ASEAN Digital Generation Report

The report finds that while the pandemic caused severe economic and mental health declines—particularly for women and MSMEs—digitalization has acted as a key enabler for resilience. A survey of 85,908 people reveals that those with higher digital adoption experienced lower income declines. However, significant barriers remain, including poor internet infrastructure, lack of digital skills, and security concerns. The report emphasizes a 'flywheel effect' where early digital success drives further adoption, and highlights a critical need for reskilling the workforce in areas like creativity and technology use to support MSMEs.

• The pandemic caused widespread economic and mental health deterioration in ASEAN, with women and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) being the most affected. Approximately 60% of surveyed individuals reported a decline in income and savings, and 68% of MSME owners reported income losses, with the dining and tourism sectors suffering the most.
• Digitalization is perceived as critical for economic recovery, and those who were more digitalized showed greater economic resilience. 85% of all respondents and 87% of MSME owners view digitalization as important or very important for recovery; specifically, business owners with an online presence were more likely to report increases in income (28%) and savings (24%) than those without.
• A 'flywheel effect' exists in digital adoption, where individuals who have already digitalized a significant portion of their tasks are more eager to deepen their use of digital tools. While 43% to 66% of general respondents want to increase digitalization, this figure rises to 70%-80% for those who already use digital tools for most tasks.
• There is a strong demand for the digitalization of financial services, particularly among MSME owners. 66% of all respondents identified payments as a priority for further digitalization, while 75% of MSME owners specifically want more digital payments and 53% want greater digitalization in lending.
• Infrastructure and skills remain the primary barriers to digital adoption, though the nature of these barriers shifts based on the user's current level of digitalization. Those with low adoption (25% or less) cite poor internet, expensive devices, and lack of digital skills, while those with higher adoption are more concerned with digital trust and security.
• There is a significant gap between the perceived importance of post-pandemic skills and the actual proficiency of the ASEAN workforce. While technology use, creativity, innovation, self-discipline, and resilience are ranked as most important, many respondents feel unskilled; for example, 70% of those who value creativity and innovation report they are not proficient in it.
• Youths (aged 16-35) play a vital role in the region's digital inclusion through intergenerational skill transfer. While 40% of respondents learned digital tools from others, 36% taught others, with the majority of 'teachers' being youths.

APA

World Economic Forum (2021). ASEAN Digital Generation Report. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Digital_Generation_2021.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. ASEAN Digital Generation Report. 2021. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Digital_Generation_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=ASEAN Digital Generation Report |date=October 2021 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Digital_Generation_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2021asean, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{ASEAN Digital Generation Report}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Digital_Generation_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }