Gallup data confirms the rising middle class in Asia is more than China & India
Nothing better than having an organization like Gallup issue confirming data for our Rise & Fall of the Middle-Class investing theme. While most tend to understandably focus on China and India given the size of their respective populations, Gallup’s finding remind us upward economic mobility is occurring in other emerging Asian economies. This target market expansion is poised to attract U.S. companies looking to offset waning growth in more mature economies that are contending with the falling middle-class as well as Cash-Strapped Consumer.
Majorities in most Asian economies surveyed in 2016, including some of the region’s least-developed countries, expect that children today will have better living standards when they grow up than their parents did. This includes more than 90% of residents in poor countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The pace of economic progress explains much of the difference between opinions in countries at the top and bottom of the list. Countries at the top of the list, where residents are most optimistic about the next generation’s standard of living, enjoyed strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates of over 6% last year. Their economies have seen dramatic improvements recently, aided by increased foreign investment and low labor rates.
Bangladesh’s economy, for example, has grown by more than 6% in 10 of the past 12 years.However, among countries at the top of the list, current per capita income levels are low compared with those of other countries. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh ranked 145th in the world in terms of per capita income last year, and Myanmar ranked 146th. These are two of the world’s least-developed countries, where people have relatively short life expectancies. Yet, residents in Bangladesh and Myanmar express great hope for rising living standards — not because of their country’s current level of development, but because of the positive trend and momentum of its development.
Source: Many in Asia See Better Living Standards for Next Generation
