India and China were the top two over-performers among developing economies in terms of improved logistics performance despite lower levels of per capita income, says a World Bank Group survey on international trade logistics.

The “Connecting to Compete 2010: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy” ranked 155 economies based on Logistics Performance Indicators compiled from information provided by international freight forwarders and express carriers on the logistics process of the countries where they trade and operate in.

The survey’s top overall performers came from high income economies able to implement more improvements in their global and regional supply chains although selected lower income countries were found to perform better than what their income level would dictate. The over-performers include China (27), India (47), Uganda (66), Vietnam (53), Thailand (35), the Philippines (44) and South Africa (28).

Regionally the top performing economies were India (47) from South Asia; China (27) from East Asia; South Africa (28) from Africa; Poland (30) from Central and Eastern Europe; Brazil (41) from Latin America; and Lebanon (33) from the Middle East.

“Economic competitiveness is relentlessly driving countries to strengthen performance, and improving trade logistics is a smart way to deliver more efficiencies, lower costs and added economic growth,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick, in a statement. “Streamlining the connections among markets, manufacturers, farmers and consumers offers tremendous growth and investment opportunities and should be a top focus for developing country growth strategies.”