Globalization index 2007

[orieleye]

Top 20 Most Globalized Countries

1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. Netherlands
4. Switzerland
5. Ireland
6. Denmark
7. United States
8. Canada
9. Jordan
10. Estonia
11. Sweden
12. United Kingdom
13. Australia
14. Austria
15. Belgium
16. New Zealand
17. Norway
18. Finland
19. Czech Republic
20. Slovenia

Select Country Highlights

Placing second overall, Hong Kong ranked first in both the economic and personal contact categories of the index. Hong Kong's ties with China also helped as China was responsible for a large and increasing share of the special administrative region's tourist visits, direct investment, and trade.

Jordan debuted at number nine after finishing in the top 10 for the economic, social, and political components of the index. Jordan has one of the highest levels of peacekeeping troop contributions of all U.N. member states.

Estonia joined the index at number 10 due to its economy's reliance on trade and investment, as well as openness to international tourists and business travelers. It received the third-highest economic score after Hong Kong and Singapore.

The United States dropped to seventh place in this year's rankings, finishing second-to-last (just above Algeria) in economic measures as overall trade grew only modestly and inward foreign direct investment shrank. But the country's continued high level of technological connectivity kept it from sliding out of the top 10.

Vietnam, another of the 10 new countries included in the index, debuted at 48 and ranked 10th in terms of trade, demonstrating its recent progress toward economic liberalization. Export-driven sectors such as textiles and garments helped the economy grow and further integrated Vietnam into global supply chains.

China fell 15 places in this year's expanded index to 66 overall. The country's decline is in part a result of lower trade growth compared to the previous year-possibly as the country shifts its emphasis to domestic demand-led growth over export-led growth-and a decline in the political index due to smaller increases in contributions to U.N. peacekeeping operations.

India's export of services and its total trade both rose by more than a third, but the country still finished near the bottom of the rankings at 71 overall. The country's standing as a premier offshoring destination with a booming economy often masks the fact that 70 percent of its population lives in rural areas. Despite a doubling of Internet users in 2005, only 5 percent of India's population had access to the Internet and less than half of its population was attached to the power grid.

Belgium, another first-year index participant, debuted at 15 overall. The country scored in the top 20 in both the economic and social indexes.





In addition to the rankings, this year's index also explores the relationships between a country's global integration and its size, Web traffic, and urban growth. The results show that:

• Globalization is a much larger imperative for smaller countries with small domestic markets and limited natural resources. Seven of the top 10 countries in the index have populations fewer than 8 million and eight have smaller land areas than the U.S. state of Indiana. But total trade as a percentage of gross domestic product for countries such as Ireland and Singapore is more than twice that of economic heavyweights China and India.
• More globalized countries have more international Internet bandwidth. The bandwidth of the United States, for example, so exceeds that of other countries that most of the e-mail traffic flowing between Latin America and Europe passes through the United States.
• Less globalized countries tend to have faster-growing cities. Low-ranking countries such as Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Indonesia have urban growth rates much higher than countries that performed well in the index.

For complete survey results, methodology, and experts available for comment, visit ForeignPolicy.com/globalizationindex.


About the Globalization Index

The Globalization Index ranks 72 countries representing 87 percent of the world's population, based on 12 variables grouped in four categories: economic integration, personal contact, technological connectivity, and political engagement. The index quantifies economic integration by combining data on trade and foreign direct investment. Technological connectedness is gauged by counting Internet users, Internet hosts, and secure servers. Political engagement is assessed by taking stock of the number of selected international organizations and the number of selected international treaties that each country signs, as well as each country's financial and personnel contributions to U.N. peacekeeping missions and levels of governmental transfers. Personal contact is charted by looking at a country's international travel and tourism, international telephone traffic and cross-border transfers, including remittances.

Hong Kong, Jordan, and Estonia Rank In Top 10 of the World\'s Most Globalized Countries

[No mention of immigration in this index.]