List of current emerging markets

Description of an Emerging Market

What all countries have in common is above-average economic growth. The idea that this growth must take place predominantly in the industrial sector is now considered outdated. Countries such as India, for example, have achieved their strong growth primarily in the service sector.

Since there is no binding definition of emerging markets, states other than those listed here are occasionally mentioned. Often these are Argentina, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Russia. The World Bank maintains a comparable list of 55 countries under the "upper-middle-income economies" classification. The International Monetary Fund calls its own list "emerging and developing economies" and names 150 countries.

Social and economic problems on the way to becoming an industrial nation

The development of a less developed country into an industrialized nation is associated with far-reaching problems. Strong growth is often associated with high inflation rates and drastic financial crises. The gap between the poor and the rich population increases rapidly during this time. Government intervention in areas such as social security, education, subsidies for selected sectors of the economy and anti-corruption measures lead to a disproportionate increase in public debt. Unemployment rates are also affected to a high degree, so private over-indebtedness is also the norm. The road to becoming an industrial nation involves many cuts and reforms for the state, companies and population, and usually takes decades.

Key figures in comparison

(All figures weighted according to population share.)