Vietnam ranks 37/139 in terms of global connectivity

Connection always brings many benefits to individuals as well as economies. That's why countries today are always looking for ways to strengthen connections with the rest of the world.

Vietnam ranks 37th in the global connectivity ranking, behind Norway and ahead of Lebanon.

Connection always brings many benefits to individuals as well as economies. That's why countries today are always looking for ways to strengthen connections with the rest of the world.Consulting firm McKinsey&Co. just released a 144-page report on global connectivity, including a ranking of countries by their level of connectivity.

According to Bloomberg news agency, the report states that, the more connected a country is to the world, the more its economy benefits. This connection is not just about commercial and financial activities, it is also about people – shown by the number of immigrants in each country – and the flow of data across that country's borders.

Based on all these factors, McKinsey ranked 139 countries in terms of connectivity with the world. Leading the ranking is the small island nation of Singapore, followed by the Netherlands - one of Europe's digital centers. In the top 5 there are also America, Germany, and Ireland.

The remaining 5 countries in the top 10 are England, China, France, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia.

The "underdogs" ranked are the island nation of Seychelles and the African nation of Sierra Leone.

Japan, the world's third largest economy and owner of many global brands, is only ranked 24th. This surprisingly low position of Japan comes from the country's restrictions on immigration.

Vietnam ranked 37th in the ranking, behind Norway and ahead of Lebanon.

In the Southeast Asia region, Vietnam is behind Singapore (1), Malaysia (20), and Thailand (22), and is ranked higher than Indonesia (51), Philippines (54), Cambodia (92), and Laos (100).

The report states that the world economy in general benefited from the flow of about 7.8 trillion USD of goods, services, capital and data across national borders globally in 2014.

“Countries that open up to global flows will increase their GDP,” said McKinsey expert Susan Lund. According to the report, statements that globalization is “dead” are completely subjective.

It is true that global trade has slowed significantly, and global capital flows have fallen sharply since a peak of nearly $12 trillion in 2007, before the financial crisis. However, the transmission of data around the world is growing at an explosive pace. Half of Facebook users had at least one foreign friend in 2015, up from just 16% in 2012.

Facebook estimates that there are currently about 50 million small and medium-sized companies on this network, nearly double the number in 2013. On average, 30% of the people following these companies on Facebook are from other countries.

“We are entering a new and different era of globalization,” Ms. Lund said. “And what characterizes this global era is data and digital flows.”

Source: http://vneconomy.vn/