SDG #8: Decent work and economic growth

During 2025, unexpected resilience to sharp increases in U.S. tariffs, supported by solid consumer spending and easing inflation, helped sustain growth. However, underlying weaknesses persist.

Remittances—an important income source for millions of households—have become one of the largest forms of external financing for developing countries, with total inflows in 2023–2024 exceeding the combined value of net foreign direct investment inflows and official development assistance.

Women in developing countries benefit from digital platforms and e-commerce, yet a persistent digital gender gap and high levels of informality continue to exclude many from emerging digital opportunities.

Consumer inflation expectations are shaped by multiple factors—food and energy inflation remain crucial drivers, with persistent and large surges significantly shaping household expectations of inflation across countries.

The global economy is expected to experience subdued growth in the coming months amid a challenging trade environment and heightened macroeconomic uncertainties. The world economy is projected to grow by 2.5 per cent in both 2025 and 2026 — below the 2.8 per cent recorded in 2024 and the pre-pandemic average of 3.2 per cent (2010–2019).

In a reversal of a decades-long trend, central banks in many developing and some developed countries have increased their gold purchases over the past several years. The purpose of this policy is to enhance the diversity and stability of reserves: the share of the United States dollar in the international reserves of many central banks has been declining.

Following the unprecedented changes in the trade policy of the United States, LDCs must contend simultaneously with significantly higher bilateral tariffs, policy uncertainty, lower growth prospects in many importing countries, a potential re-alignment of supply chains, and a disruption to the existing multilateral order.

The near-term global trade outlook is fraught with uncertainties amid new tariffs and other trade restrictions. While recent history demonstrates that the global trading system is resilient, often adapting by finding alternative channels for sustaining commerce, policy uncertainty could hinder this process by discouraging necessary investments.

Economic growth in landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) is expected to be steady in the near term but remains well below the average in the pre-pandemic decade. Substantial downside risks remain, including commodity price volatility, debt challenges, climate disasters and geopolitical tensions.