Richest countries in Asia, 1990 to 2025
Singapore is Asia's richest economy per person at about $163.4K in 2025 (PPP), ahead of Macao at $137.0K and Qatar at $128.9K.
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What the data shows
- In 2025, Singapore ranks #1 with $163.4K, ahead of Macao ($137.0K) and Qatar ($128.9K).
- Back in 1990, United Arab Emirates was #1 with $88.5K.
- The top spot changed hands 3 times: Qatar in 2001, Macao in 2015 and Singapore in 2020.
- Biggest climber: Singapore, from #9 in 1990 to #1 in 2025.
- Singapore grew 6.9× between 1990 and 2025.
About this chart
Singapore leads Asia on GDP per person at about $163.4 thousand in 2025, followed by Macao ($137.0 thousand) and Qatar ($128.9 thousand). In 1990 the United Arab Emirates led at $88.5 thousand, ahead of Brunei ($70.2 thousand), Qatar ($57.2 thousand), Saudi Arabia ($46.2 thousand) and Kuwait ($30.8 thousand), a list of oil exporters. Today it mixes trading hubs and energy producers: Hong Kong and South Korea join the Gulf states and Brunei in the top ten.
The measure is GDP per person in purchasing power parity (PPP), in current international dollars, from the World Bank. It adjusts for local price differences and shows an average, not how income is divided. Brunei ($92.4 thousand), Hong Kong ($80.4 thousand), Saudi Arabia ($73.8 thousand), Bahrain ($71.0 thousand), South Korea ($63.1 thousand), Israel ($59.7 thousand) and Kuwait ($56.5 thousand) complete the top ten. Small economies score high because per-person figures are sensitive to a small population.
The data
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD), GDP per person, PPP, current international $ thousands; Asia. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
| Date | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 🇲🇴 Macao | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 🇧🇳 Brunei | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇮🇱 Israel | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇴🇲 Oman | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $23.8K | $27.9K | $57.2K | $70.2K | $18.3K | $46.2K | $26.9K | $8.6K | $15.7K | $30.8K | $20.3K | $26.9K | $88.5K |
| 1991 | $25.5K | $28.5K | $56.3K | $72.6K | $19.8K | $49.3K | $31.7K | $9.7K | $16.5K | $23.4K | $21.7K | $28.1K | $87.3K |
| 1992 | $27.0K | $31.3K | $62.1K | $70.0K | $21.3K | $50.4K | $33.6K | $10.5K | $17.5K | $36.1K | $22.3K | $29.8K | $87.5K |
| 1993 | $30.1K | $32.6K | $60.8K | $69.4K | $22.8K | $49.5K | $37.9K | $11.3K | $18.2K | $48.5K | $22.6K | $31.0K | $86.3K |
| 1994 | $33.1K | $33.6K | $61.1K | $69.8K | $24.1K | $48.9K | $37.6K | $12.6K | $19.5K | $53.9K | $23.3K | $31.9K | $90.0K |
| 1995 | $35.1K | $34.3K | $62.0K | $70.4K | $24.7K | $48.1K | $38.8K | $13.9K | $20.6K | $57.2K | $24.3K | $33.6K | $93.7K |
| 1996 | $36.9K | $34.3K | $64.1K | $70.0K | $25.1K | $48.6K | $40.1K | $15.2K | $21.7K | $56.9K | $25.5K | $34.7K | $94.6K |
| 1997 | $39.3K | $34.6K | $81.4K | $74.0K | $26.6K | $48.8K | $41.0K | $16.2K | $22.3K | $57.4K | $26.1K | $36.8K | $96.0K |
| 1998 | $37.6K | $33.0K | $86.8K | $68.3K | $25.1K | $48.9K | $42.3K | $15.5K | $22.9K | $58.3K | $25.8K | $36.7K | $90.2K |
| 1999 | $39.9K | $32.3K | $87.0K | $70.6K | $25.9K | $47.5K | $43.6K | $17.4K | $23.4K | $56.4K | $26.0K | $36.8K | $87.7K |
| 2000 | $43.8K | $34.7K | $91.3K | $73.1K | $28.2K | $48.6K | $45.7K | $19.2K | $25.7K | $58.7K | $27.7K | $39.4K | $92.9K |
| 2001 | $43.1K | $36.2K | $92.3K | $74.3K | $28.8K | $47.4K | $46.2K | $20.4K | $25.8K | $58.6K | $28.4K | $41.7K | $90.4K |
| 2002 | $45.1K | $39.6K | $95.8K | $76.8K | $29.6K | $45.5K | $45.1K | $22.2K | $26.1K | $59.7K | $29.1K | $41.5K | $88.5K |
| 2003 | $48.8K | $44.6K | $96.7K | $79.6K | $31.2K | $48.1K | $45.4K | $22.9K | $24.7K | $69.8K | $29.7K | $40.9K | $92.6K |
| 2004 | $54.4K | $56.6K | $114.0K | $80.4K | $34.5K | $51.2K | $46.3K | $24.7K | $26.1K | $77.2K | $31.1K | $42.1K | $98.7K |
