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Jul
Each six months I look at how well connected by air countries are to each other – the Flight Connectivity Index (FCI). Previous updates – FCI 30 June 2009, FCI 31 December 2009, FCI 30 June 2010 and FCI 31 December 2011. Since the last update there has been the usual seasonal changes, Turkey has become more connected while United Arab Emirates has partially reversed it’s ongoing growth in flight connectivity. The effect of the spring revolutions has been seen with Egypt and Libya both losing some connectivity (5 and 4 countries respectively).
Flight Connectivity Index (FCI)
The Flight Connectivity Index (FCI) value is the number of other countries to which you can fly directly from a given country, based on published schedules of IATA airlines. Domestic flights do not count. To simplify the calculation, countries are defined as members of United Nations, as opposed to using one of the many other country lists available.
With 192 member countries of the UN, the maximum FCI score is 191. Germany is the country with highest FCI at the moment, at 110 (unchanged from 6 months ago). Four countries have no flights and FCI score of 0 – these are Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino. The average FCI is 23.7, up 0.5 from December 2010 and up 0.03 from a year ago.
More results after the jump.
The top 10 most connected countries have a FCI score of at least 73 (up 5). The FCI scores of France and Russia have increased by 5, Turkey has increased by 4, while United Arab Emirates has reduced by 4.
| Flight Connectivity Index (FCI) – Top 10 | ||
| as at 30 June 2011 | ||
| Rank | FCI | Country |
| 1 | 110 (nc) | Germany |
| 2 | 108 (+5) | France |
| 3 | 106 (+1) | UK |
| 4 | 87 (-1) | USA |
| 5 | 86 (+4) | Turkey |
| 6 | 85 (nc) | Netherlands |
| 7 | 83 (-2) | Italy |
| 8 | 82 (-4) | UAE |
| 9 | 75 (+3) | Spain |
| 10 | 73 (+5) | Russia |
Tonga joins the bottom 10 least connected countries due to a reduction in their FCI score to 4.
| Flight Connectivity Index (FCI) – Bottom 10 | ||
| as at 30 June 2011 | ||
| Rank | FCI | Country |
| No flights | ||
| 189= | 0 | Andorra |
| 0 | Liechtenstein | |
| 0 | Monaco | |
| 0 | San Marino | |
| Flights | ||
| 186= | 1 | Lesotho |
| 1 | Swaziland | |
| 1 | Tuvalu | |
| 185 | 2 | Marshall Islands |
| 180= | 3 | Micronesia |
| 3 | Nauru | |
| 3 | North Korea | |
| 3 | Sao Tome and Principe | |
| 3 | Timor-Leste | |
| 173= | 4 | Bhutan |
| 4 | Burundi | |
| 4 | Dominica | |
| 4 | Guinea-Bissau | |
| 4 | Suriname | |
| 4 (-1) | Tonga | |
| 4 | Vanuatu | |
I thought some readers may be interested in seeing the FCI changes over the past year. Here is a listing ranked from largest gains down to largest loss (no change countries not listed).
| Flight Connectivity Index (FCI) – change | ||
| 6 months ended 30 June 2011 | ||
| Change | New FCI | Country |
| +7 | 49 | Greece |
| 25 | Slovenia | |
| +6 | 54 | Canada |
| 25 | Croatia | |
| +5 | 26 | Bulgaria |
| 35 | Finland | |
| 108 | France | |
| 15 | Iceland | |
| 32 | Ireland | |
| 33 | Norway | |
| 73 | Russia | |
| +4 | 72 | Belgium |
| 41 | Hungary | |
| 34 | Latvia | |
| 19 | Luxembourg | |
| 86 | Turkey | |
| +3 | 24 | Armenia |
| 34 | Cyprus | |
| 42 | Israel | |
| 24 | Malta | |
| 33 | Nigeria | |
| 26 | Panama | |
| 56 | Qatar | |
| 15 | Sierra Leone | |
| 75 | Spain | |
| +2 | 26 | Algeria |
| 7 | Bahamas | |
| 33 | Bahrain | |
| 24 | Belarus | |
| 13 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| 12 | Central African Republic | |
| 70 | China | |
| 49 | India | |
| 12 | Liberia | |
| 22 | Mali | |
| 38 | Portugal | |
| 31 | Romania | |
| 11 | Rwanda | |
| 42 | Singapore | |
| 13 | Slovakia | |
| 13 | Tajikistan | |
| 23 | Togo | |
| 26 | Uzbekistan | |
| +1 | 13 | Afghanistan |
| 22 | Angola | |
| 26 | Argentina | |
| 5 | Botswana | |
| 32 | Brazil | |
| 8 | Cambodia | |
| 6 | Comoros | |
| 20 | Congo | |
| 48 | Denmark | |
| 11 | Ecuador | |
| 49 | Ethiopia | |
| 27 | Ghana | |
| 13 | Guinea | |
| 5 | Haiti | |
| 21 | Indonesia | |
| 14 | Iraq | |
| 22 | Kazakhstan | |
| 53 | Kenya | |
| 18 | Lithuania | |
| 7 | Namibia | |
| 20 | Peru | |
| 21 | Philippines | |
| 32 | Senegal | |
| 40 | Sweden | |
| 12 | FYRO Macedonia | |
| 46 | Ukraine | |
| 106 | United Kingdom | |
| 20 | Vietnam | |
| 11 | Zambia | |
| -1 | 13 | Antigua and Barbuda |
| 19 | Chile | |
| 20 | Colombia | |
| 22 | Cote d’Ivoire | |
| 21 | Cuba | |
| 23 | Dominican Republic | |
| 8 | Grenada | |
| 7 | Honduras | |
| 35 | Japan | |
| 15 | Maldives | |
| 13 | Montenegro | |
| 43 | Morocco | |
| 14 | Nepal | |
| 25 | Oman | |
| 7 | Papua New Guinea | |
| 35 | Republic of Korea | |
| 8 | Saint Lucia | |
| 10 | Seychelles | |
| 49 | South Africa | |
| 4 | Tonga | |
| 19 | United Republic of Tanzania | |
| 87 | United States of America | |
| 21 | Venezuela | |
| 24 | Yemen | |
| -2 | 60 | Austria |
| 18 | Benin | |
| 19 | Cameroon | |
| 14 | Cape Verde | |
| 44 | Czech Republic | |
| 14 | DR Congo | |
| 11 | Gambia | |
| 83 | Italy | |
| 11 | Mauritania | |
| 14 | Mauritius | |
| 40 | Poland | |
| 44 | Saudi Arabia | |
| 29 | Serbia | |
| 21 | Sri Lanka | |
| -3 | 42 | Malaysia |
| 23 | Mexico | |
| -4 | 35 | Libyan Arab Jamahinya |
| 82 | United Arab Emirates | |
| -5 | 46 | Egypt |
Finally, here is a full country listing in alphabetical order.
| Flight Connectivity Index (FCI) | ||
| as at 30 June 2011 | ||
| Country | FCI | Rank |
| Afghanistan | 13 | 114= |
| Albania | 9 | 138= |
| Algeria | 26 | 59= |
| Andorra | 0 | 189= |
| Angola | 22 | 74= |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 13 | 114= |
| Argentina | 26 | 59= |
| Armenia | 24 | 67= |
| Australia | 31 | 54= |
| Austria | 60 | 14 |
| Azerbaijan | 19 | 88= |
| Bahamas | 7 | 150= |
| Bahrain | 33 | 45= |
| Bangladesh | 18 | 94= |
| Barbados | 14 | 107= |
| Belarus | 24 | 67= |
| Belgium | 72 | 11 |
| Belize | 6 | 155= |
| Benin | 18 | 94= |
| Bhutan | 4 | 173= |
| Bolivia | 9 | 138= |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13 | 114= |
| Botswana | 5 | 162= |
| Brazil | 32 | 51= |
| Brunei Darussalam | 12 | 125= |
| Bulgaria | 26 | 59= |
| Burkina Faso | 15 | 102= |
| Burundi | 4 | 173= |
| Cambodia | 8 | 143= |
| Cameroon | 19 | 88= |
| Canada | 54 | 17 |
| Cape Verde | 14 | 107= |
| Central African Republic | 12 | 125= |
| Chad | 13 | 114= |
| Chile | 19 | 88= |
| China | 70 | 12 |
| Colombia | 20 | 83= |
| Comoros | 6 | 155= |
| Congo | 20 | 83= |
| Costa Rica | 18 | 94= |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 22 | 74= |
| Croatia | 25 | 64= |
| Cuba | 21 | 78= |
| Cyprus | 34 | 43= |
| Czech Republic | 44 | 26= |
| DRK North Korea | 3 | 180= |
| DR Congo | 14 | 107= |
| Denmark | 48 | 23 |
| Djibouti | 9 | 138= |
| Dominica | 4 | 173= |
| Dominican Republic | 23 | 71= |
| Ecuador | 11 | 130= |
| Egypt | 46 | 24= |
| El Salvador | 13 | 114= |
| Equatorial Guinea | 8 | 143= |
| Eritrea | 8 | 143= |
| Estonia | 16 | 100= |
| Ethiopia | 49 | 19= |
| Fiji | 12 | 125= |
| Finland | 35 | 38= |
| France | 108 | 2 |
| Gabon | 17 | 99 |
| Gambia | 11 | 130= |
| Georgia | 19 | 88= |
| Germany | 110 | 1 |
| Ghana | 27 | 57= |
| Greece | 49 | 19= |
| Grenada | 8 | 143= |
| Guatemala | 10 | 135= |
| Guinea | 13 | 114= |
| Guinea-Bissau | 4 | 173= |
| Guyana | 5 | 162= |
| Haiti | 5 | 162= |
| Honduras | 7 | 150= |
| Hungary | 41 | 33= |
| Iceland | 15 | 102= |
| India | 49 | 19= |
| Indonesia | 21 | 78= |
| Iran | 33 | 45= |
| Iraq | 14 | 107= |
| Ireland | 32 | 51= |
| Israel | 42 | 30= |
| Italy | 83 | 7 |
| Jamaica | 14 | 107= |
| Japan | 35 | 38= |
| Jordan | 43 | 28= |
| Kazakhstan | 22 | 74= |
| Kenya | 53 | 18 |
| Kiribati | 5 | 162= |
| Kuwait | 33 | 45= |
| Kyrgyzstan | 9 | 138= |
| Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 5 | 162= |
