CHAPTER 3
But not only the size and density of the road network matter. Similarly important is road quality as inadequate roads can prevent people from safely using them year-round or from operating vehicles at efficient speeds. According to the
most recent Road Quality Index, part of the World Compet- itiveness Index (2019), Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America severely lag behind other regions in terms of road quality.
Figure 7: Population-weighted Road Quality Index 2019 (0-100, with 0 being the worst, 100 the best)
North America
73,7
East Asia and Pacific
59,3
Europe and Central Asia
59,2
Middle East and North Africa
56,0
Latin America and the Caribbean
42,3
South Asia
42,3
Sub-Saharan Africa
33,8
Source: Calculations based on World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index data (2019) via World Bank Group Pros- perity Data 360 and population data from the CIA World Factbook.
Inadequate road quality is also reflected in lower mean speeds at which vehicles can circulate, resulting in longer travel times and higher vehicle operating costs. A recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 10 presents a measure of cross-country road quality based on the mean speed between large cities , drawn from Google Maps data
in a sample of over 160 countries. The study finds that the mean speeds range between 38 km/h and 107 km/h, and that most countries with mean speeds below 60 km/h are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, confirming the high correla- tion between road quality and mean speeds.
Figure 8: Mean speed scores by country
30-60
60-75
75-90
90-110
Source: IMF, 2022
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