Asia Pacific in 2026: Conditional Confidence Amid Shifting Pressures
Asia Pacific enters 2026 with improving economic sentiment alongside rising expectations around security, fairness and trust. Since early 2025, economic confidence has firmed across parts of the region. In Singapore, Malaysia and India, around 75% now describe the current economic situation as good, placing these markets among the most positive in Asia Pacific. Malaysia also stands out for the strength of its year-on-year improvement, with the share rating the economy as good up by 10pp. Elsewhere, momentum has been sharper but from a weaker base: South Korea records the largest year-on-year increase overall at +21pp, despite sentiment remaining net negative.
Inflation remains a key concern in parts of Asia Pacific, particularly in Singapore at 56% and India at 46%. However, year-on-year concern has softened across much of Southeast Asia, indicating that cost of living pressure is no longer intensifying at the pace seen in 2024.
As inflation pressure has eased, attention has shifted. Concern about unemployment has risen over the past year in several Asia Pacific markets, most notably in Singapore at 56%, with increases also seen in Indonesia and South Korea. This points to growing sensitivity around job security even as economic conditions stabilise, reflecting a forward-looking assessment of whether recovery will be durable.
Concerns around financial and political corruption have also intensified across Southeast Asia. Indonesia now records 67% citing corruption as a worry, while Malaysia stands at 52%. Poverty and social inequality remain prominent in Indonesia and Thailand, reinforcing perceptions that recovery remains uneven.
Taken together, the data points to conditional confidence across Asia Pacific. Progress is being recognised, but belief is increasingly tied to whether growth delivers stability, fairness and institutions that can be trusted.
This pattern aligns closely with Ipsos’ Predictions 2026, where expectations for the year ahead reflect cautious hope rather than confidence. Optimism is highest in markets such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia, while sentiment remains more restrained in Australia, Singapore and Japan. Across the region, people are watching closely to see whether pressures around job security, affordability and trust in institutions begin to ease in ways that are tangible in daily life.
