As per the DHL Global Connectedness Index (GCI), the globe is more connected than at any given point in the history.

The GCI, that evaluates important developments in the world flow of trade, capital, information and people from 2001 to 2018. The data was updated by DHL and the NYU Stern School of Business in previous week, the conclusion was based on 3.5 millions country-to-country data points.

Regardless strains from world geopolitics and other trade reduction in 2018, the GCI kept close to the document high of globalization assessed in 2017. The volume growth of trade dropped in the first half of 2019, however, for 2020 only a humble slope is predicted.

Senior Research Scholar and Lead author of the report, Steven A. Altman expressed “Our analysis does not confirm a robust regionalization trend,” “Instead, we see that the average distance across which countries trade has held steady since 2012. While fraying relations between major economies could lead to a fracturing along regional lines, such a shift has not yet conclusively taken place.”

The report also states that all four flows are up against “powerful headwinds”, and they are in the form of uncertainty and trade barriers.

Further, it is noted that “a survey on globalization perceptions reveals that many people do not realize how limited global connectedness actually is. While the world is more connected than at almost any previous point in history, most businesses still take place within rather than across national borders.”

All these can lead to a unclear picture of globalization which affects decision-making, said the report.

Source: DHL Group