Namibia is highly ranked in Sub-Saharan African connectivity, ranking sixth out of 43 countries in the DHL 2024 Global Annual Connectedness report, surpassing established economies like Senegal, Angola, Nigeria, and Kenya.
The index is for metrics like internet access and mobile network coverage. The report revealed key insights regarding global connectedness, with specific emphasis on the Globe, Africa, and Namibia, and it provides an overview of global trends and profiling the international activity of 181 countries and territories.
“Namibia has made significant progress in global connectedness, moving up 27 spots to rank 102 out of 181 countries globally in 2023. I wish to emphasise that while Namibia is advancing in the Global Connectedness Index, more efforts are needed to thrive in the competitive global landscape,” said Dirk van Doorn, Managing Director of DHL Namibia.
Meanwhile, the report indicates that global connectedness reached a record high in 2022 and maintained a similar level in 2023.
“This resilience and growth in international flows of trade, capital, information, and people challenge the notion that globalisation is in decline,” the report states.
DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. DHL divisions offer an unrivaled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management.
With about 395,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, in 2022 DHL Group generated 94 billion euros (roughly N$1.8 trillion)
Meanwhile, according to the report, Singapore has been identified as the most globally connected country, followed by the Netherlands and Ireland.
Singapore boasts the largest international flows relative to domestic activity, while the United Kingdom demonstrates the most broadly distributed flows worldwide.
Relations between the U.S. and China continue to diminish, with both countries experiencing a decrease in flows involving each other since 2016, according to the report.
“Despite this trend, the U.S. and China maintain significant connections compared to most other countries.”
Russia and Europe have undergone a decoupling process, leading to a shift in trade patterns and a collapse in foreign investment in Russia. Notably, Russia experienced a substantial drop in global connectedness in 2022 among major G20 economies.
According to the report, there is no clear split of the world economy into rival geopolitical blocs.
Trade between US-aligned and China-aligned blocs increased during the Covid-19 pandemic but declined following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, returning close to pre-pandemic levels excluding Russia.
Corporate globalisation is rising, with companies generating more sales abroad and announcing international expansion projects at a high relative to world GDP.
The share of mergers and acquisitions and global output produced outside companies’ home countries remains steady.
Although the share of global trade in world GDP reached a record high in 2022 before a modest decline in 2023, trade growth is expected to accelerate in 2024. Information flows globalisation has surged over the last two decades, but recent data shows a stall, partly due to US-China tensions and restrictions on international data flows.
