(Text by Jia Hui Tee)

The years 2023 to 2025 have marked a period of significant transformation in global trade, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region. Heightened geopolitical tensions, shifts in major trade alliances, and the growing emphasis on economic security have redefined competition and cooperation among nations. Against this backdrop, the Sustainable Trade Index (STI) 2025 offers insights into how economies are recalibrating their strategies, striving to balance economic growth, social well-being, and environmental responsibility in a more fragmented global trade landscape.

Balancing the three pillars of the STI presents a complex challenge for economies, requiring them to continually adapt and make difficult policy decisions. Each pillar demands distinct policy approaches and resource allocation, often leading to trade-offs and competing priorities. For example, efforts to drive economic growth and boost trade capacity may sometimes come at the expense of environmental protection or social equity. Conversely, prioritizing environmental stewardship, such as implementing stricter emissions rules or investing substantially in green technologies, may initially constrain economic output or require significant social adaptation.

Explore the infographic to identify the most significant changes in an economy’s rankings over the past three years and gain a visual understanding of the trends driving sustainable trade in the region.

Key findings

Visual Capitalist illustrates how the 30 STI economies perform across 2023-2025:

The UK overtook New Zealand to top this year’s ranking. Its strong and consistent performance across economic capacity, social well-being, and environmental stewardship contributed to its leading position in the rankings.
Sri Lanka’s performance is especially noteworthy. Despite a slight drop in its rankings in 2024, it made a comeback by climbing six spots this year, driven by improvements in macroeconomic stability. Lower inflation and renewed investor confidence have strengthened its trade capacity and propelled its economic pillar ranking by six positions.
Developing economies like Indonesia and Malaysia have demonstrated notable progress by advancing two spots since 2023. Indonesia has seen improvements in the societal and environmental pillar while Malaysia has strengthened its performance across all three pillars.
While most advanced economies have retained their performance over the three-year period, economies like Hong Kong face increasing tensions in juggling across economic, social, and environmental priorities having slipped by two spots since 2023. Despite holding top spot in the economic pillar, it has seen a dip in societal and environmental performance.
Economies like Mexico, Ecuador, and Bangladesh have exhibited a downward trend in their sustainable trade rankings. This suggests that these economies are encountering growing challenges in maintaining progress across the foundational pillars of sustainable trade compared to other STI economies.

Nations are facing increasing pressure to respond to shifting geoeconomic dynamics while effectively balancing the demands of economic growth with social and environmental priorities. The STI offers a lens to tracking these evolving trends, highlighting the importance of adaptability, balanced policy approaches, and resilience in shaping future trade success across the Asia-Pacific region.

Access the full infographic