Its population – about 18 million – compares with that of some industrial countries in their entirety; for instance, it is close to the population of Australia. Economic importance: macro and micro evidence The numbers are startling in terms of population, but they are also increasingly impressive in terms of economic size.
Emerging markets account for almost 40% of world GDP at purchasing power parity, although still only 20% at market value. While these economies are already large, they continue to grow vigorously, at more than 7% per annum on average over the past six years, over 2% percentage points above the world average.