| Latvia | 34 | 43= |
| Lebanon | 41 | 33= |
| Lesotho | 1 | 186= |
| Liberia | 12 | 125= |
| Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | 35 | 38= |
| Liechtenstein | 0 | 189= |
| Lithuania | 18 | 94= |
| Luxembourg | 19 | 88= |
| Madagascar | 8 | 143= |
| Malawi | 6 | 155= |
| Malaysia | 42 | 30= |
| Maldives | 15 | 102= |
| Mali | 22 | 74= |
| Malta | 24 | 67= |
| Marshall Islands | 2 | 185 |
| Mauritania | 11 | 130= |
| Mauritius | 14 | 107= |
| Mexico | 23 | 71= |
| Micronesia | 3 | 180= |
| Monaco | 0 | 189= |
| Mongolia | 5 | 162= |
| Montenegro | 13 | 114= |
| Morocco | 43 | 28= |
| Mozambique | 7 | 150= |
| Myanmar | 5 | 162= |
| Namibia | 7 | 150= |
| Nauru | 3 | 180= |
| Nepal | 14 | 107= |
| Netherlands | 85 | 6 |
| New Zealand | 18 | 94= |
| Nicaragua | 6 | 155= |
| Niger | 9 | 138= |
| Nigeria | 33 | 45= |
| Norway | 33 | 45= |
| Oman | 25 | 64= |
| Pakistan | 27 | 57= |
| Palau | 5 | 162= |
| Panama | 26 | 59= |
| Papua New Guinea | 7 | 150= |
| Paraguay | 6 | 155= |
| Peru | 20 | 83= |
| Philippines | 21 | 78= |
| Poland | 40 | 35= |
| Portugal | 38 | 37 |
| Qatar | 56 | 15 |
| Republic of Korea | 35 | 38= |
| Republic of Moldova | 16 | 100= |
| Romania | 31 | 54= |
| Russian Federation | 73 | 10 |
| Rwanda | 11 | 130= |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 5 | 162= |
| Saint Lucia | 8 | 143= |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 5 | 162= |
| Samoa | 5 | 162= |
| San Marino | 0 | 189= |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 3 | 180= |
| Saudi Arabia | 44 | 26= |
| Senegal | 32 | 51= |
| Serbia | 29 | 56 |
| Seychelles | 10 | 135= |
| Sierra Leone | 15 | 102= |
| Singapore | 42 | 30= |
| Slovakia | 13 | 114= |
| Slovenia | 25 | 64= |
| Solomon Islands | 6 | 155= |
| Somalia | 6 | 155= |
| South Africa | 49 | 19= |
| Spain | 75 | 9 |
| Sri Lanka | 21 | 78= |
| Sudan | 20 | 83= |
| Suriname | 4 | 173= |
| Swaziland | 1 | 186= |
| Sweden | 40 | 35= |
| Switzerland | 63 | 13 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 35 | 38= |
| Tajikistan | 13 | 114= |
| Thailand | 55 | 16 |
| FYROM Macedonia | 12 | 125= |
| Timor-Leste | 3 | 180= |
| Togo | 23 | 71= |
| Tonga | 4 | 173= |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 15 | 102= |
| Tunisia | 33 | 45= |
| Turkey | 86 | 5 |
| Turkmenistan | 10 | 135= |
| Tuvalu | 1 | 186= |
| Uganda | 13 | 114= |
| Ukraine | 46 | 24= |
| UAE | 82 | 8 |
| UK | 106 | 3 |
| United Republic of Tanzania | 19 | 88= |
| USA | 87 | 4 |
| Uruguay | 8 | 143= |
| Uzbekistan | 26 | 59= |
| Vanuatu | 4 | 173= |
| Venezuela | 21 | 78= |
| Viet Nam | 20 | 83= |
| Yemen | 24 | 67= |
| Zambia | 11 | 130= |
| Zimbabwe | 13 | 114= |
Oliver said,
Surprised to see Somalia as having six connections.
The Global Traveller said,
Mostly from the region as you’d expect.
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.
jorgeluis500 said,
Nice index. However, haven’t you thought also of doing an index based on big cities instead of countries?
I would like to know, for example, how well connected is Istanbul compared to say, London. I guess the USA benefits from its size. Not every city is as well connected as NY, for example
NB said,
Some of the least well connected countries are slightly miscategorised. For example, Monaco has no airport. It is, however, right next door to Nice and Nice airport is closer to Monaco than, for example, Denver Airport is to Denver. To say, therefore, that Monaco is not well-connected is slightly misleading.
Also, your other posters are correct. A more relevant index would be one of the connectedness of major metropolitan areas. For example, Paris, London, Frankfurt and, to a lesser extent, New York are all very well connected. Los Angeles is fairly well connected but San Francisco falls some way down the list.
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