Singapore ranks 2nd in global connectedness

Singapore is the world’s most connected and globalized country, according to DHL’s Global Connectedness Index (GCI).

All but two of the top 10 most globalized countries in the world are located in Europe, with Singapore and the United Arab Emirates as the exceptions.

The 2016 edition of the report shows that global connectedness, measured by cross-border flows of trade, capital, information and people, surpassed its 2007 pre-crisis peak during 2014.

In 2015, globalization’s post-crisis expansion slowed, but the data indicate that it did not go into reverse. Currently available evidence — still preliminary in some areas — suggests that the world was about 8% more connected in 2015 than in 2005.

North America is the second most globally connected region and leads on the capital and information pillars, with the United States as the most connected country in the Americas. Overall the US is ranked 27th out of the 140 countries measured by the GCI.

North America had the largest gain in overall global connectedness during the past two years,

followed by South & Central America & the Caribbean. Countries in South & Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa suffered a drop in their average levels of global connectedness.

Suriname, Jamaica and Fiji were the biggest gainers in terms of rank changes from 2013 to 2015, moving up 23 (112th to 89th), 22 (107th to 85th) and 20 (94th to 74th) places respectively.

Suriname’s rise was driven by a substantial broadening of its international interactions, whereas Jamaica and Fiji increased on both the depth and breadth dimensions of their global connectedness.

Nigeria, Togo and Nicaragua experienced the largest decreases in terms of overall rank, dropping 28 (67th to 95th), 21 (72nd to 93rd) and 19 (71st to 90th) places respectively.