Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Mozambique, Ghana, Togo, Zambia and Guinea, saw the largest rise in connectedness between 2010 and 2011, according to the second edition of the DHL Global Connectedness Index (GCI) released today.
DHL’s results, showing a comprehensive analysis of the state of globalisation across the globe, indicate that while Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s least connected region, it averaged the largest connectivity increases between 2010 and 2011.
The Netherlands remained the world’s most connected country, a position is seized last year. Of 2011’s top ten most connected countries, nine of them are from Europe, the world’s most connected region.
Charles Brewer, Managing Director for DHL Express in Sub-Saharan Africa, said that report also reveals that in 2011, intra-Africa trade continues to lag far behind its European and Asian counterparts.
“If we want to improve this interconnectivity, we need to look at the ease of doing business across borders in the region and work towards regional trade agreements, customs improvements and border efficiencies, to name just a few,” he said.
The DHL report, drawn from more than one million data points between 2005 and 2011, indicates that the world is less globalised today than it was in 2007.
The report further documents that globalisation, measured by flow information as well labour and capital, rose from the reports baseline year of 2005 to 2007, and then slumped sharply at the start of the financial crisis.
From a global perspective, Brewer said, the GCI 2012 indicates that today’s volatile and uncertain business environment bears the lasting impact of the financial crisis.
He said: “In this period of slow growth, it’s important to remember the tremendous gains that globalization has brought to the world, and recognize it as an engine of economic progress. It is crucial that governments around the globe resist protectionist measures that hinder cross-border interactions.”
Globalization, or global connectedness, according to theorists, refers to major changes marking the rapid expansion of information and networks among countries. The term is also be perceived as a tool, technique, technology or method aimed at solving a problem.
According to some experts, with today’s Internet access and high use of social networking sites, the social being in the age of globalization “is no longer limited by locality as it has become a global existence.”
