看到mint這個詞，多數(shù)人可能會想到用于牙膏和口香糖的薄荷，詞匯量再大一點的同學或許會想到造錢的鑄幣廠。但是今天我們說的這個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，通常稱作“薄荷國家”或“薄荷四國”，是對墨西哥、印度尼西亞、尼日利亞和土耳其四個國家的縮略稱呼，這個稱呼多用于經(jīng)濟領(lǐng)域，將這四個國家定義為影響力逐漸擴大的一個經(jīng)濟組織。

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.

為什么是這四個國家？答案似乎并不是常見的技術(shù)或自然資源等經(jīng)濟增長點，而是人口。除了都是人口大國之外，這四個國家比他們的競爭者們都“年輕”。這就意味著，這些國家的工作年齡人口增長將明顯超過非工作年齡人口增長，這是很多發(fā)達國家都求之不得的，連中國和俄羅斯這樣的經(jīng)濟發(fā)展大國也會艷羨。薄荷四國中有三個國家具有另外一個主要優(yōu)勢：地理位置。土耳其橫崗歐亞，印度尼西亞位于東南亞的中心，同時與中國關(guān)系緊密，而墨西哥則被美國和其他拉美國家環(huán)繞其中。

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.

不過，經(jīng)濟預測學家預計，薄荷四國大概要用30年的時間才能躋身于世界十大經(jīng)濟體。同時，他們也被列入了經(jīng)濟圈中有時會提到的“新鉆十一國”（N-11，與G7相對，G7指全球最富有的7個國家：加拿大、法國、德國、意大利、日本、英國和美國）。除了薄荷四國以外，未來十一國還包括孟加拉國、埃及、伊朗、巴基斯坦、菲律賓、韓國和越南，這些國家被分析人士從投資、穩(wěn)定程度以及工業(yè)增長等方面認定為有潛力在21世紀躋身世界最大經(jīng)濟體。

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

MINT這個縮略語由首創(chuàng)“金磚四國”（BRIC）提法的英國經(jīng)濟學家吉姆?奧尼爾提出并廣泛傳播。

（中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Helen）