Feb 24 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Thailand this weekend to implement a charter that will create a political and economic union for the 41-year-old grouping by 2015.
Here are some key facts about ASEAN.
* ASEAN's 10 members span the political and economic spectrum: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
* ASEAN's population of 570 million is greater than that of the European Union and the three countries that make up NAFTA -- the United States, Canada and Mexico.
* As of 2006, ASEAN's combined GDP was $1.1 trillion -- about a third the size of China's -- and total trade was around $1.4 billion. * Per capita income was around $1,200.
Key aims at the summit in Hua Hin, Thailand include:
* Putting the ASEAN charter into force as a legally binding agreement that brings new bodies into being, including a human rights commission
* Signing a roadmap for an ASEAN Community by 2015 that will establish a rules-based market economy, adherence to multilateral trade rules and gradual elimination of all barriers to regional economic integration
* Signing an ASEAN Security Blueprint
* Enhancing the role of the Secretary-general and the ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta
* Making a stand against "creeping protectionism" in the face of a global financial crisis
* Signing a free trade agreement between ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand.
Sources: Reuters, ASEAN Secretariat
(Compiled by Bill Tarrant, Singapore newsroom, +65 6870 3815; Editing by Jerry Norton)