Influencing Factors and Driving Forces of Urbanization in Southeast Asia

In order to explore the driving factors to urbanization in Southeast Asia and correctly understand its functional mechanism and momentum, we analyzed the urbanization level and judged the urbanization development phase of different countries in Southeast Asia based on the perspective of population urbanization. Moreover, we explored the major driving force and influence strength of urbanization level on the basis of grey relational degree. The results show that: the urbanization level differences between various countries in Southeast Asia are distinct. Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia are countries of high urbanization level; Indonesia and the Philippines are countries of medium urbanization level; Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand are countries of low urbanization level. Globalization, market environment and foreign capital are the core driving factors to the differences of urbanization level in Southeast Asian countries. Compared with previous studies, our research is more concerned about the impact of external factors on urbanization in Southeast Asia.