During the last half century, Southeast Asia has undergone tremendous social, political, and economic change. This volume chronicles the extensive demographic transformations that have accompanied those changes, documenting how public health and other policy interventions contributed to rapid population growth and how new patterns of settlement and migration ensued. More recently, changing opportunities for young adults have revolutionized marriage and fertility choices and raised concerns about population aging.


The authors consider the recent demographic histories of the region alongside government policies intended to manage population growth rates; improve access to education, employment, and health services; influence levels of internal and international migration; and address environmental concerns. This groundbreaking study of postcolonial Southeast Asia addresses many of the contemporary demographic challenges facing the citizens and governments of the increasingly mobile and globalized region of Southeast Asia.


Contributors: Sabrina Bonaparte, University of Washington-Seattle; Sara Curran, University of Washington-Seattle; Noah Derman, deputy director at Development in Gardening (Atlanta, GA ); Hongyun Fu, Population Services International (China); Bina Gubhaju, National University of Singapore; Charles Hirschman, University of Washington-Seattle; Graeme Hugo, University of Adelaide; Terence Hull, Australian National University; Gavin Jones, Australian National University and National University of Singapore; Ghazy Mujahid, York Centre for Asian Research (Canada) and former UN population policy advisor; and Mark J. Vanlandingham, Tulane University