With an 80.4 score, the United States tops the Asia Power Index, which is driven by unmatched military reach, alliance networks with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines, and dominant financial and technological influence. Despite domestic polarization, it remains Asia’s primary security guarantor and key player in trade, AI, and semiconductor supply chains.
According to the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index Nepal ranks 25 among the 27 countries of Asia, with an overall score of 5.0 out of 100. The report says that Nepal is a minor power in Asia. Nepal’s scores rose slightly by 0.2 points to five in 2025.
Nepal’s strongest measure is cultural influence, where it places 21st. Its weakest measure is diplomatic influence, where it dropped one place to second-last. Nepal exerts less influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s negative power gap score, which increased since 2024, the report says.
China scores 73.7, reflecting vast economic weight, world‑leading manufacturing, and rapid naval and air‑power expansion. Its Belt and Road Initiative, trade ties, and assertive posture in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait underpin influence, though slowing growth and pushback from neighbours and the US temper its rise.
China, the only peer competitor to the United States in what remains a bipolar distribution of power in Asia, appears well prepared and confident in its responses to US economic coercive policies, retaliating with its own tariffs and export controls. Beijing has also successfully positioned itself to regional countries as a reliable partner opposing protectionism and unilateralism, benefiting from uncertainty about the Trump administration’s approach to Asia.
Russia’s power in Asia is resurging, aided by support from other authoritarian revisionist powers, in particular China and North Korea. The closer collaboration between these countries—on full display during China’s 2025 Victory Day Parade—will continue to challenge the United States and its allies.
Caught between the two superpowers, and anxious about rising tensions and protectionism, Southeast Asian countries are trying to assert their own influence. Under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia has cut a more prominent profile internationally, even before it assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2025. Other Southeast Asian middle powers have been less well able to project influence: Thailand has been preoccupied with its border conflict with Cambodia. And while Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto, is more interested in diplomacy than his predecessor, his efforts have been focused globally rather than regionally.
India’s 40.0 score makes it the third most powerful country in Asia and the only “major power” category state. Strong economic growth, a huge population, an expanding blue‑water navy, and a central role in the Quad and Indian Ocean security lift its clout, even as infrastructure gaps and internal inequalities remain constraints.
