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Russia Ranks 55th in Report of 60 Globalized Economies

Russia is one of the least globalized countries among the 60 largest economies in the world, according to a report released Friday.

The country ranks 55th on the list, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Ernst & Young — just above Indonesia and below Ecuador.

Each of the countries was graded by analysts using a 1 to 5 scale on a number of factors, ranging from trade policy to Internet subscribers to migration.

While Russia scored relatively well in categories ranking countries' trade policies and capital restrictions, it ranked much lower in indicators measuring the exchange of technology and ideas, such as the number of Internet users, as well as measures of cultural integration, such as tourism. Russia scored a 1.77 in the technology category and a 2.01 in the cultural category.

Russia's aggregate score in 2009 was 2.77, up only slightly from the 2.51 it scored in 1995.

BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) all rank in the bottom half of the list and "none has increased, or is even expected to increase, its globalization progress at anything like the pace of its economic growth rate," the report said. "This may be explained in large part by a greater focus on new opportunities arising in home markets."

Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, Belgium and Sweden led the list, while Indonesia, Nigeria, Algeria, Venezuela and Iran brought up the rear.

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