Asia-Europe Relations at a Glance : ASEM Outlook Report 2012

Understanding the current state of Asia-Europe relations is a difficult task, the diverse dialogue between the two regions covers many policy areas through a number of fora. ASEFs publication, the ‘ASEM Outlook Report 2012’, makes a meaningful contribution to this understanding.

Volume 1 of the report, ‘Asia-Europe relations at a glance’, combines a rich variety of statistics and key indicators with the unique insights gathered from ASEF’s mutual perceptions studies, namely ‘Asia in the Eyes of Europe’ and ‘The EU through the Eyes of Asia’.

The statistics provide insights into key societal and developmental trends within each region and between both regions. For example, the report outlines key demographic statistics on ASEM member states, such as which countries are experiencing the fastest population growth (Singapore 1.99%; Cyprus 1.57% per annum), which are aging the most (Japan: 22% of population >65 years old; Germany: 21% >65) and which have the longest life expectancy (Japan: 83 years old; Italy: 82 years old).

This only constitutes a small part of the report, as it also examines key indicators linked to security and conflict, economics, environment, migration and labour, information and communication technology, research & development, public health, and population.

The comprehensive report also provides us with insights on how Asian and European public, media and opinion leaders view one another. Large datasets have been created through painstaking research by teams across Asia and Europe, which reveal some very interesting insights into Asia-Europe relations.