BEVERLY HILLS, May 24, (THEWILL) – Research released by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has ranked Nigeria as the best performer in Africa.
The Postal Development Report 2018 measures four areas of development which are: reliability, reach, relevance and resilience; using the UPU’s unparalleled collection of postal big data and statistics to create a ranking of 173 countries.
The report, which is the Second annual ranking of postal operators, also explores the relationship between a country’s postal development and its progress on UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development indicators.
For the second year running, Switzerland placed first in the report’s comparative Integrated Index for Postal Development (or 2IPD), achieving the top score for its balanced performance, including top volume per capita and a well-diversified portfolio.
Netherlands ranked second thanks to its delivery speed and interconnectedness with international partners. The demand for Japan’s postal services, as well as their quality is credited for its third-place ranking.
While the ranking showed a gap between industrialized and developing countries, standout performers in each developing region demonstrated that this gap is surmountable. Poland, Singapore, Tunisia, Brazil and Nigeria all led the way in their respective regions.
With some 31 percent of the world’s population—or about two billion people—currently excluded from financial services globally, the report finds that Posts could contribute to the achievement of financial inclusion by leveraging their vast networks.
A link between a country’s score in the ranking and the percentage of adults with bank accounts is evidence that Posts could have an invaluable role in offering financial services, positively impacting national economies and helping countries maximize growth potential for financial inclusion.
The report demonstrates the ability of Posts to allow the spread of innovation, noting a positive relationship between postal development and robust global value chains.
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