Asia

Malaysia is quite literally a country of two halves, with its component land masses – Peninsular Malaysia (which lies on the Malay Peninsula) and East Malaysia (on the island of Borneo) – separated by the South China Sea. A former British colony which gained independence in 1957.

The tiny Gulf state of Qatar has risen to global prominence largely due to its vast resources of oil and gas. A small peninsula bordering only Saudi Arabia by land, it lies on the Persian Gulf. With a long cultural history, Qatar boasts relics from many of the great regional powers of the past including the Persian, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occupies the majority of the Arabian Peninsula. Sharing land borders with Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, it also has extensive coastline on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

Singapore is a prosperous city-state located just off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Consisting of one main island and around 60 outlying islands, the whole country is just a few hundred square kilometres in area.

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and lying east to the Asian mainland. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone and has a predominantly mountainous terrain.

Bordering the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean in the south west and sharing land borders with Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria, Turkey is a large country which bridges Europe and Asia and invokes a rich cultural heritage.

Bordering Saudi Arabia to the south and Oman to the east, the United Arab Emirates is a relatively small country on the Persian Gulf. Following independence from Britain in 1971, the successful exploitation of oil and gas reserves has completely transformed the entire region, and the UAE is amongst the richest countries in the world.