South Africa 'over performs' in logistics

South Africa is listed as one of the “over performing” countries in the ‘Connecting to Compete 2014: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy' report compiled by the World Bank. According to the survey, there is a direct correlation between gross domestic product and logistics efficiency. “High income countries outperform low-income countries by 53%, lower middle-income countries by 42%, and upper middle-income countries by 30%. South Africa is among the exceptions to the rule. “Compared with other countries in their income group, some of the overperforming non-high-income economies are Malaysia, South Africa, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and India,” says the report. South Africa is ranked 34th out of 160. At the top of the list is Germany, with Somalia ranked last. In the “upper middleincome” group South Africa is fifth after Malaysia (25th overall), China (28th), Turkey (30th), and Hungary (33rd). Mexico (50th overall) is at the bottom of the top 10 upper middle income list. South Africa scored highest for “international shipments” at 25th. Its lowest ranking is 42 for customs. Malawi (73rd overall) is the top performer in the low-income performers list, followed by Kenya and Rwanda. Malawi is the only Southern African Development Community (SADC) state to make the top 10 in this category.