The Netherlands comes fourth in a new list of globalization rankings to be published later this month by a research center of the University of Maastricht, Dutch daily "De Volkskrant" reported on Friday.

The research by International Center for Integrated assessment and Sustainable development(ICIS) puts Switzerland at the top of the list, followed by Austria and Belgium.

The newspaper reported that the Netherlands' high ranking is mainly due to the high investments that Dutch companies make abroad and that foreign companies make in the Netherlands; the relatively substantial streams of capital flowing into and out of the country;the high number of tourists to the Netherlands and its dependence on other countries in the area of the environment.

Switzerland scored well on internet use, cross-border telephone traffic, and its share in international finance, among other things.

Austria has the most embassies abroad of all the countries in the review and participates the most in international organizations.

Globalization is much less advanced in countries like France ( number 11 on the list), the United States (16) and Italy (20). The U.S. is nonetheless at the top when it comes to migration: there is no country in the world that has as high a percentage of migrants as the U.S..

The countries at the bottom of the list are mainly African, such as Sudan, Tanzania and Rwanda. Burundi is in very last place.

The University of Maastricht's globalization index is not the first of its kind. "But we found the existing indices were too heavily based on economics," said professor Pim Martens. "Our index also includes the environment and culture."

Source: Xinhua