Newly industrialized countries
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The category of Newly industrializing countries (NICs) is a social/economic classification status applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists.
NICs are countries that are not quite yet at the status of a full-fledged first world nation, but still more advanced than countries in the third world or in the category of least developed countries. The most significant feature in a country being classified as a NIC is obtaining a considerable level of industrialisation, the switching of primary business from agricultural to industrial economies.
NICs usually share some other common features, including:
- Increased social freedoms and civil rights.
- A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
- An increasingly "open" economy, allowing for freer trade with its neighbours, such as that obtained by joining a trade bloc.
NICs began to be recognised in the 1970s when the so-called "East Asian Tigers" of Hong Kong (SAR of the People's Republic of China), South Korea, Singapore and the Republic of China (Taiwan) rose to global prominence with rapid industrial growth since the 1960s, most now having evolved beyond this status (see developed countries). Current examples are Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, the GCC states, Thailand, Malaysia and South Africa. China and India are special cases: their tremendous population means that per capita income is likely to remain low even after these countries achieve a certain kind of economic sophistication.
References
- Geography, An Integrated Approach, 3rd Edition. David Waugh. (ISBN 017444706X)
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