Economic development is measured through more than national output. Recent statistics show a world economy growing unevenly, with persistent gaps in income, human development, employment opportunities and digital capacity. The figures below bring together forecasts and measured results, while keeping each period and geographic scope explicit.
Contents
- Recent growth and regional gaps
- Trade, investment and external finance
- Population, urbanization and demographic structure
- Human development and inequality
- Employment, unemployment and decent work
- Digital capabilities and AI-related development
Recent growth and regional gaps
The World Bank’s January 2026 outlook projects global growth of 2.6% in 2026 and 2.7% in 2027. Developing economies are projected to grow faster, at 4.0% in 2026 and 4.1% in 2027. Low-income countries are projected to average 5.6% growth across those two years. These are forecasts, not completed annual outcomes. (World Bank, Global Economy Shows Resilience Amid Historic Trade, Policy Uncertainty; 2026–2027 forecast.)
The growth-rate gap does not automatically mean that income gaps are closing quickly. Per-capita income growth in developing economies is projected at 3.0% in 2026, about one percentage point below its 2000–2019 average. Even with that growth, developing-economy per-capita income is projected to equal only 12% of the advanced-economy level in 2026. About one in four developing economies had lower per-capita income at the end of 2025 than in 2019. (World Bank; 2026 forecast and end-2025 comparison.)
The World Bank says the 2020s are on track to be the weakest decade for global growth since the 1960s if the forecast path holds. Its 2026 upward revision is also geographically concentrated: the United States accounts for about two-thirds of that revision. These points describe the outlook and revision structure, rather than proving a uniform improvement across economies. (World Bank; 2020–2029 outlook and 2026 forecast revision.)
For a completed-year comparison, UNCTAD recorded 2024 real GDP growth of 1.8% in developed economies and 4.3% in developing economies. The difference between these 2024 results and the World Bank’s later projections reflects different periods and source frameworks. (UNCTAD, Handbook of Statistics 2025; 2024.)
Trade, investment and external finance
International exchange remains a major channel through which economies connect to markets, technology and external demand. Global trade in goods and services reached approximately $33 trillion in 2024. Merchandise trade contributed about $25 trillion, roughly three-quarters of the total, while services trade contributed about $8 trillion, roughly one-quarter. These are 2024 estimates. (UNCTAD, Key statistics and trends in international trade 2024; 2024 estimate.)
UNCTAD separately reports global services exports of $8.9 trillion in 2024, an annual increase of 10%. Services exports exceeded 8% of world GDP for the first time in 2024. The difference between the approximately $8 trillion services-trade estimate above and the $8.9 trillion exports measure reflects the distinct measures reported by the sources and should not be treated as a calculation to reconcile them. (UNCTAD; 2024.)
South-South merchandise trade reached $6.2 trillion in 2024, up 7% from 2023. Its share of total merchandise trade rose from 11% in 2000 to 26% in 2024. Developing economies in Asia and Oceania increased merchandise exports by 5.7% and imports by 5.9% in 2024. (UNCTAD, Handbook of Statistics 2025; 2000–2024 and 2024.)
The trade balance also changed for developing economies. Their surplus in goods and services rose from $696 billion in 2023 to $772 billion in 2024. A surplus is an external-trade measure; by itself, it does not describe household income, poverty reduction or the distribution of gains within an economy. (UNCTAD; 2023–2024.)
Population, urbanization and demographic structure
Demographic change shapes the scale of markets, the supply of workers and the demand for public services. The world population increased by 2.1 billion people over the approximately 25 years covered by UNCTAD’s 2025 handbook. The world’s urban population share was 57.3% in 2023 and was projected at 58.1% for 2025. The world population is expected to pass 9 billion by 2037; this is a projection, not a measured total. (UNCTAD, Handbook of Statistics 2025; approximately 2000–2025, 2023, 2025 projection and 2037 projection.)
Regional population patterns are uneven. Africa’s population grew by 2.3% in 2023, the fastest regional rate reported in the cited handbook. In developing Asia and Oceania, the urbanization rate increased from 44.6% in 2013 to 51.1% in 2023. That ten-year change places urban expansion at the center of infrastructure, housing, transport and labor-market planning in the region. (UNCTAD; 2013–2023.)
In 2023, there were 54 dependents for every 100 working-age people globally. Africa’s child-dependency ratio was 69%, the highest regional level reported by UNCTAD. In developed economies, dependency ratios are projected to reach 72% by 2050. The current and projected figures refer to different geographic groups and dates, so they are not a single global time series. (UNCTAD; 2023 and 2050 projection.)
