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Asian financial crisis countries

The IMF treats five economies as the Asian crisis countries of 1997 and 1998: Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia.

How many5 economies

As of3 October 2026

SourceIMF Working Paper WP/99/138

Memory hook

Four ASEAN members plus South Korea. Thailand, Indonesia and Korea took big IMF rescues; Malaysia took none.

The full list

The three IMF rescues of 1997 3

Thailand (August), Indonesia (November) and South Korea (December) each received a large IMF stand-by credit in 1997.

Thailand
Indonesia
South Korea

Outside the three big IMF rescues 2

The Philippines extended and enlarged an IMF arrangement it already had; Malaysia had no IMF programme and imposed capital controls in September 1998.

The Philippines
Malaysia

Can you name them all?

Test yourself

Not on the list

Hong Kong SAR: Came under speculative pressure and bought stocks to support its market, but is not in the IMF's five crisis countries.

Questions

How many countries were at the centre of the Asian financial crisis?

The IMF treats five economies as the Asian crisis countries of 1997 and 1998: Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Which economies are on the list?

Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, The Philippines and Malaysia.

What is an easy way to remember them?

Four ASEAN members plus South Korea. Thailand, Indonesia and Korea took big IMF rescues; Malaysia took none.

More lists

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Each name checked against at least two sources, one of them IMF Working Paper WP/99/138, on 3 October 2026. Next review by 3 October 2028.
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