IntroductionThe 2026 OECD Responsible Business Outlook provides a first global assessment of how responsible business conduct is being taken up in company practice and government policies. It analyses publicly disclosed information of the 10 000 largest listed companies globally and reviews government policies across 52 countries. The report refers th...
Tax incentives now provide 60% of government support for business R&D across the OECD, more than double their 28% share in 2004, according to the newly updated OECD R&D Tax Incentives Database. R&D tax relief reached 0.16% of GDP in 2024, up from 0.05% in 2004, while direct funding for business R&D remained at 0.10%. The OECD R&a...
Slovenia’s economy has been resilient in the face of successive external shocks, including the evolving conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Sustaining growth will require strengthening public finances, boosting investment, enhancing resilience to trade shocks and harnessing the opportunities offered by AI, accordi...
GDP growth in the G20 area was unchanged at 0.7% in the first quarter of 2026, according to provisional estimates. This reflects a mixed picture across G20 countries for which data was available.Download in PDF (data tables included)GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth in the G20 area was unchanged at 0.7% in the first quarter of 2026, according to provisio...
The OECD unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% in April 2026, a level it has hovered around since February 2022.Download in PDF (data tables included)The OECD unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% in April 2026, a level it has hovered around since February 2022 (Figure 1). The number of unemployed individuals in the OECD was broadly stable at 35.1 million ...
Year-on-year inflation in the OECD, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose to 4.4% in April 2026, up from 4.0% in March.Download in PDF (data tables included)Year-on-year inflation in the OECD, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 4.4% in April 2026, up from 4.0% in March (Table 1; Figures 1 and 3). Headline inflation increased in ...
IntroductionPublic finances in OECD countries are facing significant challenges such as slow economic growth, ageing populations, high debt from recent crises, and new spending pressures, including in defence. This report provides an overview of countries’ savings initiatives implemented in 2025-2026. While savings measures are widespread, they appear mod...
Download in PDF (data tables included)Despite disruptions to trade related to the current crisis in the Middle East, G20 merchandise trade expanded strongly in Q1 2026. Measured in current US dollars, both exports and imports increased by 5.3% quarter-on-quarter compared with Q4 2025, driven partly by trade of semiconductors and other high-tech products in...
GDP growth in the OECD area increased slightly to 0.4% in Q1 2026, up from 0.2% in the previous quarter, according to provisional estimates.Corrigendum: In the OECD GDP release published on 21 May 2026, the quarter-on-quarter growth for Italy in the first quarter of 2026 is 0.2%, and not 0.1% as initially published in the last sentence of the second paragr...
Claims that globalisation is in retreat have gained traction in recent years. Yet new OECD data tell a more nuanced story: global production networks are not breaking down, they are adapting. This blog explores what is changing in global value chains and what is not.The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and diverging political priorities have fuelle...
