Levels of urbanization in Southeast Asia are low by world standards, even by developing country standards. Figures taken from recent U.N. estimates are presented in Table 1. They take advantage of the 1980 round of censuses and differ substantially from estimates made five years earlier. Even so, inter-country comparability remains problematic, as indicated by the inclusion of an alternative set of estimates for Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia which the writer believes provides data somewhat more comparable with the other countries than the data employed by the U.N.
The author believes that the apparent Southeast Asian paradox of fairly slow urbanization but rapidly growing urban populations is due to continued high rates of natural increase, especially in rural areas. Southeast Asian countries differ greatly in the nature of their hierarchies, and the appropriate policy goals and strategies therefore also differ. Policies conducive to more dispersed patterns of urban growth suggested. (DÜI-Sen)