The category of
newly industrialized country (
NIC),
newly industrialized economy (
NIE)
[1] or
middle income country[2] is a
socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by
political scientists and
economists. They represent a subset of
developing countries whose economic growth is much higher than other developing countries; and where the social consequences of
industrialization, such as
urbanization, are reorganizing society.
Definition[edit]
NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached a
developed country's status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Such countries are still considered developing nations and only differ from other developing nations in the rate at which an NIC's growth is much higher over a shorter allotted time period compared to other developing nations.
[3] Another characterization of NICs is that of countries undergoing rapid
economic growth (usually
export-oriented).
[4] Incipient or ongoing
industrialization is an important indicator of an NIC.
Characteristics of newly industrialized countries[edit]
Newly industrialized countries can bring about an increase of stabilization in a country's social and economic status, allowing the people living in these nations to begin to experience better living conditions and better lifestyles. Another characteristic that appears in newly industrialized countries is the further development in government structures, such as democracy, the rule of law, and less corruption. Other such examples of a better lifestyle people living in such countries can experience are better transportation, electricity, and better access to water, compared to other developing countries and low infant mortality rate.
Historical context[edit]
The term came into use around 1970, when the
Four Asian Tigers[5] of
Taiwan,
Singapore,
Hong Kong and
South Korea rose to become globally competitive in science, technological innovation and economic prosperity as well as NICs in the 1970s and 1980s, with exceptionally fast industrial growth since the 1960s; all four countries having since graduated into high-tech
industrialized developed countries with
wealthy high-income economies. There is a clear distinction between these countries and the countries now considered NICs. In particular, the combination of an open political process, high
GNI per capita, and a thriving, export-oriented economic policy has shown that these
East Asian economic tiger countries have roughly come to a match with
developed countries as those of
Western Europe as well
Canada,
Japan,
Australia,
New Zealand and the
United States.
All four countries are classified as
high-income economies by the
World Bank and
developed countries by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). All of the
Four Asian Tigers, like
Western European countries, have a
Human Development Index considered "very high" by the
United Nations.
Current[edit]
The table below presents the list of countries consistently considered NICs by different authors and experts.
[6][7][8][9] Turkey and
South Africa were classified among the world's 34 developed countries (DCs) by the
CIA World Factbook in 2008.
[1] Turkey became a founding member of the
OECD in 1961 and
Mexico joined in 1994.
The G8+5 group is composed of the original G8 members in addition to China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil. The members of the G20 include Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey. 
| Country | Region | GDP (nominal) (Millions of USD, 2023 IMF)[10] | GDP per capita (nominal)
(USD, 2023 IMF)[10] | GDP (PPP) (Millions of current Int$, 2023 IMF)[10] | GDP per capita (PPP)
(current Int$, 2023 IMF)[10] | Income inequality (GINI) 2011–19[11][12][13] | Human Development Index (HDI, 2021)[14] | hide Real GDP growth rate as of 2022[15] |
|---|
| South Africa | Africa | 399,015 | 6,485 | 990,030 | 16,091 | 64 (2018) | 0.713 (high) | 1.1 |
| Latin America | 2,081,235 | 9,673 | 4,020,381 | 18,686 | 44.9 (2019) | 0.754 (high) | 1.0 |
| 1,663,164 | 12,674 | 3,125,902 | 23,820 | 41.8 (2019) | 0.758 (high) | 1.2 | |
| Asia-Pacific | 19,373,586 | 13,721 | 33,014,998 | 23,382 | 38.5 (2016) | 0.768 (high) | 4.4 |
| 3,732,882 | 3,057 | 13,12,443 | 10,475 | 35.3 (2018) | 0.633 (medium) | 6.4 | |
| 440,901 | 3,905 | 1,289,281 | 11,420 | 42.3 (2019) | 0.699 (medium) | 5.7 | |
| 447,026 | 13,382 | 1,230,823 | 36,847 | 41.1 (2019) | 0.803 (very high) | 4.4 | |
| 1,391,778 | 5,017 | 4,398,729 | 15,855 | 38.2 (2018) | 0.705 (high) | 5.0 | |
| 574,231 | 8,182 | 1,591,402 | 22,675 | 34.9 (2019) | 0.800 (very high) | 3.7 | |
| Eurasia | 1,029,303 | 11,932 | 3,572,551 | 41,412 | 41.9 (2019) | 0.838 (very high) | 3.0 |
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 successfully makes historic landing on the Moon
India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has landed on the Moon, making the country the fourth nation ever to accomplish such a feat.
