ASEAN was the fifth-largest economy in the world with a gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$3 trillion last year, according to the latest ASEAN report, a significant increase from the seventh place it had five years ago.

The 2019 ASEAN Integration Report showed that, despite growing uncertainty in the global economy, the bloc's overall economic performance remained promising, with the region’s trade totaling $2.8 trillion in 2018, an increase of 23.9 percent from the 2015 figure of $2.3 trillion.