Bhutan achieves milestone: graduation from the LDC category

CDP briefing to ECOSOC members on its work on inputs to the ECOSOC theme and preparation of the 2024 triennial review of the list of LDCs

This short paper briefly describes the methodology of this new index and presents some empirical results. It also presents an extension that covers both export and import concentration.

Industrial and innovation policies are gaining additional traction, becoming crucial aspects of many governments’ toolkits to support innovation, build resilience, and accelerate the green energy transition. There are, however, enormous disparities across economies in their capacity to implement industrial policies, particularly those to support science, technology and innovation.

Despite persistent monetary tightening by major central banks, labour market conditions in most developed economies remained robust in 2023. Low unemployment and high economic activity are accompanied with continuing, albeit moderating, labour shortages.

A massive gap in investment and the adoption of low-carbon technologies between the developed and developing countries persist, threatening the urgent need to accelerate the energy transition as well as the achievement of the SDGs.

Solomon Islands is now scheduled to graduate on 13 December 2027

Higher domestic food prices are a major driver of food insecurity, especially for poor households whose incomes are stagnant or declining. Countries that already faced protracted food crises before the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have been the most affected by the recent food price increases.

This paper discusses the escalating external debt distress and financial constraints faced by many least developed countries (LDCs) and other developing countries.