Asia’s Digital Divide: How Korea and Singapore Lead While Indonesia and Thailand Catch Up

Asia’s digital transformation has produced two distinct paths, as analyzed in a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) brief prepared with contributions from the YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam, Imperial College London Business School, and Loughborough University London. The study compares Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Singapore, and Thailand, showing how steady, long-term investment on one hand, and rapid policy-driven catch-up on the other, are reshaping economies. The lesson is clear: digitalization is not only about networks and devices, but about governance, inclusion, and strategic direction.

Indonesia: Catching Up at Scale

Indonesia illustrates the sprinting trajectory. For years, its dispersed geography has limited connectivity. The breakthrough came with the 2019 Palapa Ring Project, which laid more than 35,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables across provinces, backed by the Indonesia Broadband Plan and international partners. This improved access dramatically but left rural and female populations underserved. Policies like Making Indonesia 4.0 and the Digital Economy 2020 roadmap tied digitalization to manufacturing upgrades and entrepreneurship, while e-government platforms such as the Online Single Submission system streamlined licensing. The White Paper on Digital Economy 2030 set a goal of nine million digital talents over 15 years. Still, only two of eight ICT skills are widely mastered, and affordability remains a hurdle. The brief argues Indonesia must now shift from expanding access to improving quality, affordability, and inclusion, particularly for SMEs and women.

Republic of Korea: Sustained Leadership

The ROK showcases the payoff of steady planning. Its digital revolution began in the mid-1990s with the Framework Act on Informatization Promotion and master plans such as Cyber Korea 21. These built broadband ubiquity, e-literacy campaigns, and e-government platforms. Later, the Creative Economy Initiative promoted ICT-enabled start-ups, while the K-MOOC platform supported lifelong learning. In 2019, Korea became the first nation to roll out nationwide 5G, reflecting strong public–private collaboration. Today, the Digital New Deal and Digital Strategy 2025 focus on AI, cybersecurity, smart cities, and global partnerships such as the Korea–World Bank Digital Development Program. With near-universal access, Korea now faces advanced challenges: closing skills gaps in AI and data governance, supporting older populations, and staying competitive in frontier technologies.

Singapore: The Smart Nation Model

Singapore’s transformation has been equally deliberate. Starting with the Singapore ONE broadband initiative in 1997, it has steadily built infrastructure, culminating in the Smart Nation program in 2014. This whole-of-government framework integrated digital technologies into mobility, urban living, and public services, strengthened by the Digital Government Blueprint of 2018. Secure identity platforms like SingPass and MyInfo provide seamless access for citizens. SkillsFuture, launched in 2014, ensures workers can upskill throughout their careers, while SGInnovate nurtures deep-tech start-ups. The Cyber Security Agency leads efforts to protect national infrastructure, while regulatory sandboxes encourage fintech innovation. Singapore’s challenge is no longer access but sustaining leadership: closing skill gaps among older and low-income groups, pushing into AI and quantum, and competing globally for talent.

Thailand: From Catch-Up to Currency Innovation

Thailand has also sprinted ahead, guided by master plans and strategies like the Digital Economy Promotion Master Plan and Thailand 4.0. Investments created over 310,000 kilometers of fiber backbone, 150,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots, and thousands of telecenters. Partnerships with Huawei and Google supported a Digital Skills Development Academy, while tax incentives encouraged STEM workforce growth. Thailand has also innovated in digital finance, piloting the Digital Baht and joining the cross-border mBridge central bank digital currency project. Yet divides persist: ICT literacy is low, rural and female populations lag, and cybersecurity remains weak. The brief stresses that Thailand must now shift from infrastructure rollout to inclusive innovation, stronger e-government, and homegrown research.

Lessons for Asia’s Policymakers

The comparative analysis highlights common principles. Success depends on whole-of-government coordination, aligning digitalization with economic priorities, investing in inclusive foundations, and using international partnerships to transfer knowledge. The “steady champions,” Korea and Singapore, show how persistence produces global leadership in areas like AI and platform governance. The “sprinting mid-tiers,” Indonesia and Thailand, prove that rapid catch-up is possible with infrastructure investment and strategic reforms, though they continue to face rural, gender, and affordability divides.

A critical thread is the potential of digitalization to empower women. Programs like Indonesia’s Digital Villages, Korea’s K-MOOC, Singapore’s SkillsFuture, and Thailand’s Smart Health initiatives demonstrate how women can be integrated into the digital economy. Yet barriers such as limited mobile ownership, weaker literacy, and a lack of representation in policymaking persist. The brief calls for gender-specific targets, subsidized training, and greater female participation in innovation ecosystems.

While national contexts differ, the building blocks of success are universal: strategic leadership, inclusive design, and systemic investment. The champions show the value of foresight, while the sprinters highlight the power of ambition and reform. For Asia’s policymakers, the task is not imitation but tailoring strategies to national realities while ensuring digital futures remain inclusive, resilient, and trusted.