In 1937, as America navigated the Great Depression, Russian-born economist Simon Kuznets presented a novel idea for measuring a country’s economy. And thus, gross domestic product (GDP) was born.
Nearly eight decades later, measuring GDP, and GDP per capita—which helps make data comparable between populations—has become a benchmark statistic to compare and contrast countries’ economies and productivity. In this map, we compare Southeast Asia’s GDP per capita levels. Data is in current U.S. dollars, sourced from the International Monetary Fund’s DataMapper tool, last updated April 2024.
Ranked: Southeast Asian Countries by GDP Per Capita
Singapore stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the region with a per capita GDP past $88,000. It is also, incidentally, one of the richest nations in the world by this metric.
The 734 km² country has only 5.6 million residents and very few natural resources. However, the country’s strategic location makes it a center for trade and commerce.
This is in sharp contrast to Brunei, Southeast Asia’s next richest country, with a per capita GDP of $35,110.
Oil is a critical part of Brunei’s economy, making it both very wealthy, but landing it in a vulnerable, resource-dependent position. Oil and gas revenues contribute half the country’s entire revenue receipts.
Two countries known for their large tourism sectors, Malaysia and Thailand rank third and fourth, at $13,310 and $7,810 respectively. Finally, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, and the world’s fourth-most populous country Indonesia, rounds out the top five with a GDP per capita of $5,270.
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