An NIC stands for a Newly Industrialised Country. It is a term used to describe a country that has moved away from an agriculture-based economy and into a more industrialised, urban economy. These countries have a high growth rate. Current NICs include China, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand and Turkey. The average growth rate between these countries is approximately 7.64% compared to the world average of 3.7% (2011). The average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita for these NICs is US$10,769 compared to the world average GDP per capita of US$12,000. GDP is a useful indicator of development and a great measure for comparing differences between countries, therefore allowing a clear differentiation between countries that are Highly Industrialised Countries (HICs), Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs) or Low Industrialised Countries (LICs). The Human Development Index (HDI) is another strong indicator of development, it includes a combination of statistics: life expectancy, education and income. The average HDI of these NICs is approximately 0.6874. The world average HDI is 0.862.
India is now an NIC, as the IT services boom has transformed the country’s economy, which is now growing at more than 9% per year, the same rate as China. India’s HIC is 0.547(2011 estimate). Since China opened up its markets to the West in the 1980s, the city of Shanghai has transformed into a booming metropolis consisting of about 21 million people. Shanghai accounts for 30% of China’s foreign exports and attracts 25% of all foreign investment into the country. The GDP of Shanghai alone is US450 billion! China’s HDI is 0.867 (2011 estimate).
Globalisation is the stage of processes and impacts that occur at a global scale, usually economic systems, but it can include physical systems (global warming) and socio-cultural systems (fashion, music, film industry).