List of World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has designated 47 World Heritage Sites in nine countries (also called "State parties") of Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Only Brunei and Timor-Leste (East Timor) lack World Heritage Sites.
Indonesia lead the list with ten inscribed sites, followed by Thailand and Vietnam each have eight inscribed sites, with the Philippines has six, Malaysia five, Cambodia four, Laos three, Myanmar two, and Singapore one. The first sites from the region were inscribed at the 15th session of the World Heritage Committee in 1991. The latest sites inscribed are Phu Phrabat, a testimony to the Sīma stone tradition of the Dvaravati period in Thailand and the Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park's Caves Complex in Malaysia, inscribed in the 46th session of the Committee in 2024. Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites or delist those no longer meeting the criteria, the selection based on ten criteria of which six stand for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x); some sites are "mixed" and represent both types of heritage. In Southeast Asia, there are 32 cultural, 14 natural and 1 mixed sites.
The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." One site in this region, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, is listed as endangered; Angkor and Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were once listed but were taken off in 2004 and 2012 respectively.
By comparison with other world regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Central America, and Western Europe, the designation of UNESCO sites in the Southeast Asian region has been regarded as 'too few and too slow' since the inception of the 21st century. Scholars from various Southeast Asian nations have suggested for the establishment of an inclusive Southeast Asian body that will cater to the gaps of the region's activities in UNESCO as the majority of nations in the region are underperforming in the majority of the lists adopted by UNESCO, notably the World Heritage List.
Southeast Asia has the fewest UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, next to Central and North Asia, despite being the base of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific headquarters located in Bangkok, Thailand and having a diverse line of natural and cultural heritage sites. Due to this, numerous scholars have been calling on Southeast Asian governments to participate and nominate more sites in UNESCO annually.
Various institutions have also criticized UNESCO for its 'Europe-centric' designations. An example of which was when UNESCO declared 10 UNESCO sites in Italy (a European country) in just a single year (1997). During the same time, 8 sites were declared for the entire Asian continent, where no designated site was located in Southeast Asia at all.
Green - Natural; Yellow - Cultural; Blue - Mixed; Red - In danger
The performance of Southeast Asia is contrasted by the performance of South and East Asia. Southeast Asian countries are in blue.
Brunei and Timor-Leste currently have no tentative list sites. Both Brunei and Timor-Leste are presently undergoing comprehensive research for tentative site submissions . The latest countries revised their tentative lists are the Philippines and Thailand in 2024.
The following lists are the current nomination process for each country.
There are currently 7 sites on the tentative list.
There are currently 19 sites on the tentative list.
There are currently 2 sites on the tentative list.
There are currently 5 sites on the tentative list.
There are currently 15 sites on the tentative list.
There are currently 25 sites on the tentative list.
There is currently 1 site on the tentative list.
There are currently 6 sites on the tentative list.
There are currently 7 sites on the tentative list.