Vietnam surpasses Indonesia on per-person GDP- Is Thailand next?

[Panda_Hi]

Why Chinese are poorer than Taiwan?

Taiwan connected with the international community much earlier, while mainland China did so much later.

Although Taiwan has been diplomatically abandoned by much of the world, it has still managed to integrate into global trade.
Mainland China, however, has faced successive waves of containment by the Western world, led by the US, at different stages of its history. Even today, it continues to face strategic containment and technological restrictions.

People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same ethnic group and share a common cultural heritage. There are no fundamental differences in their innate intelligence or abilities.
Therefore, whatever Taiwanese people can achieve, mainland Chinese people can achieve as well.

In fact, mainland Chinese people may even perform better. After all, mainland China's population is about 60 times that of Taiwan, giving it a much larger talent pool and much fiercer internal competition.

There is another factor worth mentioning: mainland China still has a strong historical sense of mission centered on national rejuvenation, and regards the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as an important national development goal.
This drive, this sense of historical mission, has almost completely disappeared from Taiwanese society today.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Taiwan's wealth was built up by the whole Chinese population, KMT left nothing to CCP after they left for Taiwan. What CCP took over was just a war torn, deeply impoverished nation.


As the defeated KMT flees to Taiwan, they strip China of liquid assets including gold, silver, and the country's dollar reserves.

Chiang Kai-shek's mission to take gold from China was held secretly because, according to Wu Sing-yung, the entire mission was operated by Chiang himself. Only Chiang and Wu's father, who was the head of Military Finance for the KMT government, knew about the expenditure and moving of gold to Taiwan and almost all orders by Chiang were issued verbally.

Wu stated that even the finance minister had no power over the final expenditure and transfer. The written record was kept as the top military secret by Chiang in the Taipei Presidential Palace and the declassified archives only became available to the public more than 40 years after his death in April 1975. It is a widely held belief that the gold brought to Taiwan was used to lay the foundations for the Taiwanese economy and government.

Some also believe that after six months of the gold operation by Chiang, the New Taiwanese dollar was launched, which replaced the old Taiwanese dollar at a ratio of one to 40,000. It is believed that 800,000 taels of gold were used to stabilize the economy which had been suffering from hyperinflation since 1945.

The KMT also retreated with artifacts kept mostly in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.The National Palace Museum claims that in 1948 when China was going through its Civil War, executive director Chu Chia-hua and others (Wang Shijie, Fu Ssu-nien, Xu Hong-Bao (Chinese: 徐洪宝), Li Ji, and Han Lih-wu) discussed shipping masterpieces to Taiwan for the artifacts' safety. Other institutions, such as the Henan Museum, also evacuated their collections of cultural relics to Taiwan during the war.

Some historians believe that Taiwan is still part of Chinese sovereign territory so relocation is not an issue.

 

[Naruto]

Think that way, if Singapore was not split up with Malaysia then the rich oil sheiks of Singapore today would have the same GDP per capita with Malaysia.
Or Thailand, it would never catch up to rich countries because the Thai culture is very much borrowed from India. Vietnam culture is borrowed much from China.

Filipino culture wasn't borrowed from India, so why are they poor? Our neighbouring country, Bhutan, has a much higher GDP per capita than the Philippines.

Also, when comparing GDP per capita, you should use the PPP-adjusted figure rather than nominal GDP per capita, as nominal figures can fluctuate due to changes in exchange rates.

 

[Naruto]

Yes, race certainly is a factor but why Noway is multiple times richer than Russia despite almost identical people? Apart from few places Russia is considered as a giant slum for the people in Norway. Of course China beats India in every metrics.

Ideology matters more than race, but geopolitics also plays a significant role. For example, Pakistan was wealthier than both India and China in terms of GDP per capita in the past, because of the American and Western aid flowing into the country. Pakistan still receives Western aid, but India's economy has grown so strong that even this assistance has not been enough to keep Pakistan's economy at par with India's. Meanwhile, China's economy has grown to roughly four times the size of India's.

Another example is the contrast between North Korea and South Korea. What differentiates India from Pakistan, is the religion of the majority of their populations: around 80% of India's population is Hindu, while Pakistan's population is almost entirely Muslim.

 

[ety]

China's economy has grown to roughly four times the size of India's.

China's nominal GDP now is 5 times that of India, not 4.

 

[Naruto]

China's nominal GDP now is 5 times that of India, not 4.

It depends on whether you include Taiwan and Hong Kong in China's economy. With Taiwan and Hong Kong included, China's economy is roughly five times larger than India's, without them, it is about four times larger.

