= Statistics & Demographics =
Consistently, what we’ve found in discussion with participants in the startup space is an overarching blind spot when it comes to knowledge surrounding South and Southeast Asia, and the greater Asia region generally.
As a brief introduction, the population demographics below are intended to provide you with, amongst other considerations:
• An indication of relative size
between country populations
• An indication of those countries who punch far above
their population’s implied weight (Singapore, for instance)
• Food for thought around market size
and – importantly – future market size
• A reminder to consider lost opportunities
that may be geographically more productive.
BASIC DEMOGRAPHICS
Location | Population |
China | 1BN 376.049M |
India | 1BN 311.051M |
Indonesia | 257.564M |
Japan | 126.573M |
Philippines | 100.699M |
Vietnam | 93.448M |
Thailand | 67.959M |
Myanmar | 53.897M |
South Korea | 50.293M |
Malaysia | 30.331M |
Australia | 23.969M |
Taiwan | 23.78M |
Sri Lanka | 20.715M |
Cambodia | 15.578M |
Hong Kong | 7.288M |
Singapore | 5.604M |
New Zealand | 4.529M |
Internet access
Country | ‘net users 2016 |
Internet penetration % of population |
Without internet access |
Australia | 20,679,490 | 85.10% | 3,629,840 |
Bangladesh | 21,439,070 | 13.20% | 141,471,794 |
Bhutan | 289,177 | 36.90% | 494,926 |
Brunei | 310,205 | 72.30% | 118,669 |
Cambodia | 1,756,824 | 11.10% | 14,070,417 |
China | 721,434,547 | 52.20% | 660,888,785 |
Hong Kong | 5,442,101 | 74.10% | 1,904,147 |
India | 462,124,989 | 34.80% | 864,676,587 |
Indonesia | 53,236,719 | 20.40% | 207,344,381 |
Kyrgyzstan | 2,076,220 | 34.40% | 3,957,549 |
Laos | 1,087,567 | 15.70% | 5,830,800 |
Malaysia | 21,090,777 | 68.60% | 9,660,825 |
Mongolia | 1,069,693 | 35.60% | 1,936,751 |
Myanmar | 1,353,649 | 2.50% | 53,009,777 |
Nepal | 4,962,323 | 17.20% | 23,888,394 |
New Zealand | 4,078,993 | 89.40% | 486,192 |
Pakistan | 34,342,400 | 17.80% | 158,484,102 |
Philippines | 44,478,808 | 43.50% | 57,771,325 |
Singapore | 4,699,204 | 82.50% | 997,302 |
South Korea | 43,274,132 | 85.70% | 7,229,801 |
Sri Lanka | 6,087,164 | 29.30% | 14,723,652 |
Thailand | 29,078,158 | 42.70% | 39,068,451 |
Vietnam | 49,063,762 | 52% | 45,380,438 |
Smartphone penetration
Country | % of pop’n owning a smartphone |
No. smartphone users |
Australia | 68.6% | 16.9M |
South Korea | 67.6% | 34.5M |
Taiwan | 60% | 14.2M |
Malaysia | 57.5% | 18.4M |
China | 55.3% | 782.85M |
Japan | 55.3% | 70.3M |
Philippines | 44.9% | 47.86M |
Thailand | 43.7% | 30.2M |
Vietnam | 37.7% | 36.38M |
India | 27.7% | 374.9M |
Indonesia | 27.4% | 73.15M |
Myanmar | 21.8% | 11.72M |