The Poorest Countries in South Asia

Although Pakistan is very rich in natural resources, about 40% of its population lives in extreme poverty. Reasons for this dysfunction include governmental corruption and elitism, religious and secular conflict, and a lack of democratic ideals. The country also spends the largest part of its national budget on defense, allocating only 2.6% of its total GDP to education.

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The Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific publication presents data regarding the economic, financial, social, and environmental situations in a broad range of countries across the region. ADB supports the Philippines in sustaining growth and steering the country’s development path toward greater inclusion, climate resilience, and increased competitiveness in the economy. The country is currently ruled by a dictatorial regime of a theocratic nature, led by the Taliban, which returned to rule in August 2021.

Mozambique, a sparsely populated country and a resource-rich former Portuguese colony, faces poverty due to natural disasters, disease, rapid population growth, low agricultural productivity, and wealth inequality. Despite its resource richness and strong GDP growth, the country remains among the world’s poorest, exacerbated by attacks from Islamic insurgent groups in the gas-rich north. Despite its beautiful landscapes, Malawi, located in southeastern Africa, grapples with significant economic challenges. The nation relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture, making it vulnerable to climate change and fluctuating commodity prices. Nonetheless, the government remains committed to promoting economic diversification, improving education and healthcare, and reducing poverty.

Government

Malawi has enjoyed stable governments since it gained independence from Britain in 1964. However, in 2020, the constitutional court annulled former president Peter Mutharika’s win in the general elections citing vote tampering. Theologian and politician Lazarus Chakwera, who was sworn in his place, declared that he wanted to provide the kind of leadership that makes everybody prosper, but structural changes have been slow to materialize.

1. However, following the end of the detrimental regime, the economy has been improving to what it is now.
2. The GDP per capita method based on the PPP is preferred because it provides a clearer picture of a nation by accounting for inflation and the cost of living.
3. International organisations like the World Food Programme strive to alleviate poverty and improve the country’s future through sustainable development efforts and investment in education and healthcare.
4. Political instability, ongoing conflicts, and limited infrastructure hinder its progress.
5. The country is rich in several natural resources such as historical sites, gems, jade, oil, natural gas, and other resources.
6. With a GDP per capita of $6,961, Pakistan ranks among the poorest countries in Asia by GDP per capita.

Each method may reorder the countries but pinpoints the same 12 countries as the poorest countries in Asia. The Federal Democratic Republic poorest country in asia of Nepal is the second poorest nation in South Asia. Despite bordering big economies like India and China, Nepal’s GDP per capita remains low. The country’s location within the Himalayas complicates infrastructure and economic development.

To be fair, the country was also faced with an unprecedented series of challenges. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the Asia-Pacific region battling with disrupted economic growth. However, Asia is one of the few regions expected to perform better than the rest of the world. The Asian economy is facing a mix of both economic instability and economic growth. Two of the region’s largest economies including China and India are going in opposite directions, with China suffering from a property market crisis and deflation while India making notable progress. However, opium cultivation, as in the past, has become once again one of the most widespread and profitable activities in the country, widely controlled by armed groups and the ruling regime.

The least poor country on the list is Myanmar, which is also known as Burma or officially as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The country is rich in several natural resources such as historical sites, gems, jade, oil, natural gas, and other resources. However, there is a huge disparity between the poor and the rich, which has contributed to the low GDP per capita. One of the main causes of this disparity is the long-running ethnic strife. These civil wars have created an opportunity for a few key individuals to amass wealth while most people wallow in poverty.

Pakistan

Indonesia’s 20-year economic plan which was initiated in 2005 will come to an end in 2025. Most of the poorest countries in the world are based out of sub-Saharan Africa having the lowest GDP per capita. Along with African countries, some Asian countries also have the lowest GDP per capita in the world, including Afghanistan, Syria, and Sri Lanka. According to the IMF, growth in Asia was estimated to be around 4.7% in 2023, up 0.1% from the previous 4.6% projection in October 2023. In China, increased spending on disaster reconstruction and resilience projects supported growth. The IMF has upgraded Asia’s growth forecast for 2024 from the previous projection of 4.2% in October 2023 to 4.5%.

1. Most of the population lives in poverty, with around 62 percent of Congolese living on less than $2.15 a day.
2. Mining and tourism are the two big factors that contribute to the GDP of the country.
3. Each method may reorder the countries but pinpoints the same 12 countries as the poorest countries in Asia.
4. Yet, people in countries like Burundi, South Sudan and the Central African Republic continue to live in desperate poverty.
5. China’s economy is the largest in Asia and second largest globally, while India’s ranks second largest in Asia and fifth largest globally.
6. Even though Cambodia has experienced rapid economic growth in the recent past, poverty and inequitable wealth distribution remain significant concerns.

With a GDP per capita of $6,540, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia. India is one of the largest economies in the world with a GDP of around $4.11 trillion, as of 2024. India had a population of around 1.41 billion in 2022, according to the data from the World Bank. Iraq has a GDP of $271.47 billion and ranks among the poorest countries in Asia by GDP per capita.

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This year, an estimated 9 million people, over 60% of South Sudan’s population, will be in need of humanitarian assistance. By nearly any measure, Tajikistan consistently ranks as the second- or third-poorest country in Asia. Many skilled people go abroad to search for better work opportunities, leaving Tajikistan with one of the world’s largest remittance economies. Additionally, Tajikistan’s civil war during the 1990s destroyed approximately one-fifth of schools in the country, taking away children’s ability to receive an education, one of the largest factors in reducing poverty.

The second poorest country was Yemen with $2,300 while Nepal was third with about $2,690. Closing the top five was Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with $3,131 and $3,652 in the fourth and the fifth positions respectively. Compared to some countries in the world, especially those in Africa, these countries are richer. Laos is expected to have economic growth around 4% in 2024 compared to growth of 3.7% in 2023, according to the Asian Development Bank. Laos has a GDP of $14.1 billion and ranks among the poorest countries in Asia by GDP per capita. To compile our list of the poorest countries in Asia by GDP per capita, we have shortlisted the countries based on GDP per capita (current prices) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database.

Geopolitics also played a historical role in the late modernization of Nepal. The landlocked country never underwent colonization but acted as a buffer between Imperial China and India. The Nepalese Civil War, an overreliance on agriculture, and rampant corruption also historically stagnated the country’s growth. The very poorest of the world’s poorest countries, South Sudan has been wracked by violence since its creation in 2011. Rich in oil reserves, the landlocked state of roughly 15 million represents a textbook example of the “resource curse,” whereby abundance fosters political and social divisions, inequality, corruption and warfare. The majority of the population is employed in traditional agriculture, although violence and extreme climate events often prevent farmers from planting or harvesting crops.