The latest global Logistics Performance Index (LPI) released by the World Bank has ranked South Africa, Egypt, Benin Republic, Botswana, Namibia, Djibouti, and Rwanda as the best in Africa and 19th in the world with a score of 3.4 percent. Botswana is better rated than Egypt due to its Customs. Benin Republic and Namibia are in the 66th position while Rwanda on the 73rd spot, and Djibouti (79th) is clearly rated ahead of Nigeria (88th). Nigeria posted 2.6 percent (Customs), 2.4 percent on logistics infrastructure, 2.5 percent on international shipments, 2.3 percent on logistics competence and quality, 3.1 on timeliness, and 2.7 on tracking and tracing.
On the overall scale, the 2023 LPI report ranked Singapore number one in the world with a 4.3 percent score, followed by Finland in second place with 4.2 percent, and Denmark in third place with 4.1 percent. The World Bank conducted a survey between September 6 and November 5, 2022, which contained 4,090 country assessments by 652 logistics professionals in 115 countries across all World Bank regions. The report highlighted the importance of resilience and reliability in the performance of logistics, and the Global Director for Trade, Investment, and Competitiveness at the World Bank, Mona Haddad, said that logistics is the lifeblood of international trade and trade is a powerful force for economic growth and poverty reduction. The report also noted that end-to-end supply chain digitalization, especially in emerging economies, is allowing countries to shorten port delays by up to 70 percent compared to those in developed countries.
The report also noted that most time is spent in shipping, with the biggest delays occurring at seaports, airports, and multimodal facilities. Policies targeting these facilities can help improve reliability, such as improving clearance processes and investing in infrastructure, adopting digital technologies, and incentivizing environmentally sustainable logistics. On average, 44 days elapse from the time a container enters the port of the exporting country until it leaves the destination port, with a standard deviation of 10.5 days. The report provides valuable information
