Explanatory Notes — Asian Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs)

This group is comprised of countries formerly classified as less developed, but which are becoming rapidly industrialized.

These include:

  • Hong Kong
  • Korea (South)
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan

These countries underwent rapid industrial growth in the 1970s and 1980s, attracting significant financial investment, and are now associated with high-technology industries.

More recently, other countries such Thailand, China, India, Malaysia and others have been added to the list by some economists, but the predefined group includes only the four original countries classified under this heading.

Disclaimers/Notes

  1. The country classifications used in "Trade Data Online", which are derived from ones employed by Statistics Canada and the U.S. Census Bureau, are designed for the purposes of economic geography and therefore do not reflect the views or intentions of the Government of Canada nor of the Government of the United States on international issues of recognition, sovereignty or jurisdiction.
  2. To assist search and display in selection lists, country names appear in short form. For example, the "People's Democratic Republic of Laos" will simply appear as "Laos" for ease of use. Similarly, the "Republic of Korea" will appear as "Korea, South" in the list and so on.
  3. There are minor differences between Canadian and U.S. country classifications, mainly reflecting how a number of smaller states are treated (e.g. whether "Vatican City State" is included with "Italy" or not).