In its March edition, Bloomberg Markets Magazine ranks the top 25 frontier markets for investors.
Frontier markets could also be termed ‘pre-emerging’ markets. These countries are distinguished by capital markets that are underdeveloped compared to emerging markets.
The scoring system the magazine used indicates that, by and large, these frontier markets are more desirable investment destinations than their emerging market counterparts.
Bloomberg Markets used a variety of criteria to rank these countries, from government debt to labour force participation ratios.
We present their list of the most attractive frontier markets for investors. Along with each country’s total score, we’ve included GDP growth, average annual inflation, and government debt-to-GDP ratio projections from 2013 to 2017, as well as a ranking of how easy it is to conduct business in the nation.
The list is dominated by African and Asian nations, though a few European and South American countries also made the cut.
Total Score: 54.2
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 24.5%
Inflation Rate: 7.7%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 15.1%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 131
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 55.8
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 16.3%
Inflation Rate: 1.9%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 58.6%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 35
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 56.6
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 19.1%
Inflation Rate: 2.7%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 136.0%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 115
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 58.1
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 21.8%
Inflation Rate: 5.2%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 44.9%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 121
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 58.3
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 18.3%
Inflation Rate: 4.5%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 40.2%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 69
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 59.8
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 19.8%
Inflation Rate: 9.8%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 41.5%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 124
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 60.4
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 16.2%
Inflation Rate: 3.3%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 77.1%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 106
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 60.6
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 16.6%
Inflation Rate: 3.0%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 60.8%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 84
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 61.4
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 8.9%
Inflation Rate: 3.0%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 9.4%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 47
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 61.9
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 24.1%
Inflation Rate: 2.3%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 36.2%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 126
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 62.0
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 30.0%
Inflation Rate: 8.7%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 37.5%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 64
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 62.1
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 25.6%
Inflation Rate: 5.6%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 35.0%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 137
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 64.0
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 11.2%
Inflation Rate: 4.0%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 6.5%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 82
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 65.1%
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 10.3%
Inflation Rate: 2.1%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 47.5%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 42
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 65.6
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 26.0%
Inflation Rate: 3.6%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 50.0%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 50
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 67.4
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 16.8%
Inflation Rate: 3.6%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 29.2%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 40
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 67.8
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 26.5%
Inflation Rate: 2.4%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 40.5%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 27
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 69.0
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 9.2%
Inflation Rate: 1.9%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 16.8%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 26
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 69.4
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 21.4%
Inflation Rate: 5.8%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 10.6%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 59
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 69.6
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 23.3%
Inflation Rate: 2.9%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 32.9%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 72
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 70.0
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 16.4%
Inflation Rate: 4.1%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 5.0%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 22
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 71.2
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 27.1%
Inflation Rate: 2.8%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 15.0%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 66
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 72.3
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 36.0%
Inflation Rate: 6.3%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 11.0%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 49
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 73.9
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 24.0%
Inflation Rate: 2.9%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 8.7%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 21
Source: Bloomberg Markets
Total Score: 75.9
GDP Growth,
2013-2017: 33.8%
Inflation Rate: 5.3%
Gov't Debt As
% of GDP: 50.4%
Ease of Doing
Business, Rank: 99
Source: Bloomberg Markets
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