 

[ety]

It depends on whether you include Taiwan and Hong Kong in China's economy. With Taiwan and Hong Kong included, China's economy is roughly five times larger than India's, without them, it is about four times larger.

No. Excluding Taiwan and HK, Mainland China's nominal GDP is approximately $20.85 trillion (ranked 2nd globally) while India's is $4.15 trillion (ranked 6th globally) as of 2026, according to the IMF GDP Comparison via StatisticsTimes. [1]

Key GDP Comparisons (2026 Estimates)

• • Nominal GDP:
    • China: $20,851.59 billion (~$20.85 trillion)
    • India: $4,153.19 billion (~$4.15 trillion)
    • Ratio: China's nominal GDP is roughly 5 times larger than India's. [1]
  • Nominal GDP per capita:
    • China: $14,874
    • India: $2,813 [1]

Taiwan

• Nominal GDP: ~$1.02 trillion (USD)

Hong Kong SAR

• Nominal GDP: ~$455.16 billion (USD)

 

[Viet]

Filipino culture wasn't borrowed from India, so why are they poor? Our neighbouring country, Bhutan, has a much higher GDP per capita than the Philippines.

Also, when comparing GDP per capita, you should use the PPP-adjusted figure rather than nominal GDP per capita, as nominal figures can fluctuate due to changes in exchange rates.

To become rich and developed you must either have from heaven given natural resources like the Russians or be industrious like the Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, or most of Europeans. Philippines have none of these. The culture is much of US influence, neither China nor India. Philippines is an exception in ASEAN.

 

[Naruto]

To become rich and developed you must either have from heaven given natural resources like the Russians or be industrious like the Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, or most of Europeans. Philippines have none of these. The culture is much of US influence, neither China nor India. Philippines is an exception in ASEAN.

My reply was to your earlier assertion that Chinese culture is the reason behind the development of Singapore and Japan. That's why I brought up the Philippines as an example.

Filipinos embraced Christianity, believing that Christianity was the reason behind Europe's development, without realising that Europe left chistianity and become secular long ago. Also, religious conversion is prohibited by law in Japan.

By the way, Singapore and Japan have far more Hindu Philosophy influence than the Philippines.

Even in the US, Hindus are the wealthiest religious community, What you East Asians fail to realise is that Christianity, Islam and Judaism share many of the same core principles.

 

[Panda_Hi]

religious conversion is prohibited by law in Japan

▲▲▲ I recall seeing this claim made more than once here.

Where did this information come from?

There is no law in Japan prohibiting religious conversion.

---

日本国憲法​

The Constitution of Japan
https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/321CONSTITUTION

第19条 思想及び良心の自由は、これを侵してはならない。
Article 19: Freedom of thought and conscience shall not be violated.

第20条 信教の自由は、何人に対してもこれを保障する。いかなる宗教団体も、国から特権を受け、又は政治上の権力を行使してはならない。
Article 20: Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor shall it exercise any political authority.

② 何人も、宗教上の行為、祝典、儀式又は行事に参加することを強制されない。
② No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration, ceremony, or event.

③ 国及びその機関は、宗教教育その他いかなる宗教的活動もしてはならない。
③ The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity.

 

[Naruto]

▲▲▲ I recall seeing this claim made more than once here.

Where did this information come from?

There is no law in Japan prohibiting religious conversion.

---

日本国憲法​

The Constitution of Japan
https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/321CONSTITUTION

第19条 思想及び良心の自由は、これを侵してはならない。
Article 19: Freedom of thought and conscience shall not be violated.

第20条 信教の自由は、何人に対してもこれを保障する。いかなる宗教団体も、国から特権を受け、又は政治上の権力を行使してはならない。
Article 20: Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor shall it exercise any political authority.

② 何人も、宗教上の行為、祝典、儀式又は行事に参加することを強制されない。
② No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration, ceremony, or event.

③ 国及びその機関は、宗教教育その他いかなる宗教的活動もしてはならない。
③ The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity.

yes, you are right, Japan restored religious freedom during the Meiji period, with the formal prohibition removed in 1873.

However, by then, Christianity had lost its institutional foothold. Shinto, Buddhism and established Japanese cultural traditions remained deeply rooted. Christianity also had to compete with existing religious and social institutions without the backing of a colonial government.

As an Indian Hindu, I feel deeply grateful to my ancestors who fought against the spread of Islam and Christianity across our sacred land and preserved our civilisation and heritage.

Whether or not I actively practise Hinduism, I take pride in the fact that our civilisation has retained its identity for millennia. This continuity gives us a strong cultural foundation and the freedom to approach the world with an open, rational and independent perspective, without being constrained by rigid religious doctrines.