Key Indicators 2009: Enterprises in Asia: Fostering Dynamism in SMEs

Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2009

Front Matter

PART I
Special Chapter

PART II
Millennium Development Goals

PART III
Regional Tables

PART IV
Definitions

Country Tables

Directory of PDFs

Manila, Philippines - Construction of the Metro Rail Transit - Light Rail Transit (MRT-LRT) loop at EDSA-Balintawak.

PART III
Regional Tables

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[ PDF: 2,315 kb | 138 pages ]

Introduction

The regional tables in Part III are grouped into seven areas or themes, each with short write-ups highlighting important developments since the 1990s. Each theme is further split into related subtopics. This issue of Key Indicators contains 107 regional tables illustrating economic and social developments in the Asia and Pacific region.

It should be noted that the regional tables in this issue of Key Indicators contain annual data only up to 2008 or even an earlier year for some topics. The global economic crisis erupted in the second half of 2008 and some economic statistics for that year show some leveling off in growth rates compared to those in 2007. The full impact of the crisis on Asia will become evident only in next year’s edition of Key Indicators.

The economic crisis has once more highlighted the need for more up-to-date and reliable statistics for countries of the Asia and Pacific region. Quarterly statistics on national accounts and industrial output are still only available for a minority of countries. Unemployment, labor force, and retail sales are other areas where more and better statistics are urgently required.

The seven themes and their subtopics indicated below are a guide to help readers find the indicators they want.

People

  Population Poverty Indicators

  Labor Force and Employment Social Indicators

Economy and Output

  National Accounts Production

Money, Finance, and Prices

  Prices Exchange Rates

  Money and Finance

Globalization

  Balance of Payments Capital Flows

  External Trade External Indebtedness

  International Reserves

Infrastructure

  Transport Communications and Electrification

Government and Governance

  Government Finance Governance

Energy and Environment

  Energy Environment

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Introduction to Regional Tables
[ PDF: 124 kb | 4 pages ]

People brings together standard demographic indicators—e.g., size and growth of the population; birth, death, and fertility rates—including information on international migration, employment and unemployment, life expectancy, health, education resources, and the number of adults living with HIV. Poverty reduction is embodied in the Asian Development Bank’s Strategy 2020—a vision of an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. In this regard, statistics on the extent of poverty in the region are included in this theme.

The People theme also ranks economies of the Asia and Pacific region according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI combines a range of economic and social statistics into an index number reflecting the overall level of well-being in each economy.

Read the commentary for People [ PDF: 451 kb | 26 pages ]

Population

Table 1.1 Mid-year population [ XLS: 38 kb ]

Table 1.2 Growth rates in population [ XLS: 38 kb ]

Table 1.3 Migration and urbanization [ XLS: 34 kb ]

Table 1.4 Population aged 0–14 years [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 1.5 Population aged 15–64 years [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 1.6 Population aged 65 years and over [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 1.7 Age dependency ratio [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Labor Force and Employment

Table 1.8 Labor force participation rate [ XLS: 39 kb ]

Table 1.9 Unemployment rate [ XLS: 34 kb ]

Table 1.10 Unemployment rate of 15–24-year-olds [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Table 1.11 Employment in agriculture [ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 1.12 Employment in industry [ XLS: 32 kb ]

Table 1.13 Employment in services [ XLS: 31 kb ]

Poverty Indicators

Table 1.14 Poverty and inequality [ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 1.15 Human development index [ XLS: 26 kb ]

Social Indicators

Table 1.16 Life expectancy at birth [ XLS: 30 kb ]

Table 1.17 Births, deaths, and reproduction [ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 1.18 Primary education completion rate [ XLS: 30 kb ]

Table 1.19 Adult literacy rate [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Table 1.20 Education resources [ XLS: 30 kb ]

Table 1.21 Health care resources [ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 1.22 Estimated number of adults living with HIV [ XLS: 27 kb ]

Economy and Output focuses on the levels and growth of gross domestic product (GDP), related statistics taken from the national accounts, and related indicators on production. How have the GDP shares of agriculture, industry, and services changed since 1995? Which economies have high saving rates?

This theme compares the relative size of economies both within the region and in the world as a whole using purchasing power parities (PPPs). When countries’ national accounts are converted to a common currency using PPPs, differences in purchasing power between countries are eliminated so that comparisons reflect only differences in the volumes of goods and services produced and consumed in each country. The PPP-converted GDP figures included under this theme show, for example, how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India compare, in terms of real GDP, with an industrial giant like Japan. It also shows, on a per capita GDP basis, the richest and the poorest economies in the region.

