The world in 2050

Beyond the BRICs: A broader look at emerging market growth prospects



In March 2006 we published a report highlighting the rapid growth and increasing global significance of what we called the ‘E7’ emerging economies: the BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, plus Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey. Here we update our economic growth projections to take into account the latest available data.We also extend the analysis to include 13 other emerging economies. Added to the 17 largest economies considered in our earlier report, this new ‘PwC 30’ grouping of countries accounts for around 85% of world economic output. Some of the highlighted projections of this latest analysis:

  • By 2050, the E7 emerging economies will be around 50% larger than the current G7 (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada)
  • China is expected to overtake the US as the largest economy around 2025
  • India has the potential to nearly catch up with the US by 2050
  • The projected list of fastest growing economies to 2050 is headed by Vietnam, and the top 10 includes Nigeria, Philippines, Egypt and Bangladesh

In the words of the report’s joint authors, John Hawksworth and Gordon Cookson: "The general message is that investors with long-time horizons should look beyond the BRICs — there are many other alternatives worth considering depending on the nature of the investment and the risk tolerance of the investor."

The world in 2050 podcast

 
Listen to an interview with the report's author, John Hawksworth, our macroeconomics specialist, interviewed by Noel McCarthy, editor, PwC monthly highlights.