Diandra Paramitha

English / Fun Facts How Srivijaya Controlled Asia's Trade Routes for Six Centuries Without a Large Land Army

Brunei's economy and energy system remain built around oil and gas. In 2024, the oil and gas sector accounted for 46.7 percent of GDP, while the non-oil and gas sector made up 53.3 percent, according to the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics.

Beneath Punggol, in northeastern Singapore, a five-kilometer network of metal pipes circulates chilled water to cool the office buildings and classrooms above. In the same area, Engie operates two district cooling systems that serve around 8,000 public housing units.

If you meet two Vietnamese people at random, the odds are that one of them has the surname Nguyen. This surname is held by about 40 percent of Viet Nam’s population, a figure that was first widely reported by Tuoi Tre News and has been cited across the media since 2012.

In Southeast Asia’s tourism landscape, the country that attracts the most visitors does not always sit at the top of the rankings. In the Best Countries 2026 report compiled by U.S. News & World Report in collaboration with University of Pennsylvania, Singapore was named Southeast Asia’s best-performing country in the Culture & Tourism category and ranked 22nd globally among the 100 countries evaluated.

In 2024, when Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin proposed a joint visa for six ASEAN countries, many media outlets described it as a "Schengen-style visa." The comparison sounded reasonable because both are associated with facilitating cross-border travel.

Pha That Luang, one of the masterpieces from the Lan Xang Kingdom | Credit: Canva

Singapore is one of the most densely populated places on Earth. In 2025, its population density reached approximately 8,300 people per square kilometer, making it the third most densely populated territory in the world, according to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics.

Good Creators Academy (GCA) Malaysia held its first Offline Bootcamp from June 3 to 5, 2026, at Travelodge Kuala Lumpur City Centre. The three-day program brought together the Top 15 finalists of GCA Malaysia 2026 for a series of practical challenges, industry visits, educational sessions, and networking activities designed to strengthen their storytelling, creativity, and digital communication skills.

Singapore is often imagined as a tiny dot that can be circled before lunchtime is over. Indeed, as of June 2025, it covers only about 736.3 km², with its longest stretch measuring 49 km from east to west and 28 km from north to south. But once you actually intend to follow its perimeter, rather than simply cutting across from one side to the other, that small size starts to become deceptive.