Asia’s year in review: Who had it best — and who had it worst — in 2025

What a year this has been. Understandably for many, it could not be over soon enough.

From the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs to natural and man-made disasters across Asia. To new leaders breaking glass ceilings and old leaders whisked off to The International Criminal Court, or even sentenced to death in absentia. Missiles fired across borders. Terrorist attacks in South Asia and the Pacific. Enduring corruption challenges and real estate woes. And people scammed and enslaved.

As 2025 comes to a close, we look back and see who had it bad and who had it good.

The year saw a growing tsunami of cybercrime sweeping across the globe, emanating from Southeast Asia. Criminal gangs largely operating out of Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia defrauded billions of dollars from victims worldwide.

The “perpetrators” are also the victims. Hundreds of thousands of individuals enticed with fake employment offers to these nations, many transiting via Thailand, then held against their will, enslaved to work in these scam centers.

The kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was lured by a fraudulent acting gig, then forced to work in one operation in January 2025, brought heightened attention to this growing crisis. Even the Trump administration took notice. “The scam centers are creating a generational wealth transfer from Main Street America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Weak governments and corruption allow these multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprises to function, despite high-profile efforts to free captives and close compounds that have operated with near impunity in Southeast Asia.

Unless stopped, these operations will only grow more sophisticated as they begin to use AI and deepfakes to perpetrate their crimes. Asia’s enslaved cyber scam victims earn the distinction of having the worst year in Asia, with sadly far too little hope for escape and rescue in sight.

The death count across large swaths of Asia seemed to accelerate by the year’s end. Throughout all of 2025, too many people fell victim to natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons and floods, seemingly made worse by human corruption or ineptness.

A March 28 earthquake in Myanmar killed more than 3,600, displaced some 200,000 and even brought down a skyscraper under construction across the border in distant Bangkok, killing dozens more. From Sri Lanka to Thailand to Indonesia to Vietnam to Malaysia and the Philippines, floods, mudslides and typhoons combined to impact millions and kill more than 1,600.

Add fire to the mix. The year closed with the horrific Wang Fuk Court apartment complex fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong. Televised scenes of towering infernos were seen worldwide. Inoperable fire alarms and below-grade construction materials reportedly contributed to the heartbreaking tragedy, with at least 160 people dead — making it one of the deadliest fires in the city’s history.

Armed with memes, hashtags and reels and some waving the Jolly Roger Flag popularized by the Japanese anime and manga series “One Piece,” Gen Zers hungering for change had a mixed year in 2025.

Many in this cohort of young people born between 1997 and 2012 took to the streets, including in Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, the Maldives and even in the new ASEAN member state Timor-Leste, to protest corruption, nepotism and economic inequality. The results were decidedly mixed though their frustrations seemed all too common in Asia.

These “digital natives” succeeded in bringing down Nepal’s government. Last year, this generation had played a key role in toppling the government of Bangladesh. In other countries, small concessions were achieved in 2025. Yet, at year-end, the question remains whether Gen Z — the first generation to fully grow up in the internet era — is able to maintain momentum and turn these uprisings into a viable movement for constructive change.

The shared hope remains for a political force that can reform entrenched and corrupt systems, alleviate the youth’s deep frustration with the status quo and bring about more economic opportunities. To quote Monkey D. Luffy from “One Piece,” “If you don’t take risks, you can’t create a future.”

Resilience was in full display across Asia’s slowing but still growing economies at year-end. Leaders across the region adopted flexible strategies — akin to bamboo bending in high winds — to navigate Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

Indeed, it proved a good year for “bamboo economic tactics” as the region’s reputation for pragmatism held and countries were able to manage the new global economic reality. This approach led to reduced U.S. tariffs — down from duties proposed initially — and revamped trade configurations and new economic strategies.

One example is the India, Canada and Australia cooperation agreement on technology and innovation, underscoring Asian nations’ own “Art of the Deal.”

Recalibrating economic approach allowed developing Asia to achieve growth hovering around 5% for the year, according to the Asian Development Bank. This also kept Asia on track overall as the world’s fastest-growing region in the world.

If tech and creative content are the new soft power, this past year showed that “Made In China” could be a contender, with Beijing joining the ranks of the United States and Korea as a soft-power giant.

The year began with the January surprise: the launch of DeepSeek’a low-cost AI model in a world once-enamored by ChatGPT and American tech prowess. By year-end, the “ugly-cute” Pop Mart collectible, Labubu, had taken the world by a storm, even appearing in New York City’s iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Labubu is part of a larger group of characters called “The Monsters,” created by Hong Kong artist and author Kasing Lung.

From BYD electric vehicles to the biggest animated film in the world ever — Ne Zha 2 that reportedly grossed more than $2 billion — to Li-Ning sneakers appearing on NBA courts and Luckin Coffee shops opening at a rapid pace throughout Asia and the United States, Chinese soft power was clearly on the rise in 2025, and so receives the distinction for having the best year in Asia.

Here’s to a better, safer and more peaceful year for all in 2026.

Curtis S. Chin, a former U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, is managing director of advisory firm RiverPeak Group and chair, senior fellows at Milken Institute. Jose B. Collazo is an analyst focusing on the Indo-Pacific region. Follow them on X at @CurtisSChin and @JoseBCollazo.