what is asean

ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia. The member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Together, they represent a population of over 600 million people over a land area of 4.5 million km². ASEAN aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its members. The union has a total area of 4,522,518 km2 and an estimated total population of about 668 million, containing approximately 8.5% of the world population in 2021. ASEAN is involved in numerous international affairs and hosts diplomatic missions throughout the world. It is considered by many to be a global powerhouse and the central forum for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN is comprised of three pillars: the Political-Security Community, Economic Community, and Socio-Cultural Community.