Box 1 What are Purchasing Power Parities?

Purchasing power parities (PPPs) are calculated by comparing the prices of identical goods and services in different countries and applying expenditure weights of GDP. These price comparisons are made by calculating price relatives, which are the price of a specified good or service in one country divided by the price of the same item in another country. For example, if a 300 ml can of Pepsi costs Rp16.42 in country A and $3.24 in country B, a price relative can be calculated as 3.24/16.42, or about 0.20. Price relatives are calculated for several hundred items covering all the final expenditure components of GDP and PPPs are then obtained as the weighted average of these price relatives. The weights used are the shares of expenditure on each item in total GDP.

PPPs are currency converters that equalize the purchasing power of currencies in the different countries. They are used in two ways: first, to convert GDP and its expenditure components—household consumption, gross fixed capital formation, etc.—to a common currency so that GDP comparisons can be made in real terms, which means that differences in price levels between countries have been eliminated. Note that a parallel procedure is used when comparing real GDP from year to year in a single country; here, differences in price changes over time are eliminated by using constant prices. The second use of PPPs is to measure differences in price levels between countries, which is done by calculating ratios of PPPs to exchange rates.

The Asian Development Bank coordinated the computation of PPPs for 21 regional members and two nonmember economies in the Asia and Pacific region as part of the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP). Coordination involved a number of steps: drawing up a master list of goods and services from which each economy could select items commonly found in their markets; assisting economies to break down their GDP into the 155 “basic headings” needed to obtain the expenditure weights; verifying the price data and expenditure weights submitted by the 23 economies; and calculating PPPs for the participating economies.

The ICP Global Office at the World Bank then combined the results for the Asia and Pacific region with those for the other regions to provide a set of global comparisons for 146 economies. The ICP Global Office also made econometric estimates of PPPs for a number of missing economies, including 14 in the Asia and Pacific region. The Asian Development Bank has computed real GDP estimates for the Asia and Pacific region back to 2000 and from 2006, and will carry them forward using GDP price deflators until the next benchmark.

Read the commentary for Economy and Output [ PDF: 507 kb | 28 pages ]

National Accounts

Table 2.1 Gross domestic product at PPP [ XLS: 49 kb ]

Table 2.2 GDP per capita at PPP [ XLS: 49 kb ]

Table 2.3 GNI per capita, Atlas method [ XLS: 32 kb ]

Table 2.4 Agriculture value added [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.5 Industry value added [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.6 Services value added [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.7 Private consumption expenditure [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.8 Government consumption expenditure [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.9 Gross domestic capital formation [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.10 Exports of goods and services [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.11 Imports of goods and services [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.12 Gross domestic saving [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.13 Growth rates of real GDP [ XLS: 43 kb ]

Table 2.14 Growth rates of real GDP per capita [ XLS: 44 kb ]

Table 2.15 Growth rates of agriculture real value added [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.16 Growth rates of industry real value added [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.17 Growth rates of services real value added [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.18 Growth rates of real private consumption expenditure [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Table 2.19 Growth rates of real government consumption expenditure [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Table 2.20 Growth rates of real gross domestic capital formation [ XLS: 42 kb ]

Table 2.21 Growth rates of real exports of goods and services [ XLS: 44 kb ]

Table 2.22 Growth rates of real imports of goods and services [ XLS: 44 kb ]

Production

Table 2.23 Growth rates of agriculture production index [ XLS: 36 kb ]

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Table 2.24 Growth rates of manufacturing production index [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Money, Finance, and Prices looks at inflation and financial markets. In 2008, inflation, as measured by consumer price indexes, rose throughout the region. Rising world prices for food, energy, and raw materials, particularly in the first part of 2008 lay behind the rise in inflation.

Since 1995, prices in the stock markets in Hong Kong, China; Republic of Korea; and Singapore show similar movements and no great volatility but stock markets in India and especially, the PRC, have moved much more sharply ending in a speculative boom in 2007 followed by a dramatic collapse in prices in 2008.

As explained in Box 1, PPPs are currency converters that have been calculated in such a way as to eliminate differences between economies in their price levels. Exchange rates are also currency converters but they have not been corrected for price level differences. Ratios of PPPs to exchange rates therefore measure the differences in price levels between economies. These ratios are called indexes of price levels. They identify economies where price levels are particularly high or low.

