The Top 5 Growing International Markets for 2014

You might be surprised that the fastest growing consumer markets in the world are not India or China but smaller and out of the way places like Malawi, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and Mongolia. Euromonitor International reviewed consumer expenditure growth rate and per capital consumer expenditure to determine countries with the highest market expansion rates. As the consumer expenditure growth rate and per capita consumer expenditure raises so does the opportunity for international businesses to sell new products and services to satisfy local consumer needs. 

Consumer spending growth rate is the average increase in the amount of money that is spent per household within a country.  The per capita consumer expenditure is the final expenditure of households. The two numbers together determine the percentage of increase and the total spending that can be used by companies to make investment decisions. 

The Top Five growing markets:

Malawi: 16.4 million consumers growing in consumer spending by 18.2% in a land locked South African country with little infrastructure to support large investments.

Sierra Leone: 6.1 million people with an increase in consumer spending of 14.7% in a West African country with poor infrastructure.

Turkmenistan: 14.4% growth rate in consumer spending with a growing middle class and solid infrastructure. Communications, education, leisure and recreation will be the top industries.

Saudi Arabia: 12% growth rate with one of the highest consumer expenditure value. Hotels, services, luxury and finance are top industries.

Mongolia: A small population of 2.8 million with a growth rate of 11.8%.

Conducting business and investing in foreign countries is trickier and more risk oriented than investing in the U.S. Even though the same principles apply in domestic or foreign development many small countries lack basic infrastructure and skill sets that encourage higher levels of investment development. Saudi Arabia has a stable government and solid infrastructure that is beneficial while Sierra Leone may have a higher rate of growth but also political instability and poor infrastructure.