Research from LinkedIn has indicated that people in India and Indonesia are the most confident about their career prospects than workers in any other major economy in Asia Pacific.

The LinkedIn Opportunity Index assessed 11,000 people across nine leading countries. Indonesia ranked first, with India following closely in second place.

Mainland China, the Philippines and Malaysia also placed in the top five rankings, surpassing Singapore and Australia.

The results have proven to reflect each nation’s growth projects. According to the IMF, it is expected that India will achieve gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.3% this year, whilst Singapore is forecast to grow by 2.9%, and Japan by 1.1%. Indonesia is the only exception, as it is forecast to grow by 5.1% - which would mark a weaker growth than China and the Philippines, despite its higher ranking for optimistic workers.

Nine out of ten respondents accredited hard work as being the key determinant to getting ahead in life. With that said, 30% of respondents quoted financial restraints as being a barrier of success, whilst 22% blamed a lack of access to a professional network, 19% said a difficult jobs market, 18% blamed poor professional skills, and a further 18% said limited direction and guidance.

Additionally, 48% of would-be entrepreneurs said that financial factors were holding them back from starting their own business.

LinkedIn's managing director for Asia Pacific, Olivier Legrand, said: "The growing workforce in the region is a key asset that, if harnessed effectively, is going to continue to drive the economies.

"Over time, by tracking people's perception of opportunity and the barriers they face, we hope we can continue to facilitate more of a balance between demand and supply in the opportunity marketplace."