In the 1960s, the first newly industrialized countries (NPIs) were among the developing countries. Since then, they have shown that it was possible, under certain conditions, to initiate a real industrial take-off and catch up with the developed countries.
Today, the four Asian dragons, also called first generation NPIs, have become developed countries in their own right, and enjoy a GDP-PPP per capita equivalent to that of the European Union. South Korea has a GNP per capita close to that of Greece or Portugal. Singapore and Hong Kong have been in the group of high-income countries since the early 1990s. And according to the IMF, Taiwan's per capita GDP, calculated at purchasing power parity, is expected to be over 34,700. US dollars in 2010, surpassing that of Japan, France or Finland.
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