India 2nd least globalised economy: AT Kearney

International consultancy and research firm AT Kearney has ranked India at the 71st position in its annual ranking of the world's most globalised nations, AT Kearney and Foreign Policy Globalisation Index 2007.

The list of 72 countries is topped by Singapore for the third consecutive year followed by Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland.

India fell 10 places from its 61st position in 2006. The country was placed at the second bottom position last year as well in a list of 62 nations. This year, 10 countries have debuted on the index, and all of them have come at ranks higher than India.

AT Kearney said that India's low position is despite the country's services export and the total trade rising by more than a third.

"India's standing as a premier offshoring destination with a booming economy often masks the fact that 70% of its population lives in rural areas," the joint report by Kearney and US-based magazine Foreign Policy said.

Despite a doubling of Internet users in 2005, only 5% of the population had access to the Internet and less than half the population was attached to the power grid, it added.

The Globalisation Index is an annual study that assesses the extent to which nations are becoming more or less globally connected taking into account 12 variables grouped into four categories - economic integration, personal contact, technological connectivity and political engagement.

The lone ranker behind India is Iran.

The 2007 edition of the Globalization Index is its largest and most comprehensive version of the rankings to date. The index accounts for 97% of the world's gross domestic product and 88% of the world's population.