog), English (official)

Currency: 1 Philippine peso (P) = 100 centavos

Population: 79,345,812

Natural Hazards: astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis

Import: raw materials and intermediate goods 43%, capital
goods 36%, consumer goods 9%, fuels 9%

Export: electronics and telecommunications 51%, machinery
and transport 10%, garments 9%, other 30%

Industries: textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, electronics assembly, petroleum refining, fishing

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 897 km of which 492 km in operation
narrow gauge: 492 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
total: 161,313 km
paved: 290 km
unpaved: 161,023 km

Waterways: 3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels

Ports & Harbors: Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Guimaras Island, Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legaspi, Manila, Masao, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic Bay, Zamboanga