A sustained oil price surge could add more than $20 billion a year to the oil import bill of vulnerable economies that depend on imported fuel.Nearly 1 billion people live in countries highly exposed to rising fuel costs.Least developed countries and small island developing states are greatly exposed to the oil shock.The third edition of a new UNCTAD monit...
Add to CalendarKey IssuesBodyThe release of the final report and indicator dashboard of the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP on 7 May 2026 marks an important milestone in global discussions on how progress, wellbeing and sustainability are measured. This webinar, hosted by the International Statistical Institute Aca...
Infrastructure and products linked to artificial intelligence helped drive merchandise trade growth in 2025 and early 2026. Outside these sectors, momentum remained modest.Global trade in goods started 2026 on a strong footing. But much of the momentum came from AI-related products rather than broad-based trade growth.In the United States, imports of "...
Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, remains essential but cannot measure whether lives are improving.A new United Nations report proposes 31 indicators to track progress beyond output.It is the first UN blueprint of this kind requested by Member States.The framework includes cross-border spillovers, from emissions to supply chains.UNCTAD, UNDP and partners wil...
HighlightTrade policy is becoming more interventionist. Tariffs are rising again, but they are not the main obstacle for most countries’ exports.Non-tariff measures (NTMs) such as regulations, mandatory standards or product requirements, now drive most trade costs. They shape who trades, what is traded and to which markets.For developing countries, this c...
New UNCTAD dashboard tracks risks across shipping, energy, food and finance as shocks from the Strait of Hormuz spread through the global economy.Default image copyright and description© Shutterstock/Nightman1965What began as a shipping disruption in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints has become a wider development risk.Since early Mar...
Aligning tariffs, standards and supply chains are key to scaling sustainable alternatives and reducing dependence on fossil fuel-based materials.Default image copyright and description© UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)/Maria Durleva | Plastic nurdles – small pellets made from fossil fuels or recycled plastics – are used as the raw material for most pla...
UNCTAD's statistics show how countries are building productive capacities – and why progress remains uneven.Default image copyright and description© Shuterstock/Abdul Razak Latif | Workers at an engine assembly plant in Kedah, Malaysia.In many of the world’s poorest economies, growth numbers can rise while people’s lives barely change. The missing ...
UN Trade and Development and Singapore expand cooperation to accelerate greener, more resilient maritime systems.Default image copyright and description© Shutterstock/UV70 | Tanjong Pagar Container Terminal, SingaporePorts underpin global trade, handling over 80% of goods by volume. But as pressure mounts to decarbonize, they face a complex balancing act:...
New initiative unveiled during IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, is the first dedicated space for borrowing countries to exchange knowledge, strengthen coordination and have a collective voice on debt.Borrowers’ Platform to serve developing country needs in response to long-lasting gap in international financial architectureUN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)...
