According to DHL’s Global Connectedness Index 2018 (GCI), the Netherlands has yet again come out on top, earning the title of the most logistically connected country in the world. This is the fourth time that the Netherlands has occupied this position.
The GCI 2018 is the fifth edition of the annual report by DHL, which provides a detailed analysis of globalisation based on the pillars of trade, capital, information and people. The report assesses 169 countries and territories according to the pillars, drawing on more than three million data points to track the depth of a country’s international flows relative to domestic activity and the breadth of said flows across origin and destination countries. As a result, globalisation can be viewed in general and per country.
Interestingly, in this edition, connectedness reached an all-time high for many countries, and all pillars intensified significantly for the first time since 2007. It is important to note that the GCI 2018 reports on figures from 2017.
This year, the Netherlands has yet again secured its place at the top. Coming in after the cheese-loving country is Singapore, Switzerland, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates. The Netherlands scores an overall 93 out of 100, with its highest score on the trade pillar, namely 92/100. Singapore came in second, with a notably lower overall score than the Netherlands, namely 87 out of 100; the country also scored the best on the trade pillar with 91/100.
One result from the GCI 2018 which comes as a surprise is how globalised the world actually is compared with our perceptions of how globalised it is. For example, only three percent of people live outside of the country they were born in, and only 20 percent of economic output globally is exported.
If we look closely at the Netherlands’ profile, we see that services trade, both inward and outward, accounts for 26 percent of GDP. When looking at migration, we see that migrants account for 12 percent of the Dutch population, double the percentage of the Dutch population who are outward migrants (6 percent).
Of the top 10 most connected countries in the world, eight are European, making Europe the most connected region in the world, especially when it comes to trade and people flows.
For more information, please see the DHL website or take a look at the GCI interactive insights.