Climate Change to be Southeast Asia's Biggest Challenge by 2025

Based on a survey conducted by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, climate change, unemployment, and economic tensions are the main challenges facing Southeast Asia in 2025. These findings are detailed in a report titled *The State of Southeast Asia: 2025 Survey Report*.

“The majority of Southeast Asians (55.3%) say climate change and extreme weather are now the biggest challenges in the region,” wrote the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in its report.

According to the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, climate change has surpassed unemployment and economic recession, which topped the list of challenges facing Southeast Asia in the previous two years.

This is a complete list of the challenges facing Southeast Asia in 2025:

• Worsening climate change and extreme weather events: 55.3%
• Unemployment and economic recession: 49.3%
• Intensifying economic tensions between major powers: 48.3%
• Widening socio-economic gap and increasing income inequality: 43.4%
• Increased military tensions arising from potential conflict hotspots (South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and Korean Peninsula): 41.2%
• Domestic political instability (including ethnic and religious tensions): 35.3%
• Terrorism and extremism: 15.2%
• Deteriorating human rights conditions: 12%

In Indonesia, however, concerns are more focused on economic issues. “Unemployment and economic recession are the main challenges (66.3%), followed by the widening socio-economic gap and increasing income inequality (61.1%),” wrote the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

According to the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, these concerns are driven by domestic factors and are not externally focused on increasingly intense economic competition. This differs from other regions.

“The economic competition between the United States and China is most keenly felt by Singapore's open economy at 62.4%, followed by Laos at 58.3% and Cambodia at 56.4%,” stated the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The State of Southeast Asia survey was conducted from January 3 to February 15, 2025. A total of 2,023 respondents from the ten ASEAN member states participated in this online survey, which used a purposive sampling method.

Respondents in the survey came from five clusters, they are academics, think tanks, or researchers; private sector representatives; civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or media representatives; government officials; and personnel from regional or international organizations.