Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity.
Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions: the Asian mainland (aka. Indochina), and island arcs and archipelagoes to the east and southeast. The mainland section consists of Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia while the maritime section consists of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India), Brunei, East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, and Singapore.
Austronesian peoples predominate in this region. The major religions are Islam and Buddhism, followed by Christianity. However a wide variety of religions are found throughout the region, including many Hindu and animist-influenced practices.