Economic growth across Southeast Asia is increasingly being overshadowed by widening inequality and entrenched corruption, with discontent now spilling onto the streets, according to a new Oxfam report released just a day after Asean leaders concluded their annual summit in Kuala Lumpur.
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The study, titled “An Unequal Future: Asia’s Struggle for Justice in a Warming, Wired World” and released on Wednesday, found that the richest 10 per cent of Asians took between 60 and 77 per cent of national income, while the poorest half received only 12 to 15 per cent.
In 2023, the top 10 per cent captured 58 per cent of income in India, 52 per cent in Thailand, 46 per cent in Indonesia, and 43 per cent in both Vietnam and China.
The report notes that the richest 1 per cent hold 40.1 per cent of national wealth in India and 31.4 per cent in China.
In Indonesia, the bottom 50 per cent’s income share fell from 20.0 per cent in 2000 to 13.7 per cent in 2023, while in Malaysia the top 10 per cent took 39.4 per cent last year. Cambodia and Myanmar showed modest gains, with the poorest half’s income share rising from 9.1 to 14.2 per cent and 14.0 to 17.7 per cent, respectively.
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Oxfam, a global non-profit that campaigns against poverty and inequality, said these imbalances were reinforced by “weak progressive taxation, high debt-service burdens, and governance transparency gaps”, which diverted resources away from social spending and deepened inequality.