Economy

Even prior to the penetration of European interests, Southeast Asia was a critical part of the world trading system. A wide range of commodities originated in the region, but especially important were spices such as pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The spice trade initially was developed by Indian and Arab merchants, but it also brought Europeans to the region. First Spaniards (Manila galleon) who sailed from the Americas and Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British and French became involved in this enterprise in various countries. The penetration of European commercial interests gradually evolved into annexation of territories, as traders lobbied for an extension of control to protect and expand their activities. As a result, the Dutch moved into Indonesia, the British into Malaya and parts of Borneo, the French into Indochina, and the Spanish and the US into the Philippines. An economic effect of this imperialism was the shift in the production of commodities. For example, the rubber plantations of Malaysia, Java, Vietnam and Cambodia, the tin mining of Malaya, the rice fields of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and Irrawaddy River delta in Burma, were a response to powerful market demands.

The overseas Chinese community has played a large role in the development of the economies in the region. The origins of Chinese influence can be traced to the 16th century, when Chinese migrants from southern China settled in Indonesia, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries. Chinese populations in the region saw a rapid increase following the Communist Revolution in 1949, which forced many refugees to emigrate outside of China.

The region's economy greatly depends on agriculture; rice and rubber have long been prominent exports. Manufacturing and services are becoming more important.citation needed An emerging market, Indonesia is the largest economy in this region. Newly industrialised countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, while Singapore and Brunei are affluent developed economies. The rest of Southeast Asia is still heavily dependent on agriculture, but Vietnam is notably making steady progress in developing its industrial sectors.citation needed The region notably manufactures textiles, electronic high-tech goods such as microprocessors and heavy industrial products such as automobiles.citation needed Oil reserves in Southeast Asia are plentiful.citation needed

Seventeen telecommunications companies contracted to build the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable to connect Southeast Asia to the US This is to avoid disruption of the kind recently caused by the cutting of the undersea cable from Taiwan to the US in the 2006 Hengchun earthquakes.

Tourism has been a key factor in economic development for many Southeast Asian countries, especially Cambodia. According to UNESCO, "tourism, if correctly conceived, can be a tremendous development tool and an effective means of preserving the cultural diversity of our planet." Since the early 1990s, "even the non-ASEAN nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Burma, where the income derived from tourism is low, are attempting to expand their own tourism industries." In 1995, Singapore was the regional leader in tourism receipts relative to GDP at over 8%. By 1998, those receipts had dropped to less than 6% of GDP while Thailand and Lao PDR increased receipts to over 7%. Since 2000, Cambodia has surpassed all other ASEAN countries and generated almost 15% of its GDP from tourism in 2006. Furthermore, Vietnam is considered as a rising power in Southeast Asia due to its large foreign investment opportunities and the booming tourism sector, despite only having their trade embargo lifted in 1995.

Indonesia is the only member of G-20 major economies and is the largest economy in the region. Indonesia's estimated gross domestic product for 2016 was US$932.4 billion (nominal) or $3,031.3 billion (PPP) with per capita GDP of US$3,604 (nominal) or $11,717 (PPP).

Stock markets in Southeast Asia have performed better than other bourses in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010, with the Philippines' PSE leading the way with 22 percent growth, followed by Thailand's SET with 21 percent and Indonesia's JKSE with 19 percent.

Southeast Asia's GDP per capita is US$3,853 according to a 2015 United Nations report, which is comparable to Guatemala and Tonga.

Country	Currency	Population (2020)	Nominal GDP (2018) $ Billion	GDP per capita (2018)	GDP growth (2019)	Inflation (2019)	Main industries
Brunei	B$ Brunei dollar	437,479	$14.695	$32,414	3.9%	-0.5%	Petroleum, Petrochemicals, Fishing
Cambodia	៛ Riel	16,718,965	$24.141	$1,509	7%	2.4%	Clothing, Gold, Agriculture
East Timor	US$ US dollar	1,318,445	$3.155	$2,435	3.1%	0.1%	Petroleum, Coffee, Electronics
Indonesia	Rp Rupiah	273,523,615	$1,022.454	$3,871	5%	2.8%	Coal, Petroleum, Palm oil
Laos	₭ Kip	7,275,560	$18.230	$2,720	4.7%	3.3%	Copper, Electronics, Tin
Malaysia	RM Ringgit	32,365,999	$354.348	$10,942	4.3%	0.7%	Electronics, Petroleum, Palm oil
Myanmar	K Kyat	54,409,800	$71.543	$1,298	6.5%	8.6%	Natural gas, Agriculture, Clothing
Philippines	₱ Peso	109,581,078	$330.846	$3,104	5.9%	2.5%	Electronics, Timber, Automotive
Singapore	S$ Singapore dollar	5,850,342	$361.109	$64,041	0.7%	0.6%	Electronics, Petroleum, Chemicals
Thailand	฿ Baht	69,799,978	$487.239	$7,187	2.4%	0.7%	Electronics, Automotive, Rubber
Vietnam	₫ Đồng	97,338,579	$241.272	$2,551	7%	2.8%	Electronics, Clothing, Agriculture