COMCEC Transport and Communications
Outlook 2019
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3.1. ROAD TRANSPORT
Roads are an important public asset; improving the road network can bring about immediate
and large benefits by providing better access to hospitals, schools, and markets; improved
comfort, speed, and safety; and lower vehicle operating costs. Not surprisingly, the road network
in most OIC countries is not in a very good condition. The analyses below point to a need for
further development of the road networks in the OIC Member Countries. To begin with, Table 5
gives data on the socio-economic and road network indicators in the OIC countries.
Table 4: Socio-economic and Road Network Indicators
Indicator Min Max Average
Population (m) 0.345 250 29
(Maldives) (Indonesia)
GNI per capita ($) 400 86,790 5,676
(Niger) (Qatar)
Motorways (km) 0 3,891 590
(Albania) (Saudi Arabia)
Highways, main roads (km) 0 38,570 11,534
(Suriname) (Indonesia)
Secondary or regional roads (km) 0 113,451 21,505
(Togo) (Egypt)
Other roads (km) 0 415,788 69,807
(Suriname) (Indonesia)
Total length of roads (km) 88 508,000 68,227
(Maldives) (Indonesia)
Paved roads (%) 1 100 52
(Chad) (Jordan)
Paved roads (km) 88 355,220 35,740
(Maldives) (Turkey)
Non-paved roads (km) 0 220,074 31,423
(Jordan) (Indonesia)
Length of roads by GDP per/c (km/$) 0.03 300 49
(Maldives) (Uganda)
Density of roads (km/km2) 0.005 5.6 0.32
(Sudan) (Bahrain)
Source: COMCEC, Enhancing Road Maintenance in the OIC Member States, 2016.
Figure 5 gives the proportion of the road network that is: a motorway; highway, main or national
road; secondary or regional road; and other roads. What is clear from this picture is that with
the exception of Afghanistan, a large share of the road network in most OIC countries is made
up of secondary or regional roads, or other roads. However, on comparing the composition of
the road network in the OIC countries as a group to the road networks in the United States, and
the European Union as a whole, it is worth noting a big difference in the composition of the road
networks in these three categories. It is striking to see that a large percentage of the total road
networks in OIC countries are motorways and highways.