MINT, or “MINT countries” refers to the economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey. This acronym was devised by Fidelity Investments in 2011¹, and popularized in 2013 by Jim O’Neill ², the former chief economist of Goldman Sachs. MINT countries were grouped together based the following characteristics:

• Large populations (primarily under 30 years of age)
• Demonstration of rapid economic growth
• Developing middle class
• Entrepreneurialism

MINT is one of the many acronyms used by finance professionals and academics to group similar emerging economies. Additional emerging market groupings by acronym include: BRICS, CIVETS, VISTA, MIST/ MIKT/TIMS, Next 11, and many others. MINT countries can be more specifically classified as "frontier markets" because their economies were smaller than those of BRIC countries at the time the term was coined. MINT countries were projected to have favorable demographics and positive economic prospects at least for the next two decades.

The goal of this guide is to provide general starting points for researching MINT countries. It is not comprehensive, and does not include information on investing or investment sectors. It is one of several introductory research guides produced by Business Reference Services focusing on emerging economies. This guide will suggest sources of information—primarily on the web—as well as resources available at the Library of Congress. This guide will also suggest relevant journal titles to begin learning about and pursuing research on this topic.