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ASEAN-KOREA

Cultural & Creative Sectors Research

Asia Power Index 2024

Updated: 1 hour ago



The annual Asia Power Index — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in Asia. The project maps out the existing distribution of power as it stands today, and tracks shifts in the balance of power over time. The Index ranks 27 countries and territories in terms of their capacity to shape their external environment — its scope reaching as far west as Pakistan, as far north as Russia, and as far into the Pacific as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.


History and Context

The index was developed in response to the significant power shifts occurring in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly:

  1. China's rapid economic and military rise

  2. Questions about the sustainability of American primacy in Asia

  3. The growing importance of middle powers in regional affairs

  4. The need for data-driven analysis of power relationships beyond traditional metrics

The index emerged during a period of increasing strategic competition between the US and China, as well as growing recognition of Asia's centrality to global economic and political developments. It filled a gap in objective measurements of comprehensive power in the region.


Approach and Methodology

The Asia Power Index uses a multi-dimensional approach to measuring power:

  • Comprehensive Assessment: Rather than focusing solely on military or economic metrics, the index evaluates power across multiple dimensions.

  • Quantitative Metrics: The methodology relies on data-driven analysis using hundreds of indicators across eight thematic measures of power:

    • Economic capability

    • Military capability

    • Resilience

    • Future resources

    • Diplomatic influence

    • Economic relationships

    • Defense networks

    • Cultural influence

  • Comparative Framework: The index ranks countries relative to one another, allowing for tracking changes in relative power over time.

  • Geographic Scope: The index covers 26 countries across the Indo-Pacific region, from major powers like the US and China to smaller but strategically significant nations.

  • Annual Updates: The Lowy Institute updates the index yearly, enabling analysis of trends and shifts in the regional power balance.


The index is particularly notable for measuring both current power ("resources") and projected future power ("influence"), as well as distinguishing between economic and military dimensions. This approach reflects a sophisticated understanding that power in international relations is multifaceted and cannot be reduced to any single dimension.

The Asia Power Index has become an important reference point for policymakers, scholars, and analysts seeking to understand the complex power dynamics of one of the world's most strategically significant regions.

In Asia, a battle of narratives rages. Many believe China is already an unassailably dominant force, while US primacists see it as weak, vulnerable and ultimately containable. Still others, including US allies such as Australia and Japan, tout the emergence of a multi-polar Indo-Pacific that could arrest China’s ambitions for regional hegemony. What do the findings of the Asia Power Index say about these prevailing narratives? And what role can third countries play in Asia’s power politics and in its regional order?

The 2024 edition is the most comprehensive assessment of the changing distribution of power in Asia to date. It includes Timor-Leste for the first time, reflecting its growing importance as a result of likely accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in future years.

The project evaluates international power in Asia through 131 indicators across eight thematic measures: Military Capability and Defence Networks, Economic Capability and Relationships, Diplomatic and Cultural Influence, as well as Resilience and Future Resources. More than half the data points involve original Lowy Institute research, while the rest are aggregated from hundreds of publicly available national and international sources.

The Lowy Institute is an Australian think tank with a global outlook. Our research interests are as broad as Australia’s interests, and we host distinguished speakers from around the globe on foreign policy, defence, politics, aid and development, journalism, sport, science and the arts.

As an Australian think tank, Asia touches everything the Lowy Institute does. Our research and events calendar have a special Asia-Pacific focus, and our experts produce commentary for the world’s leading news outlets on events in the region.

The Lowy Institute is at the centre of Australia’s foreign policy and national security debates. Every prime minister and foreign minister since 2003, when the Institute was founded, has spoken at the Lowy Institute. Our annual poll of Australian public opinion is cited around the world, our experts are sought out by the Australian media for commentary on breaking events, and our research – including our flagship Lowy Institute Papers, published by Penguin – helps set the national agenda.

The Lowy Institute aims to be a world-leading online think tank. Our digital magazine, The Interpreter, was the first of its kind among foreign-policy think tanks, and we publish groundbreaking interactive research such as the Global Diplomacy Index, the Asia Power Index, and the Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map.

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