Read the commentary for Money, Finance, and Prices [ PDF: 515 kb | 22 pages ]

Prices

Table 3.1 Growth rates of consumer price index [ XLS: 40 kb ]

Table 3.2 Growth rates of food consumer price index [ XLS: 49 kb ]

Table 3.3 Growth rates of wholesale/producer price index [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 3.4 Growth rates of GDP deflator [ XLS: 43 kb ]

Money and Finance

Table 3.5 Growth rates of money supply [ XLS: 42 kb ]

Table 3.6 Money supply [ XLS: 31 kb ]

Table 3.7 Interest rate on savings deposits [ XLS: 38 kb ]

Table 3.8 Interest rate on time deposits of 12 months [ XLS: 38 kb ]

Table 3.9 Lending interest rate [ XLS: 40 kb ]

Table 3.10 Yield on short-term treasury bills [ XLS: 43kb ]

Table 3.11 Domestic credit provided by banking sector [ XLS: 48 kb ]

Table 3.12 Bank nonperforming loans [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 3.13 Growth rates of stock market price index [ XLS: 31 kb ]

Table 3.14 Stock market capitalization (US$ million) [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 3.15 Stock market capitalization (percent of GDP) [ XLS: 43 kb ]

Exchange Rates

Table 3.16 Official exchange rate [ XLS: 45 kb ]

Table 3.17 Purchasing power parity conversion factor [ XLS: 51 kb ]

Table 3.18 Price level indexes [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Globalization gives statistics on key aspects of globalization in the Asia and Pacific region. Chief among these is the expansion of trade with countries in other regions and within the region itself. Globalization, however, is not confined to trade in goods and services. It also involves international movements of labor and capital.

Data on remittances by migrant workers and compensation of employees temporarily working abroad, which are an important source of income for many Asian economies, are also presented.

Capital moves between countries in several ways: as official development aid from richer countries, as foreign direct investment (FDI), and as short-term capital movements. Official development aid to the region is important for the Pacific economies and some of the poorer economies in other parts of Asia. Elsewhere, however, FDI is a major source of investment funds. In addition to generating employment, FDI is particularly important because it is often accompanied by transfer of technology and managerial know-how.

This theme also includes tables on the size of external debt and its importance relative to GNI and to exports of goods, services, and income.

Read the commentary for Globalization [ PDF: 565 kb | 28 pages ]

Balance of Payments

Table 4.1 Trade in goods balance [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 4.2 Trade in services balance [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Table 4.3 Current account balance [ XLS: 42 kb ]

Table 4.4 Workers’ remittances and compensation of employees, receipts (US$ million) [ XLS: 31 kb ]

Table 4.5 Workers' remittances and compensation of employees, receipts (percent of GDP) [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 4.6 Foreign direct investment, net inflows (US$ million) [ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 4.7 Foreign direct investment, net inflows (percent of GDP) [ XLS: 36 kb ]

External Trade

Table 4.8 Merchandise exports [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 4.9 Growth rates of merchandise exports [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 4.10 Merchandise imports [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 4.11 Growth rates of merchandise imports [ XLS: 36kb ]

Table 4.12 Trade in goods [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 4.13 Direction of trade: merchandise exports [ XLS: 46 kb ]

Table 4.14 Direction of trade: merchandise imports [ XLS: 46 kb ]

International Reserves

Table 4.15 International reserves [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 4.16 Ratio of international reserves to imports [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Capital Flows

Table 4.17 Official flows from all sources to developing member countries [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 4.18 Net private flows from all sources to developing member countries [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 4.19 Aggregate net resource flows from all sources to developing member countries [ XLS: 34 kb ]

External Indebtedness

Table 4.20 Total external debt of developing member countries (US$ million) [ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 4.21 Total external debt of developing member countries (percent of GNI) [ XLS: 33kb ]

Table 4.22 Total external debt of developing member countries (percent of exports of goods, services, and income)
[ XLS: 33 kb ]

Table 4.23 Total debt service paid by developing member countries (US$ million) [ XLS: 32 kb ]

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Table 4.24 Total debt service paid by developing member countries (percent of exports of goods, services and income)
[ XLS: 33 kb ]

Infrastructure covers both road and rail transportation, communications, and household electrification. The PRC and India dominate both the rail and road networks in the region. A “digital divide” can be observed in the case of fixed broadband internet subscription, with very low numbers of fixed broadband internet subscribers (per 100 population) in most economies of the region. There is some overlap between this theme and Millennium Development Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development, as one of the targets under Goal 8 is to make available to people the benefits of new technologies, especially communications and information.

