What are the 10 richest countries in Asia?

Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Brunei, Japan, Bahrain and Kuwait. Four of them are Gulf states.

Where do Japan, China and India rank?

Japan is 8th in Asia (85.6 out of 100), China 19th (69.3) and India 31st (57.0). South Korea is 6th (87.1).

Why is Qatar not first?

Qatar has the second-highest GDP per head in Asia, after Singapore, but GDP counts for 30 % of the score. Its human development (86.3) and income equality (66.4) scores are below the leaders', which places it 4th with 89.3 out of 100.

How does Asia compare with other continents?

On the same world scale, Asia's 45 scored countries average 63.9 out of 100, against 84.5 for Europe, 61.5 for the Americas, 54.0 for Oceania and 34.9 for Africa.

HelloSafe Prosperity Index2026 edition · 45 Asian countries · 5 indicators

The richest countries in Asia in 2026

Asian countries scored out of 100 on the world Prosperity Index scale, from public data: GDP, national income, human development, income equality and poverty. Singapore ranks first.

Asia top 3 · 2026score /100

80–10070–8060–70under 60

Last updated: October 16, 2026100 % public, traceable data

Key facts to remember

The index in 30 seconds

45Asian countries scored, on the world index scale

63.9Asia's average score /100

94.5Singapore, the richest country in Asia

5regions, from Eastern to Western Asia

Key takeaways · 20-second read

Singapore (94.5), the United Arab Emirates (94.1) and Hong Kong (91.8) are the three richest countries in Asia, and all three are in the world top 15.
Eastern Asia has the highest regional average (79.7), ahead of Western Asia (69.8); Southern Asia has the lowest (52.1).
The Gulf states take four places in Asia's top 10: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
South Korea is 6th and Japan 8th, China 19th and India 31st.
Same scores as the world ranking: Singapore is 7th of the 178 countries of the world index.

How is the index built? See the methodology ↓

01 · Asia ranking

2026 Asia ranking

Asian countries ranked on the same 0–100 score as the world ranking of the richest countries, with their place among the 178 countries of the world index. Click a country for its five indicator scores.

Search a country…

#1 in Asia · #1 in South-eastern Asia · #7 worldwide

Singapore

94.5/10080–100

Singapore scores 94.5/100, #1 in Asia, #1 in South-eastern Asia and #7 worldwide. Its strongest pillar is GDP per capita (PPP) (100.0), its weakest Income equality (76.5).

Pillar breakdown

GDP per capita (PPP) 30 %100.0

National income per capita 20 %98.5

Human development 20 %97.6

Income equality 15 %76.5

Low poverty 15 %92.1

Pillar scores on 100, weighted into the overall 94.5.

Insurance for Singapore →

02 · Where the wealth is

The geography of prosperity in Asia

Every country shown in its tier colour. Click a tier to show or hide it, click a country for its rank and score.

Showing 43 of 43 published countries · click a country for its info

Why are some countries grey? 45 Asian countries are scored and 43 are shown on this page; the other scores stay in our dataset and are available on request. North Korea and Taiwan are not scored (no World Bank or UNDP data). What this study does not show ↓

03 · Regional rankings

Richest countries by region of Asia

Asia's five regions, as defined by the UN, each ranked on its own: every country with its rank in its region, in Asia and worldwide. Eastern Asia leads on average (79.7), ahead of Western Asia (69.8), South-eastern Asia (60.1), Central Asia (60.0) and Southern Asia (52.1).

Eastern Asia · average 79.7 · 5 countries scored, 5 published

Richest countries in Eastern Asia

1Hong Kong SAR China91.8#3
2South Korea87.1#6
3Japan85.6#8
4China69.3#19
5Mongolia64.4#21

Reader service: a night in hospital in Singapore, Hong Kong or the Gulf costs as much as in the most expensive European countries, and a medical evacuation from a remote part of South-east Asia can run to tens of thousands of euros. Compare policies by medical limit with our travel insurance comparison.

Reading the results

What separates Asia's richest countries

City-states and the Gulf lead: Singapore and Hong Kong combine some of the world's highest incomes with very high human development (97.6 and 99.2). The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait all rank in Asia's top 10.

Qatar has Asia's second-highest GDP per head but ranks 4th: about $112,300 per person in purchasing power parity, behind only Singapore, held back by human development (86.3) and income equality (66.4).

Eastern Asia is the most even region: South Korea (87.1), Japan (85.6) and Hong Kong give it the highest average. China ranks 19th (69.3), with a GDP per head of about $31,600.

Kazakhstan leads Central Asia: 80.0 out of 100 and 12th in Asia, with a full 100 on low poverty.

Malaysia has Asia's widest income gap among the countries shown: 46.7 on income equality, which places it 18th despite a GDP per head of about $47,000.

04 · How we score

Methodology

Built by HelloSafe's travel insurance team, independently of our comparison. The scores are those of the world Prosperity Index: a country carries the same score, on the same scale, on both pages. Every figure comes from a public international dataset, so the ranking can be reproduced from the sources.

Score /100= weighted sum30 %GDP per capita (PPP)20 %National income per capita20 %Human development15 %Income equality15 %Low poverty

SourcesIMF World Economic Outlook (GDP per capita in PPP, 2026 estimates), World Bank WDI (GNI per capita, Atlas method), UNDP Human Development Report 2025 (HDI), World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (Gini index, share below the societal poverty line). Regions: UN geoscheme (M49).

ProcessingIncomes on a log scale, as the UNDP does for the HDI. Min-max 0–100 over the 178 countries of the world index, Gini and poverty inverted, outliers winsorised, a missing inequality or poverty figure filled with the median of the country's World Bank income group.

RobustnessRank correlation of 0.99 with equal weights across the 45 Asian countries; Singapore and the United Arab Emirates stay in the top 2.

Formula Prosperity Index = 0.30 × GDP + 0.20 × National income + 0.20 × Human development + 0.15 × Income equality + 0.15 × Low poverty

What this study does not show

43 of the 45 scored Asian countries are shown; the other scores stay in the dataset.
Colour bands are this page's own (80–100, 70–80, 60–70, under 60): on the world page's bands (90, 80, 70), most of the countries shown would share the lowest one.
Hong Kong is scored as a separate economy, as the IMF, the World Bank and the UNDP report it; Taiwan and North Korea are not covered.
Cyprus and Turkey are counted in Europe, as on the world page.
Inequality surveys are rare: Singapore, Hong Kong and most Gulf states have none, so the median of their income group is used.
Some countries measure inequality on consumption rather than income, which reads lower (India, much of Asia): their equality score is flattered.
Relative, not absolute: a score compares countries with each other. Prices, cost of living and wealth within a country are not measured.
Data window: latest release of each source at publication (October 2026).

New in 2026First Asia edition45 countries scored, 5 regionsSame scale as the world indexSingapore #1

Questions on the method? Contact us →

05 · For journalists

Visuals you can publish

This is exactly what your readers will see: the live block, with its credit link. Free to reproduce; a PNG version is included for CMSs that strip iframes.

HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026

The richest countries in Asia80–10070–8060–70under 60Source: HelloSafe, The richest countries in Asia in 2026

Map of Asia · live embed, PNG version includedDownload PNG

“Singapore is the richest country in Asia with 94.5 out of 100 on the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, ahead of the United Arab Emirates (94.1) and Hong Kong (91.8).”

“Four Gulf states rank in Asia's top 10 of the HelloSafe Prosperity Index: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.”

“Qatar has the second-highest GDP per head in Asia but ranks only 4th in the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, held back by human development and income equality.”

Quotes by Antoine Fruchard, travel insurance expert and author of the index · Contact us

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Singapore tops the Asia ranking of the 2026 HelloSafe Prosperity Index with 94.5 out of 100, ahead of the United Arab Emirates (94.1) and Hong Kong (91.8). It is 7th of the 178 countries of the world index and has Asia’s highest GDP per head, about $173,700 in purchasing power parity.

Index updatesThe 2027 ranking is on its way. Be the first to see it.New scores, new countries, the dataset and the press kit, in your inbox on publication day.

Once a year, plus corrections. Privacy policy

And for your next tripCompare the best travel insurances in 2 clicks.Compare prices

🆘 24/7 Assistance💳 Advance of medical expenses🏥 Up to $2.2M in medical expenses❌ Premium cancellation

On the same topic

Cheapest Countries to Visit in 2026

The cost of a week in 100 countries, with their safety. Nepal is the cheapest ($334), Malaysia the best value. Method and open data.