UNCTAD statistics

09/10/2026

World export volumes increased by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2026
In developing economies, export growth turned negative, with export volumes declining by 0.5%, compared with an increase of 1.0% in Q1 2026.

📊Read the insight: https://bit.ly/insight-229
🔢Get the data: http://stats.unctad.org/merchvolume

08/10/2026

3.7 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education. That is 1.2 billion more than in 2010.

In 2025, developing countries paid close to US$1 trillion in interest on their public debt. In Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean, governments now spend more per person on interest than on health or education.

If they could borrow at the same rates as developed countries, they would save around US$500 billion a year.

A World of Debt 2026 sets out how to get back on track: stronger financial safety nets, more lending from development banks, and better debt management at home.

➡️ Explore the data: https://ow.ly/y2we50ZV4eP

06/10/2026

📣 Are you a statistician, trade data compiler or user, working at a National Statistical Office, Central Bank, Ministry of Trade, Customs Administration, etc.❓ Then join us and the global cohort at this specialized course 👉 "Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026 (SITS)" 💯

The course is offered free of charge in English and French from 19 October to 8 December 2026. Follow these steps to register for the course 👇⌛️

🔶 For the English course ➡️ https://tft-reg.unctad.org/en/ on the “Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026 (SITS)” course box, use the access code “SITS.2026” and click “Apply”.

🔶 For the French course ➡️ https://tft-reg.unctad.org/fr/ on the “Statistiques du Commerce International des Services 2026 (SCIS)” course box, use the access code “SCIS.2026” and click “Démarrer l’inscription”.

🙌 The course is co-organized by UN Trade and Development TRAINFORTRADE, the World Trade Organization - WTO and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).

For more info ➡️ https://bit.ly/4xXYLEr 🚀

📈🌐

29/09/2026

In 2025, global exports of ocean-related services grew by 5%, with the strongest growth recorded in Africa (+16%).
By 2024, international marine and coastal tourism fully recovered from its substantive drop (-70%) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

📊Read the insight: https://bit.ly/insight-248
🔢Get the data: http://stats.unctad.org/oceantrade

29/09/2026

29/09/2026

Gaza's recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at US$71.5 billion.

That is the finding of a new report by UN Trade and Development, which warns the figure may rise as more damage is recorded. It covers US$35.2 billion in physical damage and US$22.7 billion in economic and social losses.

92% of Gaza's economic establishments have been damaged or destroyed. Output per person stood at US$212 in 2025, about 17% of its 2022 level, and unemployment reached 78%. More than half of hospitals and primary health clinics are not functioning.

The report sets out three immediate priorities: transferring withheld Palestinian revenues, safeguarding the banking system, and matching reconstruction support to the documented scale of the damage.

➡️ Read the article: https://ow.ly/Zys550ZQTsB

29/09/2026

In absolute terms, the United States of America (-$1 177 billion), the United Kingdom (-$125 billion), and Brazil (-$67 billion) ran the world's largest current account deficits in 2025.

China recorded the largest absolute surplus (+$735 billion), followed by Germany (+$227 billion), and Japan (+$216 billion).

📊Read the insight: https://bit.ly/insight-237
🔢Get the data: https://stats.unctad.org/currentaccount

16/09/2026

Real progress is measurable. Much of it still isn't measured.

In developed economies, income per person rose 12% over the past decade. Women's pay relative to men's improved by 1%. And Costa Rica's income per person is less than a quarter of that of the United States, yet its healthy life expectancy is higher.

A new dashboard of 31 indicators tracks what growth alone cannot show. But as of April 2026, fewer than half of developing countries had enough data to report on it.

➡️ Read more: https://ow.ly/lj1t50ZNWh4

16/09/2026

A country's economy can grow while its people are worse off. Gross domestic product cannot tell the difference.

It does not count the hours spent caring for children or elderly relatives, it does not register whether growth is depleting the environment it depends on, and it says nothing about who receives the gains.

The High-Level Expert Group set up by the United Nations Secretary-General has proposed a dashboard that measures seven things instead of one: material well-being, health, education, environmental quality, subjective well-being, social capital and governance.

➡️ Read the report: https://ow.ly/HzW550ZNQFq

15/09/2026

How can we better measure progress and development in a changing world?

Gross domestic product (GDP) remains an important measure of economic activity. But it does not capture all the dimensions that shape people’s well-being, societies and the sustainability of our economies and environment.

UN Trade and Development is contributing to the international effort to develop and strengthen Beyond GDP measurement frameworks, supporting the production of statistics that provide a more comprehensive picture of development.

Our new publication “Looking beyond GDP” explores the rationale, challenges and opportunities involved in complementing GDP with a broader set of indicators, and highlights the importance of reliable and comparable official statistics in this process.

➡️ Looking beyond GDP: https://unctad.org/publication/looking-beyond-gdp

These issues are at the centre of today’s “Counting What Counts: Implementing Beyond GDP Metrics” event in Ottawa, which brings together experts and policymakers to discuss how Beyond GDP measurement can be translated into practice at the national level.

➡️ Counting What Counts: Implementing Beyond GDP Metrics, Ottawa Canada: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/counting-what-counts-implementing-beyond-gdp-metrics-tickets-1996808232175

Anu Peltola, Director of Statistics at UNCTAD, is participating in the discussion, contributing UNCTAD’s perspective on the role of official statistics in measuring what matters for sustainable development.

Join us in person in Ottawa or online on September 15 for a conversation on how countries can move beyond GDP to measure progress more comprehensively.

Co-hosted with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and IDRC / CRDI, this event will bring together leading experts to explore how countries can translate global Beyond GDP recommendations into practical approaches for national policy, planning, and statistical systems.

➡️ Save your spot: https://ow.ly/rGQG50ZBVmp

🍁 Supported by Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada