The creative and cultural industries are vital economic engines. Yet the question remains: how do we measure something as vibrant and intangible as culture?In response to the urgent need for stronger tools to capture culture’s role in sustainable development, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), in collaboration with the UNESCO Culture Sector and wi...
Key messages• Despite the rapid pace of digitalisation, international trade in goods remains mostly paper based. Understanding the policies required to transition from this to trade that relies on digitised information and processes – the process of going paperless – is a policy imperative.• There are five building blocks to going paperless. Goin...
Key messagesAn increasing number of people are using crypto-assets. Crypto-assets present opportunities to people with regard to the diversification of investment portfolios, higher returns on their investments, or cheaper and faster cross-border remittances and payments.At the same time, given the high price volatility of many crypto-assets and the limite...
Key messagesAn increasing number of consumers rely on digital payments to transfer money and to buy goods and services. Between 2021 and 2024, the percentage of individuals who made or received a digital payment in developing economies increased from 55% to 62%, and it is 96% across OECD countries.A significant percentage of consumers using digital payment...
Time: 8:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (GMT+8)Location: OnlineFormat: OnlineEvent descriptionThe inaugural AIIB Sustainability Report, which voluntarily applies the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) disclosure requirements, is both a reflection of where we are today and a foundation for where we are going.Join us online on Sep. 8 ...
Ministers responsible for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from across the Asia-Pacific convened in Jeju and underscored their commitment to strengthening SMEs, which make up around 97 percent of businesses that underpin jobs, innovation and inclusive economic growth.Opening the 31st APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting, Han Seong-sook,...
Key messagesAlthough Research Infrastructures (RIs) play a critical role in all fields of science, most RIs still serve a restricted expert user community. Many RIs have unexploited potential to expand their user communities and broaden their scope of activities, including through international partnerships.Collaborative arrangemen...
Bangkok, 5 September 2025 – As one of the most dynamic and diverse regions in the world, Asia is uniquely positioned to lead the transition toward sustainable, inclusive and low-emission industrial growth. However, the Asia region currently has the highest plastic consumption globally and produces two-thirds of the world's cement. Both sectors ha...
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has achieved the international standard for event sustainability, ISO 20121, for the planning and delivery of its 10th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors held in Beijing in June 2025, according to the British Standards Institution (BSI).The certification recognizes AIIB’s efforts to responsi...
AbstractThis paper presents the first estimates of extreme child poverty and child poverty using the World Bank’s recently revised international poverty lines. Using the international poverty line of $3.00 per day and the higher $8.30 per day poverty line (both expressed in 2021 purchasing power parity), the paper provides new results of the glo...
