Map of International Phone Calls Explains Globalization

International phone calls were once limited to wealthy nations. Shipper DHL has released its third edition of global connectedness index that tracks all manner of exchanges between countries, describing it as detailed analysis of the state of globalization. Tim Fernholz focuses on phone calls for Quartz and reports that growing diasporas of workers and dropping phone rates are driving global interaction. Seven of the 10 largest international routes are based in the United States, with most calling Mexico and India. “On a more macro level, 41% of all global calls are from advanced economies to emerging markets, compared to just 9% going the reverse direction,” Fernholz writes. Europe is the most globally connected region overall with nine of the 10 most connected countries. Top “outperformers” in terms of infrastructure are Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia; North Africa was the only region with a large drop in overall connectedness. Trade regionalization is in decline as communications, trade and travel stretch to longer distances. International calling still has plenty of room for growth – less than 5 percent of all calls are international. The report concludes that “the biggest threats to globalization may come from policy fumbles or protectionist interventions rather than macroeconomic fundamentals.” – YaleGlobal