Baltic Tiger
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Baltic Tiger is a term used to refer to any of the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – during their periods of economic boom, which started after the year 2000 and continues up to the present moment. The term is modelled on East Asian Tigers and Celtic Tiger, which were used to describe the economic boom periods in parts of East Asia and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.
After 2000, the Baltic Tiger economies implemented important economic reforms and liberalisation, which, coupled with their fairly low-wage and skilled labour force, attracted large amounts of foreign investment and economic growth. Between 2000 and 2004, the Baltic Tiger states had the highest growth rates in Europe, and this is continued in 2005. In 2004, for example, Estonia grew by 7.8% in gross domestic product, while Latvia grew by 8.5% and Lithuania by 7.3%. In 2005 economic growth accelerated even more, reaching 10.2% in Latvia, 10.5% in Estonia and 7.6% in Lithuania. All three countries by February 2006 saw their rates of unemployment falling below average EU values. Additionally, Estonia is among the ten most liberal economies in the world, and Lithuania and Latvia have been praised for their macroeconomic stability, especially low inflation and low budget deficits. All three countries joined the European Union in May 2004, and all three are slated to adopt the Euro (Latvia and Estonia in 2008, Lithuania in 2010).
The Baltic economies are predicted to continue growing at a high annual rate of 5-10% until at least 2010. In the 2000-2010 decade, gross domestic product is expected to rise dramatically, similar to what happened in Ireland during its 1990s economic boom. While their GDP per capita is currently at approximately 50-60% of the European Union average, they are expected to converge in income, even though EU average income is not expected to be reached in the near future. Even their present status at 50% of the EU average is a remarkable improvement in such a short time, considering that in 1999, Latvia and Lithuania had a GDP per capita at only 25% of the EU average.
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[edit] Statistics
[edit] Annual GDP growth rate
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 (e) | 2007 (e) | Total real growth (2000-2007) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 7.9% | 7.7% | 8.0% | 7.1% | 8.1% | 10.5% | 9.5% | 8.0% | 89.9% |
| Latvia | 6.9% | 8.0% | 6.4% | 7.5% | 8.5% | 10.2% | 11.0% | 9.0% | 91.0% |
| Lithuania | 4.1% | 6.6% | 6.9% | 10.3% | 7.3% | 7.6% | 6.8% | 6.5% | 70.7% |
| e - expected values
Data from International Monetary Fund and Statistics Estonia |
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[edit] GDP per capita
In international dollars, at purchasing power parity (PPP).
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 10,258 | 11,225 | 12,300 | 13,440 | 14,926 | 16,414 | 17,802 | 19,243 |
| Latvia | 7,600 | 8,452 | 9,226 | 10,177 | 11,396 | 12,622 | 13,784 | 14,933 |
| Lithuania | 8,730 | 9,559 | 10,420 | 11,713 | 12,856 | 14,158 | 15,443 | 16,756 |
| Data from International Monetary Fund | ||||||||
