Courtesy of the Asia News Network, an article on an interesting report on the Next Eleven:

The “Next Eleven” countries, which include Pakistan, will collectively overtake EU-27 in global power by 2030, according to a US government report released yesterday.

Although America’s influence will be reduced, it will remain the “first among equals”, adds the report prepared by the US National Intelligence Council with inputs from 18 intelligence agencies and dozens of think-tanks.

Based on socio-economic trends across the globe, the study also presents the best and the worst case scenarios in the report titled “Global Trends 2030”.

In the best case scenarios, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2030. The middle class will outnumber others. Most people will have access to technology, advanced health care and most countries will learn to link with each other.

The US and China will cooperate with each other to lead the way.

In the worst case scenarios, rising population will lead to conflict over water and food, especially in the Mideast and Africa, and the instability will contribute to global economic collapse.

The report includes a Goldman Sachs list of “Next Eleven” consisting of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam.

The “Next Eleven” will collectively overtake the EU-27 in global power by 2030.

“When this second tier is combined with the non-western giants of China and India, the shift of power from the West to the emerging or non-western world is even more pronounced,” the report notes.