Economists have urged African countries to shift to low-cost manufacturing – the path that led countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – to industrial prosperity. These East Asian economies – which recorded high growth rates of at least 7% between the 1950s and 1990s – are commonly referred to as the Asian Tigers.
Starting in the 2000s, many of Africa’s top economies achieved high growth rates through natural resource extraction. Mineral resources such as oil, natural gas and coal were the main export items.
