HSBC has issued a report assessing the contribution of the often overlooked middle market, which stands at an incredible $11.5 trillion of economic value to national economies.

The total value is estimated by including supply chain impacts if the 162,000 mid-market firms in countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, along with the wage spending of the approximately 169 million employees in the middle market sector.

“Industry groups and observers have called mid-market enterprises ‘neglected,’ the ‘Cinderella sector’ and the ‘squeezed middle’,” said Steve Bottomley, global head of Mid-Market and Business Banking for HSBC. “At HSBC we’re shining a spotlight on these companies, recognizing that they are at the heart of national economies and societies, they are enterprises whose positive impact has been hidden for too long.”

As the report notes, the ways in which middle market enterprises (MME) impact national economies varies. Specifically, MMEs in more developed countries tend to create more value internally, while still developing nations receive a greater contribution to their GDP.

“With this report MME’s are highlighted as the backbone of our economies stimulating innovation and competition essential to the development of a healthy economy,” Steve Bottomley said.

The full report can be accessed here.