ASEAN: most influential political powers 2025| Statista

In a survey conducted among Southeast Asians in 2025, **** percent of ASEAN respondents viewed China as the most influential political and strategic power in Southeast Asia. Another **** percent stated that the United States had the most political influence in the region that year.

Most politically influential countries or regional organizations in Southeast Asia in 2025

Characteristic	Share of respondents
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Release date

April 2025

More information

Region

Asia, APAC

Survey time period

January 3 to February 15, 2025

Number of respondents

2,023 respondents

Special properties

among respondents from ten ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste. Respondents are professionals from the following categories: academia, think-tankers, or researchers; private sector representatives; civil society, non-government organisations (NGOs) or media representatives; government officials; and regional or international organisations personnel

Method of interview

CAPI interview, questionnaire

Supplementary notes

Original question: "In your view, which country/regional organisation has the most political and strategic influence in Southeast Asia? "

ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is a political and economic union composed of the ten member states Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Results from respondents from Timor-Leste excluded in the aggregated averages as the country is not yet an ASEAN member state.

On their calculation methodology for ASEAN average figures, the source states the following:

We decided to apply a different methodology this year assigning a 10% weighted average to each country’s responses to calculate the average figures for ASEAN as a whole. This is to ensure that the responses of each country are represented by equal proportion, given that ASEAN’s decision-making processes are based on each country having equal say, regardless of country or population size.

Number of respondents in 2025 survey: n = 2,023

Respondent share by nationality:

Brunei: 7.5%
Cambodia: 8.5%
Indonesia: 12.5%
Laos: 7.5%
Malaysia: 11.9%
Myanmar: 9.6%
Philippines: 10.2%
Singapore: 12%
Thailand: 9.7%
Vietnam: 7.7%