Asean's upwardly mobile millennials

Time magazine dubbed America's millennial generation (those born after 1980) as "lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents". Apart from living with their parents, it would seem that millennials in South-east Asia share little else in common with their American counterparts. Of course the cultures of West and East have been shaped by the very different experiences, education and affluence levels of previous generations.

The sudden shift in the fortunes of Asean's millennial generation can be seen in the upswing of average incomes. In the last ten years, the middle class (defined as having incomes exceeding US$3,500 per annum) has jumped from an average of 37 per cent to 56 per cent of the populations of the largest five member states (except Singapore). Considering the numbers involved, this equates to up to a million new entries per month in the region. Although most of these newly defined middle classes are a long way from achieving affluence, this still means a huge amount of spending on discretionary consumer goods, as well as big-ticket items such as vehicles, apartments, education, investments, etc. This additional spending and investment creates further opportunities within the local economy and helps to bring up further aspirants into the region's middle classes.

Urbanisation levels provide another perspective on the recent economic progression of the region. In 1980, most residents in the largest five member states (apart from Singapore) lived in rural areas. Twenty years later, most residents lived in towns and cities. This has happened to a large proportion of the population within a generation, which has produced significant changes in the culture of the young and the old in many of the Asean countries.