Read the commentary for Infrastructure [ PDF: 269 kb | 8 pages ]

Transport

Table 5.1 Road indicators [ XLS: 48 kb ]

Table 5.2 Rail indicators [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Communications

Table 5.3 Household electrification rate [ XLS: 31 kb ]

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Table 5.4 Computer and broadband indicators [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Table 5.5 Expenditures on information and communications technology [ XLS: 39 kb ]

Government and Governance has several indicators. The government indicators cover the traditional role of government as tax collector and provider of defense, law and order, and social services.

Governments also play an important role in determining the “business environment.” Does government encourage new entrepreneurs, or does it make it difficult to start new business ventures? How many days does it take to register a new enterprise and what are the costs involved? Some countries make it quick and inexpensive to establish a new business, while others have time-consuming and costly procedures. Those in the latter category are generally countries with lower per capita GDP. Governments can also encourage private business by ensuring that their officials do not abuse their position by demanding “special favors” before they issue licenses or process applications in a timely fashion. “Corruption” is difficult to measure objectively but through surveys, panels of knowledgeable business people can provide broad indications of which countries are more or less corrupt. Again, there are wide differences in perception of corruption between the economies of the Asia and Pacific region. Some are considered to be among the least corrupt, while others are among the worst when ranked against the 180 economies covered by the latest survey by Transparency International.

Read the commentary for Government and Governance [ PDF: 349 kb | 13 pages ]

Government Finance

Table 6.1 Fiscal balance [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Table 6.2 Tax revenue [ XLS: 42 kb ]

Table 6.3 Total government revenue [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Table 6.4 Total government expenditure [ XLS: 38 kb ]

Table 6.5 Government expenditure on education [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Table 6.6 Government expenditure on health [ XLS: 42 kb ]

Table 6.7 Government expenditure on housing and community amenities [ XLS: 41 kb ]

Governance

Table 6.8 Doing business start-up indicators [ XLS: 31 kb ]

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Table 6.9 Corruption perceptions index [ XLS: 37 kb ]

Energy and Environment brings together indicators on the production of energy as well as indicators related to the environment such as land use, air and water pollution, and forest resources.

The PRC is the largest energy producer in the region followed by India, Indonesia, and Australia. The different forms of energy can be converted to standard units, which can then be divided into GDP (PPP) to compare “energy productivity” in each economy. Energy productivity differs widely across the region but there is some evidence that the less productive economies have improved in recent years.

The Asia and Pacific region plays a key role in environmental issues because of its large population. Climate change would sharply accelerate if the region’s per capita output of greenhouse gases were to approach that of Europe and North America. Another reason for Asia’s importance in environmental issues is that the countries of South and Southeast Asia contain many of the world’s remaining rain forests. These are threatened by both commercial logging and land clearance. There is some overlap between this theme and Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure environmental stability, which seeks to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Read the commentary for Energy and Environment [ PDF: 317 kb | 9 pages ]

Energy

Table 7.1 GDP per unit of energy use [ XLS: 52 kb ]

Table 7.2 Energy production [ XLS: 51 kb ]

Table 7.3 Energy imports, net [ XLS: 36 kb ]

Environment

Table 7.4 Agriculture land use [ XLS: 42 kb ]

Table 7.5 Deforestation and pollution [ XLS: 64 kb ]

Selected References

Asian Development Bank. 2007. 2005 International Comparison Program for Asia and the Pacific: Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures. Manila. Available: www.adb.org/statistics/icp/icp.asp.

Commission of the European Communities, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations, World Bank. 1993. System of National Accounts 1993. Brussels/Luxembourg, New York, Paris, Washington, DC.

International Monetary Fund. 1993. Balance of Payments Manual, Fifth Edition. Washington, DC. Available: www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/bopman.pdf.

Menon, J., and A. Melendez-Nakamura. 2009. Aging in Asia: Trends, Impacts and Responses. ADB Working Paper Series on Regional Economic Integration No. 25, Office of Regional Economic Integration, Asian Development Bank, Manila. Available: aric.adb.org/pdf/workingpaper/WP25_Aging_in_Asia.pdf.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2007. OECD Factbook 2007. Paris.

Park, D. 2009. Ageing Asia’s Looming Pension Crisis. ADB Economics Working Paper Series No 165. Asian Development Bank, Manila. Available: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Working-Papers/2009/Economics-WP165.pdf.

World Bank. 2008a. Global Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures, 2005 International Comparison Program. Washington, DC. Available: siteresources.worldbank.org/ICPINT/Resources/icp-final.pdf.

——. 2009a. World Development Indicators 2009. Washington, DC.

——. 2009b. Migration and Development Brief 10. Washington, DC.

Publications

PART III Regional Tables

PART III
Regional Tables