11. The Overall Development of the Belt and Road Countries: Measurement, Ranking, and Assessment

Chapter 11 measures and evaluates the overall development of the Belt and Road countries by using an evaluation model, then ranks the 65 countries by their development levels: Singapore, China, and Malaysia have the highest rankings; while Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen have the lowest level of development. The research finds that political stability and good governance are extremely important for supporting development of the Belt and Road countries. While there are huge potentials for energy cooperation among the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative routes, serious challenges still remain, such as food security, financial markets, structural reform, and climate change. Therefore, some new policies and strategies are needed for stimulating development in these countries.