N11 countries

N11 countries or the Next 11 countries refers to a group of eleven countries—specifically Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, and Vietnam—which have emerging markets that could potentially become some of the world's largest economies.[1] These countries (see figure 1) were identified as being the "next BRIC economies," however it is accepted that although these countries are predicted to experience great economic growth it will not be to the same degree that the BRIC economies experienced growth.[2] Because of the growth of these countries, their economies could grow to rival the current leading economies, and may surpass many major markets. However, there are more challenges to growth conditions in N-11 countries than BRIC countries. There are many obstacles to economic growth that must be overcome in some of these countries—for example Nigeria has worked to minimize corruption, while Turkey has struggled with efforts to become integrated into the European Union. In addition, Pakistan has worked to reform banking, taxes, and corporate laws.[2] Issues that exist in the individual countries must be addressed in order for growth to occur.

Below is an interactive map showing the locations of the N11countries, coloured in red. Notice that these countries take up a significantly less area than the BRIC countries, and also represent a smaller portion of the world's population.

Similarities

These countries are growing in terms of their economy as well as standing on a global scale. The economies of the Next 11 countries are increasing through a rapidly growing GDP. These countries are also seen to participate more actively in world trade and investment—with the exception being Iran which isn’t an open market because of sanctions imposed by the US and European Union due to its nuclear programs.[3] In addition, the economic growth will improve the quality of life for citizens of these countries as more jobs are made and more money is put into the economy. However, these countries will still be poorer on average than leading economies today, and face several large challenges that will need to be overcome for growth to be plausible.[2]

Differences

One major difficulty in predicting growth in the N-11 countries is the diversity within the group. However, the diversity means that some countries are expected to grow more rapidly—specifically the MIST countries of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Turkey—while others grow more slowly because of different challenges within the countries.[2][3]

The N-11 countries are diverse in many different ways. First, major regions are represented with economies from Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and East and South Asia. In addition to this, development levels in these countries vary drastically. While South Korea represents a developed economy, Bangladesh represents one of the worlds poorest countries.[2] These differences must be accounted for when determining which countries may actually be able to surpass the current leading economies in terms of growth. Along with economic development, levels of urbanization, openness to trade, population size, and market development all vary between these countries and thus may grow in different ways.[2]

Environmental Impacts

With growing economies in N-11 countries will be accompanied by increased energy consumption. As economies become more industry-intensive and less energy-efficient to promote growth, environmental issues will begin to arise. However, some countries—specifically Nigeria and Mexico—are taking steps to reduce this impact by improving their energy productivity.[4] Along with economic growth and increased energy consumption comes a rise in CO2 emissions. In 2004, N-11 and BRIC countries accounted for more carbon dioxide emissions than the leading economies, and thus global efforts to curb these emissions will be essential.[4]

Primary Energy Growth

Explore the interactive data visualization below to see how most the N11 countries' primary energy use (or click on the subject line to see some other indicator like GDP) is growing. Note that data for Nigeria is not available.

For Further Reading

References

  1. Goldman Sachs. (May 12, 2015). N-11 Equity Portfolio [Online]. Available: http://www.goldmansachs.com/gsam/docs/funds_international/brochures_and_sales_aids/fund_literature/advisor_brochure_n-11_en.pdf
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 A.Stupnytska, D.Wilson. (May 12, 2015). Global Economics Paper 153: The N-11: More Than an Acronym [Online]. Available: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/~/media/E60BDCEB6C5245E59B7ADA7C6B1B6F2B.pdf
  3. 3.0 3.1 Eric Martin. (May 12, 2015). Goldman Sachs’s MIST Topping BRICs as Smaller Markets Outperform [Online]. Available: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-07/goldman-sachs-s-mist-topping-brics-as-smaller-markets-outperform
  4. 4.0 4.1 Goldman Sachs. (May 12, 2015). Beyond the BRICs: A Look at the Next 11 [Online]. Available: http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/archive/archive-pdfs/brics-book/brics-chap-13.pdf