Strategic Asia by the Numbers 2001-02

These pages contain tables, charts, and graphs generated from the Strategic Asia Program database. They are chosen to exemplify the variety of data assembled even at this early stage of the program’s development, and to reveal aspects of the structure of Asia and changes that are underway. The examples begin with measures of economies, then of technology and population, and finally of militaries. The graph portraying the historical distribution of production among geographical regions underscores the opening points made by Aaron Friedberg in the Introduction. We have chosen to highlight the 0–14 age cohort among Asian countries to reveal a fascinating reversal that will impact the relative size of the Chinese and Indian populations—and markets. We graph estimates of defense expenditures among the countries of strategic Asia to indicate in a very general way their relative efforts to build and maintain military power.