Asia Pacific facts for kids

Asia-Pacific (often shortened to APAC) is a big part of the world. It includes countries and islands that are in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. Think of it as a huge area covering much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

Sometimes, the term Asia-Pacific can also include Russia (which is on the North Pacific coast). It can even include countries in North and South America that are on the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean. For example, a group called the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) includes countries like Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.

Even though the exact borders can change, the name "Asia-Pacific" became very popular in the late 1980s. It's used a lot in business, money, and government discussions. This is true even though the countries in this region have many different kinds of economies.

Countries and Areas in Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific region is usually thought to include these countries and areas:

Important Facts About Asia-Pacific Countries

This table shows some key information about many of the countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. You can see their size, how many people live there, and how strong their economies are.

Country or territory	Area km²	Population	Population density per km²	GDP millions of USD (2009)	GDP per capita USD (2009)	Capital
American Samoa	199	55,519	326	537	7,874	Pago Pago
Australia	7,617,930	22,462,842	3	920,000	41,500	Canberra
Brunei	5,765	407,000	70	14,700	36,700	Bandar Seri Begawan
Cambodia	181,035	14,805,000	82	10,900	800	Phnom Penh
China	9,671,018	1,339,530,000	138	4,911,000	3,700	Beijing
East Timor	14,874	1,171,000	76	599	500	Dili
Hong Kong	1,104	7,055,071	6,390	210,730	30,000	-
India	3,287,263	1,210,193,422	365	4,060,000	3,339	New Delhi
Indonesia	1,904,569	237,556,363	126	514,900	2,200	Jakarta
Japan	377,944	127,470,000	337	5,073,000	39,700