Language matters more than many may think when it comes to global trade. When trading partners use similar languages, trade is likely to be 72 percent higher on an average than when trading partners are linguistically distant. Language similarities between countries can boil down to a mutual official language, common spoken language, or a shared native language.
Unsurprisingly, getting online has significantly reduced the language-based barriers to international trade. Internet access facilitates trade both directly by, for example, helping traders network and communicate across time zones. The challenge is ensuring equal access as the technology connecting people evolves.