India on Wednesday made history as it became the first country in the world to land a spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole, an uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water, and the fourth country to achieve a Moon landing.
A lander with a rover inside touched down on the lunar surface at 6:04 local time, sparking cheers and applause among the space scientists watching in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.
After a failed attempt in 2019, India now joins the United States, the Soviet Union, and China in reaching this milestone.
"India is now on the Moon. India has reached the
south pole of the Moon — no other country has achieved that. We are witnessing history," Modi said as he waved the Indian tricoloured flag.
S Somnath, chairman of the state-run Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, said the rover will slide down a flap from the lander within hours or a day and conduct experiments, including an analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.
The mission is expected to remain functional for two weeks, he said. He also said India would next attempt a manned lunar mission.
India succeeds where Russia failed
India’s successful landing comes just days after
Russia’s Luna-25, which was aiming for the same lunar region, spun into an uncontrolled orbit and crashed. It would have been the first successful Russian lunar landing after
a gap of 47 years.
Russia’s head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that followed t
he last Soviet mission to the Moon in 1976.
Excited and anxious, people across India, home to the world’s largest population, crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants, and homes. Thousands prayed Tuesday for the success of the mission with oil lamps on the river banks, temples, and religious places, including the holy city of Varanasi in northern India.
After the landing,
congratulations poured in from around the world, cementing India’s emergence as a modern space power.
"Your success will power the imagination and light the future of people around the world," the US State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Incredible!" European Space Agency’s director general Josef Aschbacher tweeted. "I am thoroughly impressed".
NASA’s former science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, who now works at ETH Zurich, a public research university in Switzerland where he is leading its space initiative, said he felt proud of the achievement.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 — "moon craft" in Sanskrit — took off from a launchpad in Sriharikota in southern India on July 14. Its landing marks a significant step forward for the nation's progress in space exploration, ISRO said in a statement earlier.
Many countries and private companies are interested in the
south pole region because permanently shadowed craters may hold frozen water that could help future astronaut missions.
Chandrayaan-3: A success after a failure
The six-wheeled lander and rover module of Chandrayaan-3 is configured with payloads that would provide data to the scientific community on the properties of lunar soil and rocks, including chemical and elemental compositions.
India’s previous attempt to land a robotic spacecraft near the Moon’s little-explored south pole ended in failure in 2019.
It entered the lunar orbit but lost touch with its lander, which crashed while making its final descent to deploy a rover to search for signs of water. According to a failure analysis report submitted to the ISRO, the crash was caused by a software glitch.
The $140 million (€129 million) mission in 2019 was intended to study permanently shadowed Moon craters that are thought to contain water deposits and were confirmed by India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter mission in 2008.
With
nuclear-armed India emerging as the world’s fifth-largest economy last year, Modi’s nationalist government is eager to showcase India’s rising standing as a technology and space powerhouse.
A successful Moon mission dovetails with Modi’s image of an ascendant India asserting its place among the global elite and would help bolster his popularity ahead of a crucial general election next year.
The anticipation for a successful landing rose after Russia’s failed attempt and as India’s regional rival China reaches for new milestones in space.
In May, China launched a three-person crew for its orbiting space station and hopes to put astronauts on the Moon before the end of the decade. Relations between India and China have plunged since deadly border clashes in 2020.
New space race for the Moon
Numerous countries and private companies are racing to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. In April, a Japanese company’s spacecraft apparently crashed while attempting to land on the Moon.
An Israeli non-profit tried to achieve a similar feat in 2019, but its spacecraft was destroyed on impact.
Japan plans to launch a lunar lander to the Moon over the weekend as part of an X-ray telescope mission, and two US companies also are vying to put landers on the Moon by the end of the year, one of them at the south pole.
In the coming years, NASA plans to land astronauts at the lunar south pole, taking advantage of the frozen water in craters.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson tweeted via X: "Congratulations @ISRO on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to #India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission!”
India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has landed on the Moon, making the country the fourth nation ever to accomplish such a feat.
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