ASEAN’s ten economies vary substantially in population, per capita income and economic structure. Their performance has been somewhat uneven, but strong on average; the region has grown at a 5% annual rate over the last two decades, despite two major financial crises (see Table 1). Growth was rapid before the Asian financial crisis and, after slowing in its aftermath, has begun to accelerate again. The upswing is especially noteworthy in Indonesia, the region’s largest economy, which has undertaken wide-ranging political and economic reforms.
Projections envision continued good performance in the future. The consensus centers on 6% growth in the intermediate term (Petri 2010), but barring a severe global setback some observers foresee even faster growth, and include several ASEAN countries among the world’s high performing emerging economies (Goldman Sachs 2010). The region is also benefiting from competitive “courting” by large economic and political partners, including China, Japan, the United States and the European Union (Chachavalpongpun 2010).