Which African postal networks had the most direct international partners?

Egypt remained ahead on business-to-business postal connections

Egypt’s business-to-business indicator moved from 100 in 2023 to 105.5 in 2024. South Africa rose from 86 to 98.5 and Nigeria rose from 84 to 90. All three recorded gains, but South Africa’s increase was the largest among the seven economies. Source 1

Business-to-consumer reach followed a different order

South Africa’s business-to-consumer indicator rose from 91 to 100, close to Egypt’s 103 in 2024. Kenya was at 79.5 and Nigeria 78. Kenya had fewer business-to-business partners than Nigeria that year, even though it was slightly ahead on the consumer measure. Source 1

Kenya and Rwanda showed why both indicators matter

Kenya’s business-to-business indicator declined from 91 to 84.5 while its business-to-consumer figure rose from 79 to 79.5. Rwanda’s business-to-business figure declined from 45 to 41.5 and its consumer figure increased from 30 to 31. The two series describe direct connections for different postal items. Source 1

A direct connection is a measure of reach

The World Bank measures economies accessible by direct international postal connections. Its business series covers parcels or express shipments and its consumer series covers letters and small packets up to 2 kg. The indicators do not report volumes, delivery speed, fees or the range of destinations reachable through a third economy. Source 1 Source 2

Sources

• World Bank Data360 and Universal Postal Union, Logistics Performance Indicators 2.0
• World Bank, definitions for Logistics Performance Indicators 2.0
• World Bank economy metadata, capital coordinates