"Logistics performance both in international trade and domestically is central to countries' economic growth and competitiveness," said Anabel Gonzalez, Senior Director for the World Bank Group's Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice. "Efficient logistics connects people and firms to markets and opportunities, and helps achieve higher levels of productivity and welfare.

"Unfortunately, the logistics performance gap between rich and poor countries continues and the convergence trend experienced between 2007 and 2014 has reversed for the least performing countries."

Over the past six years, the world's top-10 performers have remained consistent and include dominant players in the supply chain industry. Low-income economies with the worst performance are often landlocked, small islands, or post-conflict states.

However, for the first time in the history of the Connecting to Compete reports, landlocked countries are no longer automatically disadvantaged, as shown by the performances of both Rwanda and Uganda, which benefit from regionally coordinated efforts to improve trade corridors.
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