Mapping the rising stars of trade
Explore Trade20 to find out which markets have the greatest potential to grow their trade.
The Overall Trade20
The Trade20 are the rising stars of world trade: the 20 markets that have improved their
trade growth potential the most in the past decade.
The Export Diversity Top 20
Markets in the export diversity top 20 have made the most progress in the variety of products they export, and how widely their export revenue is spread across that product range.
The economic dynamism top 20
The markets in the economic dynamism top 20 have demonstrated the greatest increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as export and GDP growth.
The trade readiness top 20
The trade readiness top 20 have made the greatest improvements in developing foundations to support future trade growth.
The Overall Trade20
The Trade20 are the rising stars of world trade: the 20 markets that have improved their
trade growth potential the most in the past decade.
The Export Diversity Top 20
Markets in the export diversity top 20 have made the most progress in the variety of products they export, and how widely their export revenue is spread across that product range.
The economic dynamism top 20
The markets in the economic dynamism top 20 have demonstrated the greatest increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as export and GDP growth.
The trade readiness top 20
The trade readiness top 20 have made the greatest improvements in developing foundations to support future trade growth.
The overall trade20 Moving towards greater trade potential
The overall Trade20 markets are the rising stars of global trade: the economies that have the greatest trade growth potential. The index highlights existing trade powers like China, India and Singapore; medium-sized trading economies like Ireland, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand that continue to make good progress; and smaller trading nations like Côte d'Ivoire, which are showing great promise.
What the overall Trade20 markets have in common, whether big or small, emerging or developed, is their pace of progress and the growing opportunity they offer. These high-potential markets may be of interest as future investment opportunities, or as import markets and supply chain partners.
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Export diversity
A market’s progress in its breadth of exports, measured by the variety of products exported and how export revenue is spread across that product range.
Economic dynamism
The economic performance of a market, measured by the increase in inward foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as export and GDP growth.
Trade readiness
The extent to which a market has the foundations to support future trade growth, measured by improvements to physical and digital infrastructure, e-commerce, and the ease of doing business.
Export Diversity The breadth of a market’s exports
Export diversity is measured by the variety of products a market exports and how export revenue is spread across that product range. The markets that rank highly on these metrics have made the most progress in terms of diversifying their exports, which is likely to open new prospects for trade growth and make them less vulnerable to market pressures.
Middle Eastern markets have made great strides here – albeit from a relatively low starting point – with Bahrain, Oman and Qatar performing well due to efforts to move away from a reliance on oil exports. European countries also score well for improvements made to export diversity in the past decade. These mature markets have developed export structures that enable them to continue building their export diversity.
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Economic Dynamism The economic performance of a market
The economic dynamism pillar assesses the economic performance of a market, measured by the increase in FDI, as well as export and GDP growth.
On these metrics alone, Ireland leads the charge, with its influx of FDI in recent years. Asian financial hubs Singapore and Hong Kong also take top spots, reflecting the impressive increases they have seen in investment flows, GDP and exports, despite coming from already high starting points. These developed markets appear alongside a number of emerging economies that have also made great strides in economic dynamism.
Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire also perform well, making swift progress from a relatively low starting point. The Philippines – which, according to our research could soon join the so-called ‘7% Club’ of markets with a GDP growth rate at 7 per cent or more over the next decade – also ranks highly for economic dynamism.
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Trade Readiness The foundations a market has for trade growth
The trade readiness pillar reflects the extent to which a market has the foundations to support future trade growth. It is measured by improvements to physical and digital infrastructure, e-commerce and ease of doing business.
When it comes to trade readiness alone, many emerging markets are making swift progress, as governments ease conditions for doing business and make upgrades to infrastructure. Markets in Asia and Africa dominate on these metrics, with the UAE and Russia the notable exceptions. Trade giants China and India place highly, reflecting large-scale infrastructure improvements and regulatory overhauls, but smaller trading economies including Kenya and Vietnam also score well.
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