By Shantanu Mukherjee Director, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, UN DESA
5 November 2026 - In August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I have a dream’ speech offered a vivid image: living ‘on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.’
Since then, that ocean of prosperity has grown much larger: world GDP per capita grew more than 27-fold between 1963 and 2025.
But the island of deprivation hasn’t shrunk. In 2026, almost a fifth of the population in the 108 countries with data—about 19 million people—were living in multidimensional poverty.
Today, economic, energy and technological transformations are reshaping societies everywhere. As countries navigate these uncertain waters, how do we make sure ending exclusion stays in focus?
The answer is simple: greater inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s also the smart thing to do.
That is one of the central messages of the World Social Report (2026): ‘The New Economics of Social Inclusion - Making Transformations work for All’.
While writing this blog, I kept coming back to two studies—among many—that have informed my thinking on this subject.
Back in 2019, researchers asked a straightforward question: what had the growing diversity of professionals in highly skilled US occupations since 1960 meant for the economy?
They found that lowering the exclusionary barriers that had held back women and African-Americans accounted for at least a fifth—and perhaps as much as forty percent—of the growth in aggregate output per capita.
A more recent study from India found that closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship increased the share of more productive firms in the informal sector.
In other words, inclusionary policies aren’t just about social equity; they’re also a powerful lever for economic growth.
These are just two of many studies showing that greater inclusion is an investment in successful transformation—not an afterthought.
Despite such evidence our report shows that, all too often, success in economic, energy and technological transformations doesn’t go hand in hand with comparable progress on inclusion.
So, how can countries make the most of what these transformations have to offer?
First, take care of the basics. There’s still unfinished business: making digital connectivity, electricity and clean cooking available to everyone. More than 2 billion people still lack internet access, 730 million live without electricity, and a quarter of the world’s people don’t have access to clean cooking fuels.
Second, invest in people’s capacities. For women, young people, persons with disabilities, migrants, Indigenous Peoples and other marginalized groups, access to opportunities and a say in decisions are essential—but they aren’t enough. Quality education, health care, removal of exclusionary barriers must also develop in parallel to ensure that people are empowered to realise their full potential.
These transformations are gathering pace, so we can’t afford to wait. By putting social commitments at the heart of economic policymaking, we can set a virtuous cycle in motion: greater inclusion and stronger growth, each reinforcing the other.
Access the article originally published on UN DESA Voice.