Developing economies contained 83% of the world’s population in 2023, a share projected to reach 86% by 2050. Population weight therefore increasingly sits in economies whose development outcomes can differ sharply in income, infrastructure and human-capital measures. (UNCTAD; 2023 and 2050 projection.)
Human development and inequality
The Human Development Index combines dimensions that economic output alone cannot capture. The global HDI value was 0.756 in 2023. By development group, the 2023 values were 0.914 for very-high-human-development countries, 0.777 for high-human-development countries, 0.656 for medium-human-development countries and 0.515 for low-human-development countries. (UNDP, Human Development Report 2025: A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI; 2023.)
Developing countries had a 2023 HDI value of 0.712. After adjusting for inequality, their HDI value was 0.539. Globally, the inequality-adjusted HDI was 0.590 in 2023, representing a 22.0% loss from the unadjusted HDI. Low-human-development countries recorded a 34.8% inequality-adjusted HDI loss. These losses indicate how unequal outcomes reduce the effective level represented by the unadjusted index. (UNDP; 2023.)
| Development group or measure | 2023 HDI or related measure |
|---|---|
| Very-high human development | 0.914 |
| High human development | 0.777 |
| Medium human development | 0.656 |
| Low human development | 0.515 |
| Global inequality-adjusted HDI | 0.590 |
Gender-related measures add another dimension. The global Gender Development Index value was 0.955 in 2023, while the global Gender Inequality Index value was 0.455. The two measures have different constructions and should be read as complementary indicators rather than interchangeable scores. (UNDP; 2023.)
Employment, unemployment and decent work
The ILO reported that global employment grew in line with the labor force in 2024, keeping the unemployment rate at 5.0%. Global youth unemployment remained 12.6% in 2024. Meanwhile, global economic growth was 3.2% in 2024, down from 3.3% in 2023 and 3.6% in 2022. (ILO, Economic recovery is losing steam, new ILO report says; 2022–2024 and 2024.)
The unemployment rate does not capture everyone who wants work but is outside the unemployed category. The global jobs gap reached 402 million people in 2024. It comprised 186 million unemployed people, 137 million people temporarily unavailable for work and 79 million discouraged workers. (ILO; 2024.)
Young people in low-income countries faced especially high rates of being outside employment, education or training. In 2024, 15.8 million young men in low-income countries were NEET, equal to 20.4%, while 28.2 million young women were NEET, equal to 37.0%. Worldwide, 85.8 million young men were NEET, equal to 13.1%, compared with 173.3 million young women, equal to 28.2%. (ILO; 2024.)
The gender difference is visible in both the low-income-country and worldwide figures. The counts and percentages are reported measures for their stated populations; they should not be added across groups because the low-income-country figures are included within the worldwide totals.
Digital capabilities and AI-related development
Digital access and practical use increasingly affect how people study, work and receive services. In a pooled UNDP survey of 21 countries, 66.1% of respondents in low- and medium-HDI countries expected to use AI in education, health and work within one year. The corresponding shares were 68.9% in high-HDI countries and 45.9% in very-high-HDI countries. These results come from a 2025 report survey and are pooled across the 21 countries; they are not population-weighted global adoption rates. (UNDP; 2025 report survey.)
Reported past-month use was lower than expected near-term use in each cited group. Past-month AI use for education, health and work was 14.4% among low- and medium-HDI respondents, 23.6% among high-HDI respondents and 19.0% among very-high-HDI respondents in the same survey. The measures describe survey respondents’ reported use, not the share of all residents in those development groups. (UNDP; past month, 2025 report survey.)
Across the survey, 61% of respondents expected AI to augment their work, compared with 51% who expected it to automate their work. Expectations can coexist, so the two percentages should not be treated as mutually exclusive outcomes. Women accounted for an average of 35% of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates in the latest measure reported in the 2025 report. (UNDP; 2025 report survey and latest reported measure.)
The structure of digital trade also differs by development level. Digitally deliverable services made up more than 60% of services exports in advanced economies, 44% in developing economies and 15% in least developed countries in 2024. These shares show a large difference in export composition and digital-service capacity, but they do not by themselves measure internet access or domestic digital inclusion. (UNCTAD, Facts & figures: The digital economy; 2024.)