What countries fall under Asia?
Been the largest continent in the world, 48 countries are listed under the Asian continent by United Nations. China, India, Japan, Indonesia are the highest performing GDPs in the continent.
Countries such as Russia & even middle eastern countries like Saudi Arabia does fall under the Asian continent.
Where were these Asian countries before 2022?
Most of these countries were developing slowly even less than an annual YoY rate of less than 5%, but they were growing massively compared to other economies in the region.
Increase in GDP is mainly due to increasing in exports in the economy for these Asian countries.
| Country | 2000 ($t) | 2005 ($t) | 2010 ($t) | 2015 ($t) | 2020 ($t) |
| United States | 9.7 | 11.7 | 17.8 | 18.2 | 20.89 |
| China | 1.2 | 7.2 | 10.7 | 11 | 14.72 |
| Japan | 4.6 | 3.7 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 5.06 |
| Germany | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.85 |
| United Kingdom | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.67 |
| India | 0.46 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 2.66 |
| France | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.63 |
| Italy | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.89 |
| Canada | 0.71 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.64 |
| South Korea | 0.51 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.63 |
| Russia | 0.25 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.48 |
| Brazil | 0.64 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.44 |
| Australia | 0.39 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.32 |
| Spain | 0.58 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.28 |
| Indonesia | 0.16 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.05 |
(Author illustrated table based on IMF, World Bank reports)
The above table shows growth between the top 15 GDP based countries in the world, where 6 countries are listed from the Asian continent.
If you look at United States from 2000 to 2020, GDP increment was only recorded at 115% to China’s increment of 1126%.
Another key player is India, with an ever increasing YoY GDP increment with the ability to surpass United Kingdom & Germany in the near future, which will make China & India the most powerful economies just after United States.
What happened in 1800-1900 A.D
Did you know that Asia was the powerhouse in the world even back in early 1800-1900A.D.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, Southeast Asia is colonized by Britain, France, and Holland. In 1799, the Dutch government takes over the Dutch East India Company’s rule of parts of the Indonesian archipelago.
Over the next hundred years, it extends control throughout the entire archipelago, including Sumatra and Bali. The modern boundaries of Indonesia are established at this time.
Starting in 1824, Britain fights for control of Burma, finally incorporating it into its Indian empire in 1886. It gradually takes over peninsular Malaya as well, and by 1874 effectively rules the area that will become modern-day Malaysia.
How Asia transformed from poorest continent to a global powerhouse
Despite many diversities in the continent, there are common patterns over the last few decades. Economic growth drove development. Growth rates of GDP and GDP per capita in Asia have been stunning and far higher than elsewhere in the world.
It is without a doubt that the rising investment and savings rates combined with the spread of education were the underlying factors. This was also backed with rapid industrialization, often led by exported and improvement in employment.
Rising per capita incomes transformed social indicators of development, as literacy rates and life expectancy rose everywhere. There was also a massive reduction in absolute poverty.
But the scale of absolute poverty that persists, despite unprecedented growth, is just as striking as the sharp reduction of poverty that happened between 1984 and 2012, according to data from the World Bank.
Government interventions in the continent
Many government policies towards foreign investments have been influenced by industrial policy in the pursuit of national development objectives in the Asian continent.
The developmental states in South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore coordinated policies by overpowering their infrastructures and improving national agendas. India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Turkey, did manage to evolve some institutional arrangements, even if less effective, that were conducive to industrialization and development.
The hidden reason behind the development
No sure if you realized it but in the developed countries, its citizens have already thought they are living in a well-developed & sophisticated economy, so they are not working to further develop their economy compared to the developing country where all its citizens (specially the 99% of the economy & not the top 1%) are more efficient and faster to improve their standard of living and quality of life as that of a developed nation.
Based on an article written for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, out of 5,400 special economic zones in the world, more than 4,000 are in developing countries in Asia.
Whilst the developed nations are enjoying the fruits of 50-1000 years old labor which their previous generations have gathered, the developing nations are working harder and faster to make their economy as developed as other thriving economies.
Did you know, Bangladesh has been reported one of the fastest growing economies in the world today. It is reported that by 2036, Bangladesh will become the 24th largest economy in the world.
Other hidden talents in the continent
IT industry in the economies of India & China are booming than other countries. The most common reason for this is due to availability of information and learning facilities in these countries.
As Asia is responsible for one third of the world’s population, talent in the region is ever developing. This a hidden boost to these countries to develop their economy, specially in terms of bringing in foreign currency into the country.
The World Powerhouse by 2050
While many of these economies have a considerable share of revenues from international exports, domestic demand is expected to be the primary driver for growth in the near future.
Domestic markets make these economies less prone to external vulnerabilities and global financial turmoil.
Its understandable that by around 2050, a century after the end of colonial rule in most of these Asian continent countries, Asia will account for more than one-half of world income and will be home to more than half of the people on earth.
It will have an economic and political significance in the world that would have been difficult to imagine 50 years ago, even if it was the reality in 1820.