Four Asian Tigers

Four Asian Tigers
A map showing the Four Asian Tigers Hong Kong Singapore South Korea Taiwan
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	亞洲四小龍
Simplified Chinese	亚洲四小龙
Literal meaning	Asia's Four Little Dragons
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Yǎzhōu sì xiǎo lóng - Tongyong Pinyin Yǎjhōu sìh siǎo lóng - Wade–Giles Yachou szu hsiao lung - Yale Romanization Yǎjōu sz̀ syǎu lúng Min - Hokkien POJ A-chiu Sì-sió-lêng Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping aa3 zau1 sei3 siu2 long4 - Yale Romanization aa jāu sei síu lòhng
Korean name
Hangul	아시아의 네 마리 용
Literal meaning	Asia's four dragons
Transcriptions - Revised Romanization asia ui ne mari yong - McCune- Reischauer asia ŭi ne mari yŏng

The Four Asian Tigers or Asian Dragons is a term used in reference to the highly developed economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. These nations and areas were notable for maintaining exceptionally high growth rates (in excess of 7 percent a year) and rapid industrialisation between the early 1960s and 1990s. By the 21st century, all four have developed into advanced and high-income economies, specializing in areas of competitive advantage. For example, Hong Kong and Singapore have become world-leading international financial centres, whereas South Korea and Taiwan are world leaders in manufacturing information technology. Their economic success stories have served as role models for many developing countries, especially the Tiger Cub Economies.

The tigers experienced decades of supercharged growth based largely on industrial policies supporting exports to rich, industrialized nations^{[citation needed]}. A world bank report generally credited neo-liberal policies with the responsibility of the boom, including maintenance of export-led trade regimes though it acknowledged some benefits from policies of ‘financial repression’, such as state-imposed below-market interest rates for loans to specific exporting industries. Various institutionalist analysts criticized the bank for overlooking a range of other state policies that facilitated growth, but that do not fit the tenets of neo-liberalism. All the same, these economies enjoyed extremely high growth rates sustained over decades. Other common characteristics of the tigers included heavy government investment in education, non-democratic and relatively authoritarian political systems during the early years of development, high levels of U.S. bond holdings, and high public and private savings rates.

The first major setback experienced by the tiger economies was the 1997 Asian financial crisis. While Singapore and Taiwan were relatively unscathed, South Korea underwent a major stock market crash brought on by high levels of non-performing corporate loans, while Hong Kong came under intense speculative attacks against its stock market and currency necessitating unprecedented market interventions by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. In the years after the crisis, all four economies rebounded strongly. South Korea, the worst-hit of the tigers, has managed to triple its per capita GDP in dollar terms since 1997.

Territory and region data

Skyline of Central Hong Kong's central business district viewed from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong.

Downtown Singapore skyline before dusk.

Skyline of the Central Business District of Seoul, South Korea.

The skyline of Taipei, capital of Taiwan and its financial center, with Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world, dominating the skyline.

Demographics

Country or territory	Area km²	Population	Population density per km²	Human Development Index (2011)	Capital
Hong Kong	1,104	7,108,100	6,349	0.898 (13th)	Hong Kong
Singapore	710	5,076,700	7,148	0.866 (26th)	Singapore
South Korea	100,210	48,875,000	487	0.897 (15th)	Seoul
Taiwan	36,191	23,197,947	639	0.868 (25th)	Taipei

Economy

Country or territory	GDP nominal millions of USD (2011)	GDP PPP millions of USD (2011)	GDP nominal per capita USD (2011)	GDP PPP per capita USD (2011)	Trade millions of USD (2011)	Exports millions of USD (2011)	Imports millions of USD (2011)
Hong Kong	246,941	354,272	34,393	49,342	944,800	451,600	493,200
Singapore	266,498	314,963	50,714	59,936	818,800	432,100	386,700
South Korea	1,163,847	1,556,102	23,749	31,753	1,084,000	558,800	525,200
Taiwan	504,612	886,489	21,591	37,931	623,700	325,100	298,600

Politics

Country or territory	Democracy Index (2011)	Property rights index (2008)	Press Freedom Index (2011-2012)	Corruption Perceptions Index (2011)	Political Status
Hong Kong	5.92	7.7	17.00	8.4	Partially Democratic SAR
Singapore	5.89	7.9	61.00	9.2	Parliamentary Republic
South Korea	8.06	6.2	12.67	5.4	Presidential Republic
Taiwan	7.46	6.5	13.00	6.1	Semi-Presidential Republic

Organizations and groups

Country or territory	G20	OECD	APEC	EAS	ASEAN
Hong Kong	×	×	○	×	×
Singapore	×	×	○	○	○
South Korea	○	○	○	○	○ (APT)
Taiwan	×	×	○	×	×

See also

• Developed country
• Economic miracle (full list of miracles and "tigers")
• Tiger Cub Economies
• Asian Century
• Celtic Tiger
• BRICs
• MIKTs
• G-20 major economies
• Newly industrialized country
• 1997 Asian financial crisis

Further reading

• Ezra F. Vogel, The Four Little Dragons: The Spread of Industrialization in East Asia (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991).

External links

• BBC report on the Asian Tigers in the aftermath of the 1997 Financial Crisis (includes map of the Asian Tigers)
• ASEAN tigers
• The Elephant at the Gate in China Economic Review