你看到的MINT不一定是薄荷

看到mint这个词，多数人可能会想到用于牙膏和口香糖的薄荷，词汇量再大一点的同学或许会想到造钱的铸币厂。但是今天我们说的这个MINT有了新的意思。

MINT, often used in the phrase the MINT countries, is an acronym of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey, and is used in financial spheres to characterize these countries as an economic group with growing influence.

MINT，通常称作“薄荷国家”或“薄荷四国”，是对墨西哥、印度尼西亚、尼日利亚和土耳其四个国家的缩略称呼，这个称呼多用于经济领域，将这四个国家定义为影响力逐渐扩大的一个经济组织。

Why these four countries in particular? The answer seems to lie, not in obvious economic boosters like technology or natural resources, but demographics. As well as having a large population, all these countries are 'younger' than many of their competitors. This means that they're likely to see a significant rise in the number of people eligible to work relative to those not working – a situation which is the envy of many developed nations or countries which hitherto have been economic powerhouses, such as China and Russia. Another key advantage of three of the MINT countries is their geographical location. Turkey is both European and Asian, Indonesia is at the heart of South-East Asia and has connections with China, and Mexico is nestled between the USA and the rest of Latin America.

为什么是这四个国家？答案似乎并不是常见的技术或自然资源等经济增长点，而是人口。除了都是人口大国之外，这四个国家比他们的竞争者们都“年轻”。这就意味着，这些国家的工作年龄人口增长将明显超过非工作年龄人口增长，这是很多发达国家都求之不得的，连中国和俄罗斯这样的经济发展大国也会艳羡。薄荷四国中有三个国家具有另外一个主要优势：地理位置。土耳其横岗欧亚，印度尼西亚位于东南亚的中心，同时与中国关系紧密，而墨西哥则被美国和其他拉美国家环绕其中。

Though it may take some years, possibly as many as 30, economic forecasters predict that the MINTs have the potential to join the top 10 largest economies in the world. They also form part of what in economic circles is sometimes referred to as the next eleven (or N-11, as opposed to the G7 (group of seven) wealthiest countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA. The next eleven, which also includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, are a group of countries identified by analysts as in a situation of investment, stability and industrial growth which gives them the potential to become some of the world's largest economies in the 21st century.

不过，经济预测学家预计，薄荷四国大概要用30年的时间才能跻身于世界十大经济体。同时，他们也被列入了经济圈中有时会提到的“新钻十一国”（N-11，与G7相对，G7指全球最富有的7个国家：加拿大、法国、德国、意大利、日本、英国和美国）。除了薄荷四国以外，未来十一国还包括孟加拉国、埃及、伊朗、巴基斯坦、菲律宾、韩国和越南，这些国家被分析人士从投资、稳定程度以及工业增长等方面认定为有潜力在21世纪跻身世界最大经济体。

The acronym MINT was popularized by Jim O' Neill, a British economist best known for coining its predecessor, the term BRIC.

MINT这个缩略语由首创“金砖四国”（BRIC）提法的英国经济学家吉姆•奥尼尔提出并广泛传播。

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen）