Malaysia Ranks In 16th Place In DHL Global Connectedness Index, Top Among Middle-Income Economies

From Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

HANOI, March 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has added a feather in its cap by emerging as the most globally connected country among middle-income economies, ranking 16th out of 180 countries in the DHL Global Connectedness Report 2026.

The noteworthy achievement reflects Malaysia’s emphasis on and success in attracting inward investment and boosting its role in supply chains, senior research scholar cum Adjunct Assistant Professor at the New York University Stern School of Business, Professor Steven A. Altman said in the Vietnamese capital Tuesday.

Malaysia has climbed the rankings in recent years, underscoring the impact of the country’s efforts to integrate with the global economy, he said in the report co-published by DHL Group and New York University Stern School of Business.

The report tracks the depth and breadth of international trade, capital, information and people flows.

The report said Malaysia also recorded one of the largest increases in global connectedness since 2019, ranking seventh globally in terms of improvement," he told Bernama on the sidelines of a briefing on the report.

Among countries in the middle third of the global income distribution, he said Malaysia ranked first in global connectedness, attributing the performance to the government’s priority on attracting foreign direct investment and facilitating trade.

Altman also said that Southeast Asia, which is projected to record strong trade growth, would play an expanding role in global supply chains despite rising global geopolitical tensions.

As an integral part of ASEAN, this could further support Malaysia’s global integration.

"If Malaysia continues to get its share or gain a growing share of the region’s opportunity, I would be optimistic about the outlook for Malaysia,” he said.

Singapore topped the ranking as the world’s most globally connected country, followed by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

The United Arab Emirates ranked seventh and recorded the largest increase in global connectedness since 2001, while Belgium, the United Kingdom and Denmark rounded out the top ten.

Seven of the top 10 most globally connected economies are located in Europe, making it the most globally connected region in the world.

Among other economies, Canada ranked 26th, Thailand 27th, South Korea 31st, Vietnam 36th, the United States 39th and Japan 46th.

Altman said globalisation remains at a historically high level despite escalating geopolitical tensions, rising US tariffs and unprecedented uncertainty about future trade policies.

The share of the world’s output traded internationally remains close to its all-time high, with the latest data indicating a slight increase in 2025 despite trade facing some of the biggest shocks during the year.

Despite the US tariff increases, he said the global volume of trade in goods actually grew faster in 2025 than in any other year since 2017, if the rebound after trade plummeted during the COVID pandemic is excluded.

"One of the main drivers of trade growth in 2025 was the race to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

"According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), 42 per cent of the growth in global goods trade over the first three quarters of 2025 was driven by AI-related products," he said.

Looking forward, he said while tariff increases are expected to slow global trade growth, over the 2026-2029 period, global trade volumes are still expected to grow at the same annualised rate as they grew over the past decade.

On the other hand, Altman said, there is no global split into rival blocs even as the US and China decouple, as most countries continue to engage with their longstanding partners.

He said that over the past decade, only four to six per cent of global goods trade, greenfield foreign direct investments, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions have shifted away from geopolitical rivals.

"Of these flows, most have not moved to close allies but to countries with flexible geopolitical positions, such as India and Vietnam. Overall, the world economy remains far from a broad split into rival blocs.

-- BERNAMA