The Four Asian Tigers or Asian Dragons is a term used in reference to the highly developed economies

Developed country

A developed country is a country that has a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue...

 of Hong Kong

Economy of Hong Kong

As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world. Hong Kong has remained as the world's freest economy,...

, Singapore

Economy of Singapore

Singapore has a highly developed state capitalist mixed economy; the state owns stakes in firms that comprise perhaps 60% of the GDP through entities such as the sovereign wealth fund Temasek...

, South Korea

Economy of South Korea

South Korea has a market economy which ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity , identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a high-income developed country, with a developed market, and is a member of OECD...

 and Taiwan

Economy of Taiwan

Taiwan has a developed capitalist economy that ranks as the 19th largest in the world by Purchasing power parity and 24th in nominal GDP of investment and foreign trade by the Republic of China government which governs Taiwan. In keeping with this trend, most large government-owned banks and...

. These nations and areas were notable for maintaining exceptionally high growth

Economic growth

In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...

 rates (in excess of 7 percent a year) and rapid industrialization between the early 1960s and 1990s. By the 21st century, all four have developed into advanced and high-income economies, specializing in areas of competitive advantage.