UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025 report stated that despite falling inflation, improving labour market conditions, and monetary easing, global growth is projected to remain below the pace seen before the pandemic, and the world economy continues to face significant uncertainties. This continues to gravely impact progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially for many developing countries that are still suffering from the accumulated impacts of successive crises.
Global economic growth is forecast at 2.8 per cent for 2025 and 2.9 per cent for 2026, largely unchanged from the rate of 2.8 per cent recorded in 2023 and estimated for 2024. Positive but somewhat slower growth forecasts for China and the United States of America will be complemented by modest recoveries in the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and robust performance in some large developing economies, notably India and Indonesia. The short-term outlook for many low-income and vulnerable countries remains less favourable. Risks to the near-term outlook are still largely skewed to the downside albeit less pronounced than in 2023 owing to positive developments in certain key areas in 2024.
After a two-year slump, investment has grown by an estimated 3.4 per cent globally in 2024, though with significant regional variations. Growth in the volume of global trade has rebounded, increasing from 0.9 per cent in 2023 to an estimated 3.4 per cent in 2024, driven by the recovery of merchandise trade. UN has underscored the importance of global cooperation and prudent policies to lift growth and place it on a stable and equitable pathway that can accelerate progress towards the SDGs.