The Asian region consists of some forty independent countries. In 1980, there were 2,558 million people (roughly 58% of the world population) living in this part of this world (which covers 20.3% of the world land area)with per capita income ranging from as high as US$8,378 IN Japan(1981)to as low as US$112 in Bangladesh(1978/1979). The population density of the region is fairly high and the rapid population growth is still a considerable handicap for economic development in most of the Asian co |