The Tiger Cub Economies collectively refer to the economies of the

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, the five dominant countries in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Overview

The Tiger Cub Economies are so named because they attempt to follow the same export-driven model of

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

and

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

already achieved by the rich, high-tech, industrialized, and

developed countries A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, along with the wealthy financial center of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, which are all collectively referred to as the Four Asian Tigers. Young

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

s are referred to as "cubs", the implication being that the five newly industrialized countries who make up the Tiger Cub Economies are rising Tigers. In fact, four countries are included in

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

's list of top 50 economies in 2050, while Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are included in

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

's Next Eleven list of high potential economies because of their rapid growth and large population.

Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...

entrepreneurs played a major prominent role in the development of the region's

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

s. These businesses are part of the larger bamboo network, a network of overseas Chinese businesses operating in the markets of

like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines that share common family and cultural ties. China's transformation into a major

economic power Economic power refers to the ability of countries, businesses or individuals to make decisions on their own that benefit them. Scholars of international relations also refer to the economic power of a country as a factor influencing its power in ...

in the 21st century has led to increasing investments in Southeast Asian countries where the bamboo network is present.

2024 data

GDP and GDP per capita data are according to the International Monetary Fund's October 2023 data.

Economies of Southeast Asia

Developing economies of the Tiger Cubs

Economy of Indonesia The economy of Indonesia is a mixed economy with dirigism, dirigiste characteristics, and it is one of the emerging market economies in the world and the largest in Southeast Asia. As an upper-middle income country and member of the G20, Indone ...

Economy of Malaysia The economy of Malaysia is an Developing country, emerging and developing, List of countries by GNI (nominal) per capita, upper-middle income, highly industrialized, industrialised, mixed economy. It ranks the List of countries by GDP (nominal), ...

Economy of the Philippines The economy of the Philippines is an emerging market, and considered as a newly industrialized country in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2025, the Philippine economy is estimated to be at ₱28.50 trillion ($497.5 billion), making it the world's ...

* Economy of Thailand * Economy of Vietnam

Developed economies of the Four Asian Tigers

Economy of Singapore The economy of Singapore is a Developed country, highly developed mixed economy, mixed market economy with dirigiste characteristics. Singapore's economy has been consistently ranked as the most open in the world, the Corruption in Singapore, j ...

* Economy of Hong Kong * Economy of South Korea * Economy of Taiwan

References