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. ...
of
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 ...
of
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
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. ...
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
See also
*
Developing country
A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...
*
Flying geese paradigm
*
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...
*
Economic miracle
*
1997 Asian financial crisis
The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...
*
Miracle on the Han River
The Miracle on the Han River () was the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from one of the least developed countries into a highly developed country.
The ...
*
Taiwan Miracle
*
Four Asian Tigers
*
Asian Century
*
Newly industrialized country
The category of newly industrialized country (NIC), newly industrialized economy (NIE) or middle-income country is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists. They represent ...
*
Bamboo network
References
{{United States – Commonwealth of Nations recessions
Tiger economies
Economic booms
Late modern economic history
Economy of Indonesia
Economy of Malaysia
Economy of the Philippines
Economy of Thailand
Economy of Vietnam
Tiger Cub Economies