What are frontier markets — and why do they matter for the global economy? Tommy ChrimesPhilip KenworthyM. Ayhan KoseTakuma Tanaka May 26, 2026 This page in: English Español 中文

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/what-are-frontier-markets---and-why-do-they-matter-for-the-globa Developing economies are commonly classified by income level, institutional capacity, or exposure to fragility and conflict. Financial markets use a different lens, distinguishing between emerging markets and frontier markets. While emerging markets have been studied extensively, frontier markets — a subset of developing economies with meaningful but still limited access to international financial markets — have received relatively little macroeconomic analysis as a group.