‘Frontier Market’ Economies Haven’t Lived Up to Potential Since 2010 This page in:English Français العربية Русский 中文 Português

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/01/20/frontier-markets-press-release Investment growth has halved, more than in other low- and middle-income economies WASHINGTON, January 20, 2026—“Frontier market” economies—a cluster of mostly middle-income economies regarded as the proving ground for the next generation of economic superstars—have largely failed to live up to their potential in recent decades, a new World Bank study has found. On average, investment growth per person in the 2020s so far has been less than half the rate in the 2010s. Yet the experience of the top performers among frontier markets reveals lessons for the 56 economies currently in the cluster.