An alarming new Oxfam report warns of an ever-deepening divide between Asia’s rich and poor. The wealthiest 10% capture 77% of the region’s income, while over half a billion people survive on less than $4.20 a day.
An Unequal Future: Asia’s Struggle for Justice in a Warming, Wired World reveals that in the region’s largest economies, China, India, and Indonesia, where at least seven people were killed after protests erupted on the streets against the rising cost of living, corruption and inequality, the top 1% control over 40% of all national wealth.
Across ASEAN countries, inequality is just as stark. In several nations, the top 10% capture nearly half of all national income, while millions of ordinary people are left behind despite rapid economic growth. While these economies are growing rapidly, the benefits are overwhelmingly concentrated among the wealthy, leaving millions of ordinary people behind. As countries set to gather in Kuala Lumpur for the annual ASEAN Summit this week, leaders from the region must address rising economic divides to prevent social unrest and economic collapse.
The region faces severe climate disasters. In October, floods in Thailand killed 22 and affected 370,000, while Super Typhoon Ragasa caused hundreds of millions in damages in Vietnam and the Philippines. Floods in Pakistan killed over 1,000, displaced a million, and destroyed crops and livestock. These disasters hit the poorest hardest, yet Asia receives only $333bn of the $1.1tn USD it needs annually for climate action
These extreme disasters show how the poorest bear the brunt, while Asia’s wealthiest billionaires remain largely shielded, dodging taxes and profiting from polluting industries as communities struggle to survive.
Oxfam’s report also found that:
- Asia’s billionaires have more than doubled in the past decade, now holding over $3.4 trillion USD, nearly seven times Thailand’s GDP and twice South Korea’s ($1.7tn USD).
- Low taxes on corporations and inheritances, alongside government spending cuts, are widening the gap between rich and poor.
- The richest 1% emit 150 times more carbon than the poorest half, yet governments lack resources and Global North countries fail to meet their climate finance commitments, leaving Asia’s $1tn USD annual climate needs unmet
- In 11 countries, healthcare costs eat more than 10% of household incomes, and some governments spend up to 20% of their budgets on debt repayments to international and regional financial institutions
- A modest 2-5% wealth tax on the richest could raise $800 billion USD annually, enough to boost health spending by 60% across the region.
- Women still carry two to four times more unpaid care work than men and hold only a quarter of leadership roles. Closing this gap could add $4.5 trillion USD to Asia’s GDP.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Amitabh Behar, Oxfam Executive, said:“The massive gap between the billionaire elites and ordinary people is a deep chasm widening every day. While millions scrape by on $4 a day, the ultra-wealthy dodge taxes and profit from polluting industries as communities drown, homes are destroyed, and livelihoods vanish overnight.
The money to fix these disasters is there, stashed away in offshore accounts and kept out of reach while public services crumble. It’s time to make them pay. If governments don’t act now, ordinary people will bear the brunt of every storm, flood, and soaring bill.”
Inequality Fuels Asia’s Climate Crisis
Asia is the world’s most disaster-prone region, home to over 500 million people at risk from floods, landslides, and typhoons. In 2025 alone, Super Typhoon Ragasa and other extreme events killed hundreds, displaced hundreds of thousands, and caused billions in damage. Between 2014 and 2025, the region saw 1,862 disasters, with floods accounting for nearly half. Rapid warming, nearly twice the global average, is intensifying these events.
Yet while millions struggle, billionaires continue to amass even more wealth. The richest 1% emit 150 times more carbon than the poorest half of the population, driving the crises that hit low-income, rural, Indigenous, and coastal communities hardest.
Women in informal jobs are also among the hardest hit. In Bangladesh, nearly 9 in 10 women in flood-hit areas went hungry, and 91% suffered malnutrition. When disasters hit, families lose income and resources become scarce. Many are forced into harmful coping strategies, marrying off girls early or relying on women to shoulder even more unpaid work just to keep households afloat.
Asia needs $1.1 trillion USD a year to fight climate change, but receives only $333 billion USD, a fraction of what its top billionaires hold.
Behar said: “Asia is on the frontline of climate meltdown, and inequality is continuing to pour petrol on the fire. The climate emergency isn’t just about carbon emissions; it’s about power, greed, and who gets left to drown. The richest profit from polluting industries, and the poorest pay with their homes, health, and futures. With COP rapidly approaching, it’s time for governments to put out the fire and tax billionaires fairly to pay for climate action.”
The Digital Divide
Rapid digital growth is leaving millions behind. Women in South Asia are 41% less likely than men to use mobile internet, and the region recorded 202 internet shutdowns in 2024, the highest worldwide. Pakistan’s 2023 shutdown is reported to have cost more than $17 million, severely disrupting access to welfare, education, and healthcare. Meanwhile, limited access to technology is excluding people from education, employment, and essential services, further entrenching inequality.
Protests and social unrest across Asia
Protests and strikes are increasing across the region as frustration with inequality, low wages, and poor public services grows, with some of these demonstrations even toppling governments.
Behar said:“Asia’s story shouldn’t be one of the billionaires and the billions struggling to survive. This report shows how inequality is hollowing out economies, fuelling unrest, and putting the planet in peril.
Asia’s economic miracle in lifting billions out of poverty over the past three decades was built on keeping inequality firmly in check. The solutions are clear: fair taxes, strong public services, fair wages and climate justice. What’s missing right now is the political will to act.”
Oxfam in Asia’s report recommends ASEAN governments:
- Set clear national targets to reduce inequality, ensuring the total income of the richest 10% to be no more than the total income of the poorest 40%
- Tax the super-rich and big corporations fairly.
- Close corporate loopholes and end harmful tax breaks.
- Invest in universal healthcare, education, social protection and care systems.
- Prioritise grant-based climate finance and debt relief for communities hit hardest.
