Gross domestic product per person (GDP per capita) varies considerably across the Asia/Pacific region (Figure 3.1): Singapore’s GDP per capita is more than 25 times higher than GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste. GDP per capita is well above the OECD average (PPP 56 123) in the richest economies in the region: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong (China), Macau (China) and Singapore. By contrast, more than two‑thirds of the Asia/Pacific have a GDP per capita that is below the regional average (PPP 25 100).
Real GDP growth for the Asia/Pacific region fell markedly at the beginning of the COVID‑19 pandemic, in 2020 (Figure 3.2). Growth in GDP bounced back in 2021, and remained positive in 2022, even though growth rates abated somewhat. Relative to 2022, the GDP-growth-rate in 2023 increased in China, Japan and India but was less strong in Korea. The growth rate of GDP per capita in China in 2024 and 2025 is forecasted to be slightly lower than in 2019 – i.e. just before the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic, while in India, Japan and Korea, growth in GPD per capita for these years is forecast to be on par with or higher than in 2019.
Evidence on “catch-up” and GDP convergence is weak among countries in the Asia/Pacific region (Figure 3.3). There is hardly any negative correlation between the pace of growth in GDP per capita over the period 2018‑23 and the initial level in 2018. OECD countries in the region have relatively high GDP per capita and recorded slow annual growth over this five‑year period. However, many poorer countries in the Asia/Pacific region recorded a similar pace in growth since 2018. Then again, GDP per capita in for example, China and Georgia increased more rapidly than one might have expected given its level in 2018.
