Mass media commonly portrays Southeast Asia as an exciting, adventure-fuelled and culturally rich region – if often an exoticised one – for inhabitants and visitors alike. The final section of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s State of Southeast Asia 2026 Survey, based on respondents’ “relocation preference and travel choices”, adds to the already abundant evidence of the “soft power” of regional countries.

Soft power, a term coined by American political scientist Joseph Nye in 1990, is widely understood in international relations as a fundamental aspect of a country’s attractiveness, alongside its military and economic might, or “hard power”.

Nye defined soft power as the “ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion or payment”. Varying definitions and measures of this concept now exist, as evident in global indices, with the main pillars being a country’s culture, political values and foreign policy. How attractive a country is as “a place to invest, trade, work, study or visit” is key. In Southeast Asia, these latter aspects of soft power are now woven into the region’s flourishing “creative economy”, even as certain inadequacies of national and regional infrastructure remain.

At first glance, the survey’s findings seem to reflect long-standing relationships, but the averages mask nuances that matter for understanding soft power dynamics. (Other than the 11 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, respondents could choose a member of the European Union, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Britain and the United States.)

Many respondents named an Asean member state as their most preferred country to live or work in, ranking first among respondents from Malaysia (32 per cent), Brunei (28.4 per cent), Singapore (23.2 per cent) and Vietnam (17.9 per cent). Japan ranked first for respondents from Indonesia (25 per cent), the Philippines (23.7 per cent), Thailand (22.8 per cent) and Myanmar (17.5 per cent). Across the region as a whole, an Asean member was the leading choice (19 per cent), with Japan a close second (16.8 per cent).

Among those who selected an Asean member as their preferred relocation destination, Singapore led by a wide margin (39.6 per cent), ahead of Thailand (16.2 per cent) and Malaysia (9.3 per cent). These percentages include respondents who prefer to stay in their own countries – Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam – with Singapore ranking as the second-most preferred destination among non-Singaporean respondents. Its appeal is attributed to its business-friendly environment, high standards of education, healthcare and transport, low levels of crime and political stability, among other factors.