This article looks at the most advanced country in Asia in 2024. To see the full free list, you can head over to the 15 Most Advanced Countries in Asia in 2024.

A report by McKinsey in 2020 highlighted the progress made by Asia in technology and innovation over the past decade, accounting for 52% of the global growth in technology companies’ revenues. The continent’s share of the new unicorns established between 2012 and 2020 stood at 36%, an improvement from the decade prior when the contribution was measured at 29%.

Moreover, Asia also represented 51% of the global growth in R&D expenditure during the period, led the world when it came to growth in the number of patents, and also contributed significantly toward the increase in science and engineering research articles published. Between 2016 and 2018, three-fourths of the world’s STEM education graduates came from India, while in 2020, Asia went past Europe in combating climate change, emerging as the global leader in renewable technology with an installation capacity of 45%.

The advancements in technology and innovation have fueled economic growth in the region, where technology has widely been deployed across sectors, driving enhanced productivity in the corporate sphere, and boosting economic development and public service delivery at a macro level. Many Western observers have already dubbed the 21st century Asia’s century, and the continent now seems to be catching up to the expectations faster than anticipated.

Asia, which accounted for less than one-third of the global economy in purchasing power parity terms in 2000 is now on track to represent more than half of the world’s GDP by 2040, as per a report by McKinsey. The continent is also expected to represent more than 40% of the global consumption by then. Furthermore, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, China and India are set to go past the United States as the world’s first and second largest economies by 2050, with the Chinese alone forecasted to make up 20% of the global economy over the next three decades.

Several large Western corporations including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have made inroads in the continent by outsourcing some of their key operations to Asia to tap into the lucrative opportunities offered by the huge markets, coupled with making the most of the cheap, skillful labor that is available in abundance in the region. About 95% of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks are manufactured in China, today. The country, along with Hong Kong and Taiwan, was the source of 19% of the tech giant’s revenue during the fiscal year 2023. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has recently further expanded its presence in Asia through its new stores opening in India and Malaysia.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s investments in the continent have seen an uptick in Asia, with the company, in 2021, announcing the establishment of a new data center in Indonesia. The new setup is likely to increase revenues for the tech giant by $6.3 billion. On the other hand, the International Data Corporation (IDC) expects Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to add 100,000 new jobs and $39 billion to the United Arab Emirates’ economy through its cloud-based services between 2022 and 2026.

Asian corporations themselves contribute a whopping $19 trillion to the global economy every year. The continent is home to many of the largest corporations in the world, including the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM), Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), and Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA).

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is a dominant player in the global foundry industry, accounting for 60% of all output. It is currently the third-best hardware stock to buy now, with 135 hedge funds bullish about the company, according to Insider Monkey’s database as of the first quarter of 2024. During May, the company’s revenue grew 30% to a total of $7.1 billion, driven by ASML’s announcement to ship its advanced high NA EUV scanner to TSM. The machine is crucial to future manufacturing technologies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) has a forward P/E ratio of 26 at par with the industry average.

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) has a share of 11.5% of the world’s automobile industry. The company sold a record 11.2 million cars worldwide in 2023, which helped Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) to retain its status as the world’s top car maker for a fourth successive year. On the other hand, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) continues to remain a major force in the e-commerce market, controlling more than 50% of China’s online retail industry.

Methodology

We have ranked the most advanced countries in Asia in 2024 based on three weighted metrics: technological advancement, R&D expenditure as a share of the GDP (during the latest year for which data is available), and their level of human development. The weights, in order, were 40%, 40%, and 20%, respectively. Data was sourced from WIPO’s 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII), the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme.

It was observed where each country ranked on a particular metric and accordingly, it was assigned a weighted score. We then summed the weighted scores for each metric to get an overall score. The 15 Most Advanced Countries in Asia in 2024 are ranked in ascending order of their overall scores.

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1. South Korea

Global Innovation Index Rank (2023): 10

R&D Expenditure as a Share of GDP (2021): 4.93%

Human Development Index Score (2022): 0.929

Overall Score: 2.8

South Korea is the most advanced country in Asia. It is a high-income country with a GDP of over $1.7 trillion. The government offers its nationals widespread access to quality education and healthcare. The United Nations ranked South Korea 19th in the world for human development. According to WIPO, it is also the 10th most technologically advanced country in the world for technology and innovation. Seoul spends a high proportion of its GDP on R&D expenditure, last measured at 4.93% in 2021 as per the World Bank.

To learn about other advanced countries in Asia, you can check out our detailed report 15 Most Advanced Countries in Asia in 2024.

At Insider Monkey, we delve into a variety of topics, ranging from advanced countries in the world and various regions to other business aspects in the industry; however, our expertise lies in identifying the top-performing stocks. Currently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology stands out as one of the most promising fields. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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