The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of ten 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. The total land area of ASEAN is 4,479,210.5 km2 with the estimated population 601 million and with the Gross Domestic Product estimate of US$ 3.084 trillion. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
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Education
Education is the basis of the development of any nation. A country can spend money and time on touristic, infrastructural or any other short-term projects, but nothing would change if the citizen does not have a central role in the society. And this starts at school, this starts by giving the student/citizen responsibility and ability to make his or her own opinion.
Literacy rate, adult total % of people ages 15 and above
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. Generally, ‘literacy’ also encompasses ‘numeracy’, the ability to make simple arithmetic calculations. This indicator is calculated by dividing the number of literates aged 15 years and over by the corresponding age group population and multiplying the result by 100.
Source WorldBank Development Indicators database
Philippines 95.6%
Singapore 95 %
Brunei 95%
Indonesia 95%
Thailand 93.51%
Vietman 93%
Malaysia 92%
Burma 92%
Cambodia 73.61%
Laos 68.73%
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Corruption
Transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector assess the extent to which the executive can be held accountable for its use of funds and for the results of its actions by the electorate and by the legislature and judiciary, and the extent to which public employees within the executive are required to account for administrative decisions, use of resources, and results obtained.
The three main dimensions assessed here are the accountability of the executive to oversight institutions and of public employees for their performance, access of civil society to information on public affairs, and state capture by narrow vested interests
Transparency international world corruption index scales from 1 to 10 ( rank 1=least corrupt, score 10 = most corrupt)
The Index, which is closely watched by investors, economists, and civil society campaigners, is based on expert assessments and data from 17 surveys from 13 independent institutions, covering issues such as access to information, bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, and the enforcement of anti-corruption laws. While critics note that measuring perceptions of corruption is not the same as measuring corruption itself, the latter is almost impossible to do - as the corrupt are usually keen to cover up their tracks, hard data on graft and bribery is notoriously difficult to come by.
World Corruption Index
rank score
Singapore 5 9.2
Brunei 44 5.2
malaysia 60 4.3
Thailand 80 3.4
Indonesia 100 3.0
Vietman 112 2.9
Philippines 129 2.6
Laos 154 2.2
Cambodia 164 2.1
Myanmar 180 1.5
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Illicit Drugs and narcotics
Are drugs which are controlled by the government and are illegal in certain situations (a person is not allowed to have them). A drug is any chemical designed to affect the human body.
Narcotics. The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely defined and typically has negative connotations. When used in a legal context in the US, a narcotic drug is simply one that is totally prohibited, or one that is used in violation of strict governmental regulation, such as heroin or morphine.
From a pharmacological standpoint it is not a useful term, as is evidenced by the historically varied usage of the word.
Cambodia : Narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; limited methamphetamine production; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based economy and porous borders.
Laos: Estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2008 was 1,900 hectares, about a 73% increase from 2007; estimated potential opium production in 2008 more than tripled to 17 metric tons; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem
Burma: Remains world's second-largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2008 of 340 metric tons, an increase of 26%, and cultivation in 2008 was 22,500 hectares, a 4% increase from 2007; production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control remains low; Shan state is the source of 94% of poppy cultivation; lack of government will to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls.
Thailand: A minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana, transit point for illicit heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos. Eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries. Opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts, also a drug money-laundering center, Have a minor role in methamphetamine production for regional consumption. A major consumer of methamphetamine since the 1990s despite a series of government crackdowns.
Vietman: Minor producer of opium poppy, probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin. The government continues to face domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems despite longstanding crackdowns
Philippines: Domestic methamphetamine production has been a growing problem in recent years despite government crackdowns, major consumer of amphetamines, longstanding marijuana producer mainly in rural areas where Manila's control is limited.
Brunei: Drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty.
Malaysia: Drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties; heroin still primary drug of abuse, but synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to a lesser extent, the regional drug market
Indonesia: Illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; producer of methamphetamine and ecstasy.
Singapore: Drug abuse limited because of aggressive law enforcement efforts; as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, as a venue for money laundering
source : CIA data from 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011
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Health
Infant mortality rate
In the field of public health, infant mortality is a commonly used statistical measure that is defined as the ratio of infant deaths to live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea, however a variety of programs combating this problem have decreased the rate of children dying from dehydration. As a result, the most common cause is now pneumonia. Other major causes of infant mortality include: malnutrition, malaria, congenital malformation, infection and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
The number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year. This rate is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country.
Laos 87.06 rank 21
Cambodia 73.67 rank 30
Burma 68.67 rank 38
East Timor 48.86 rank 54
Indonesia 36.82 rank 61
Philippines 24.24 rank 84
Malaysia 18.35 rank 99
Brunei 13.05 rank 114
Weighted average: 36.0
Source CIA world factbook