Malaysia has emerged as the leading ASEAN nation in attracting visitors to its pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, recording more than 2.2 million visitors as of early August—far surpassing its original target of 1.5 million.

The Malaysian pavilion, which highlights the country’s rich multi-ethnic culture alongside innovations shaping its future, has drawn the strongest response among founding ASEAN member states.

Other ASEAN pavilions are also seeing steady visitor numbers. Indonesia marked its one-millionth guest in July, showcasing a vision of the nation 20 years into the future with sustainability as a central theme. Thailand crossed the one-million milestone last month and has since welcomed 1.25 million visitors, averaging about 10,000 daily. Its pavilion, built with a 973-million-baht budget under the Ministry of Public Health, presents Thailand as a global hub for wellness, food, and traditional massage.

Singapore reported its one-millionth visitor in July, while the Philippine pavilion has drawn about 600,000 guests, highlighting Bruneian traditions and Philippine art forms. No visitor figures have been made available for Vietnam’s pavilion.

While Malaysia’s pavilion has won praise for its engaging content and cultural showcase, Thailand’s pavilion has faced domestic criticism, with opposition lawmakers describing its presentation as overly bureaucratic despite its striking design.

Expo 2025, themed “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” opened on April 13 and will conclude on October 13. With two months remaining, Malaysia is expected to further cement its position as ASEAN’s top crowd-puller at the global event.