As previous Open for Business reports show, the correlation between LGBTQ+ inclusion and economic and business performance can be striking, but is often overlooked. This Southeast Asia (SEA) report has a special focus on six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – each of which has its unique economic potential and journey on supporting greater LGBTQ+ rights.

We estimate these six countries lose up to 1.47% GDP each year due to the financial costs associated with LGBTQ+ public health and wage gap differences.

This report is also available in Indonesian, Malay, Thai, and Vietnamese. In addition to the full report, see below for shorter, focused documents on each of the six focus countries.

The indicators selected for analysis in this report come from Open for Business’ own 27 propositions, established as part of its extensive global research and analysis to understand the links between LGBTQ+ inclusion and performance.

For Southeast Asia, the specific propositions used were guided by a small stakeholder survey of business leaders, LGBTQ+ advocates and others living in the six focus countries, as well as interviews with key informants from the region including academics, economists, business executives, and human rights activists.