List of Frontier Markets & Classifications
What Are Frontier Markets?
While there is no concrete definition, a Frontier Market can be described as a country that is more developed than a Lesser Developed Country (LDC) but has a more illiquid and less developed capital market than an Emerging Market. It is essentially an “emerging” Emerging Market.
Frontier Market Classifications
The three main index providers – MSCI, FTSE and S&P – all produce country classifications for a a range of countries and are usually placed in the following “buckets”: Developed Markets, Emerging Markets and Frontier Markets. Below is a table of all of the markets that are covered and how they are currently classified by each of the compilers:
|
Country |
|||
|
Argentina |
Frontier |
||
|
Bahrain |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Bangladesh |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Benin |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Botswana |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Bulgaria |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Burkina Faso |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Côte d’Ivoire |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Croatia |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Cyprus |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Estonia |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Ghana |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Iceland |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
|
Jamaica |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
|
Jordan |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Kazakhstan |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Kenya |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Kuwait |
Emerging |
Secondary Emerging |
Frontier |
|
Latvia |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Lebanon |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
|
Lithuania |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Macedonia |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
|
Mali |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Malta |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
|
Mauritius |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Mongolia |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
|
Morocco |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Namibia |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
|
Niger |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Nigeria |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
|
Oman |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Palestine |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Panama |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
|
Romania |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
|
Senegal |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Serbia |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
|
Slovakia |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Slovenia |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Sri Lanka |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Tanzania |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
|
Togo |
Frontier |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
|
Tunisia |
Frontier |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
Ukraine |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
|
Vietnam |
Frontier |
Frontier |
|
|
Zambia |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
|
Zimbabwe |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Unclassified |
Unclassified |
Index providers typically review the country classifications on a periodic basis. Thetable below shows the countries that are currently being reviewed by MSCI, FTSE and S&P for reclassification (either an upgrade or downgrade):
|
Country |
Index |
Type |
Prev |
Next Classification |
Date |
|
Kuwait |
MSCI |
Consultation |
Frontier |
Emerging |
Dec-19 |
|
Iceland |
MSCI |
Consultation |
Frontier (Standalone) |
Frontier |
Nov-19 |
|
Argentina |
S&P |
Watchlist |
Frontier |
Emerging |
Aug-20 |
|
Romania |
S&P |
Watchlist |
Frontier |
Emerging |
Aug-20 |
|
Vietnam |
S&P |
Watchlist |
Frontier |
Emerging |
Aug-20 |
|
Romania |
FTSE |
Frontier |
Secondary Emerging |
Sep-20 |
|
|
Tanzania |
FTSE |
Unclassified |
Frontier |
Sep-20 |
|
|
Vietnam |
FTSE |
Frontier |
Secondary Emerging |
Sep-20 |
