ASEAN GDP remains robust, backed by services

Latest statistics reveal that ASEAN economies remained buoyant as nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.7 percent at 2.31 trillion USD in 2012, according to the ASEAN Secretatiat.
Latest statistics reveal that ASEAN economies remained buoyant as nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.7 percent at 2.31 trillion USD in 2012, according to the ASEAN Secretatiat.

The continued growth of the region is reflected in the improved per capita GDP at 3,751 USD from 3,591 USD in 2011. Most recent figures showed that averaged income of ASEAN5 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) has increased by 5.1 percent during the first semester of this year, driven by favourable economic developments in the Philippines and Thailand.

On the other hand, ASEAN’s real GDP in 2012 advanced by 5.7 percent, higher by 1.0 percentage point than in 2011. ASEAN5 rate of growth has outpaced the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) country group at 5.8 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.

In terms of comparable international exchange rate, based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), ASEAN’s GDP in 2012 reached PPP 3.62 trillion USD while ASEAN’s per capita GDP amounted to PPP 5,869 USD.


Over time, the region’s service sector has become a catalyst for economic growth, as the agriculture sector has decreased over the last seven years. In 2012, services sector contributed the highest share to GDP in all the 10 member states, ranging from 35 percent to more than 60 percent of GDP. After ASEAN5’s economy has gradually shifted to the tertiary sector, the CLMV country group is currently developing their secondary and tertiary sector.-VNA

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