| 2005 | $58.8K | $60.6K | $118.4K | $81.5K | $38.1K | $53.5K | $47.3K | $26.2K | $25.7K | $85.0K | $32.5K | $43.7K | $101.3K |
| 2006 | $64.1K | $67.2K | $130.7K | $86.1K | $41.7K | $54.6K | $48.0K | $28.0K | $26.4K | $89.1K | $34.0K | $46.1K | $106.8K |
| 2007 | $68.8K | $75.7K | $127.5K | $83.7K | $45.3K | $55.0K | $49.3K | $30.3K | $28.3K | $91.4K | $35.4K | $48.6K | $100.8K |
| 2008 | $67.7K | $76.8K | $129.5K | $80.5K | $46.8K | $57.2K | $50.3K | $31.2K | $28.0K | $90.3K | $35.6K | $52.8K | $94.6K |
| 2009 | $66.2K | $79.1K | $129.4K | $78.0K | $45.9K | $54.8K | $48.6K | $30.7K | $28.0K | $80.1K | $33.8K | $55.1K | $84.8K |
| 2010 | $75.4K | $99.8K | $152.1K | $79.5K | $49.2K | $58.8K | $49.3K | $33.1K | $29.4K | $75.2K | $35.7K | $55.7K | $85.1K |
| 2011 | $80.1K | $121.1K | $174.6K | $82.7K | $52.3K | $64.1K | $52.7K | $33.9K | $31.3K | $79.0K | $36.5K | $52.4K | $89.7K |
| 2012 | $82.1K | $133.1K | $180.9K | $87.3K | $52.1K | $65.0K | $56.7K | $35.1K | $32.4K | $82.1K | $38.0K | $50.0K | $89.2K |
| 2013 | $83.1K | $149.9K | $169.2K | $83.2K | $53.5K | $62.2K | $56.3K | $35.8K | $34.8K | $76.8K | $39.9K | $47.0K | $87.5K |
| 2014 | $84.6K | $145.2K | $148.4K | $81.2K | $54.5K | $62.6K | $54.3K | $37.0K | $34.7K | $68.3K | $40.3K | $44.2K | $87.5K |
| 2015 | $87.2K | $108.7K | $102.5K | $62.7K | $56.0K | $53.9K | $48.0K | $39.8K | $35.8K | $45.3K | $41.7K | $36.1K | $74.0K |
| 2016 | $90.2K | $107.7K | $89.9K | $56.7K | $56.8K | $49.9K | $47.4K | $41.7K | $38.1K | $41.9K | $41.5K | $33.3K | $70.0K |
| 2017 | $96.1K | $120.8K | $99.4K | $61.7K | $59.3K | $53.1K | $50.2K | $43.2K | $39.4K | $46.6K | $42.3K | $33.6K | $70.3K |
| 2018 | $104.2K | $129.5K | $110.0K | $65.1K | $60.9K | $59.4K | $52.0K | $45.5K | $40.1K | $51.4K | $43.1K | $37.8K | $77.4K |
| 2019 | $105.5K | $126.0K | $107.5K | $69.4K | $61.2K | $59.6K | $56.6K | $46.5K | $41.2K | $50.7K | $43.7K | $37.3K | $79.8K |
| 2020 | $102.1K | $57.1K | $82.1K | $69.8K | $58.2K | $47.5K | $53.4K | $47.9K | $41.0K | $41.5K | $43.6K | $35.2K | $66.8K |
| 2021 | $134.0K | $73.4K | $116.8K | $78.2K | $65.9K | $62.7K | $55.0K | $51.7K | $46.2K | $50.7K | $46.0K | $38.7K | $68.6K |
| 2022 | $144.4K | $64.2K | $122.9K | $81.8K | $68.6K | $72.0K | $61.7K | $55.5K | $53.6K | $55.0K | $49.2K | $42.6K | $75.1K |
| 2023 | $144.7K | $116.4K | $129.0K | $85.1K | $71.5K | $71.6K | $64.2K | $57.4K | $55.3K | $53.1K | $52.7K | $42.0K | $78.0K |
| 2024 | $153.2K | $127.1K | $126.7K | $90.0K | $75.3K | $71.9K | $67.2K | $61.1K | $57.3K | $53.1K | $54.2K | $41.8K | $79.3K |
| 2025 | $163.4K | $137.0K | $128.9K | $92.4K | $80.4K | $73.8K | $71.0K | $63.1K | $59.7K | $56.5K | $55.4K | $42.3K |
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Frequently asked questions
What is the richest country in Asia?
In 2025, Singapore ranks #1 with $163.4K, followed by Macao ($137.0K) and Qatar ($128.9K). Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD), GDP per person, PPP, current international $ thousands; Asia.
What is the richest country in Asia?
Singapore is the richest in Asia by GDP per person, at about $163.4 thousand in 2025 in PPP terms. Macao is second at $137.0 thousand and Qatar third at $128.9 thousand.
Who was Asia's richest country in 1990?
The United Arab Emirates was the richest in Asia in 1990, with GDP per person of about $88.5 thousand in PPP terms. Brunei was second at $70.2 thousand and Qatar third at $57.2 thousand.
How does South Korea rank?
South Korea is eighth in Asia at about $63.1 thousand per person in 2025 in PPP terms. Israel is just behind at $59.7 thousand and Kuwait tenth at $56.5 thousand.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD), GDP per person, PPP, current international $ thousands; Asia. Retrieved November 4, 2026. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.
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