SDG Pulse 2021

The third edition of UNCTAD’s SDG Pulse provides an update on the evolution of a selection of official SDG indicators and complementary data and statistics; provide progress reports on the development of new concepts and methodologies for UNCTAD custodian indicators; and to also showcase, beyond the perspective of the formal SDG indicators.

In Focus: This edition discusses remoteness as a challenge for sustainable development and how to mitigate geographic distance, especially from the perspective of SIDS.

Development Globalization: Facts and Figures 2021

DGFF 2021 is dedicated to small island developing States or SIDS. The report is part of UNCTAD’s analytical work to measure the challenges of SIDS related to economic smallness, their productive capacities, geographical remoteness and transport costs, environmental and climate vulnerabilities as well as the role of social and human development in SIDS.

Productive Capacities Index

UNCTAD’s Productive Capacities Index is a dynamic and practical tool to support developing countries in understanding the status of their productive capacity and how this can be improved.

The PCI covers 193 economies for the period 2000-2018. The set of productive capacities and their specific combinations are mapped across 46 indicators. This makes our PCI multidimensional in its analytical abilities.

Global transport cost dataset

To support evidence-based policymaking and research in the transport sector, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank have developed a Global Transport Costs dataset for International Trade.

In order to provide a more visual understanding of global transport costs related to international trade, an interactive map has been created to visualize the transport costs of individual commodities traded between two countries in 2016.

How COVID-19 is changing the world:a statistical perspective

The coronavirus pandemic led to a 3% drop in global trade values in the first quarter of 2020. The downturn is expected to accelerate in the second quarter, according to UNCTAD forecasts, which project a quarter-on-quarter decline of 27%.

This report is a product of cooperation between the international statistics community and national statistical offices and systems around the world, coordinated by UNCTAD.

Gender and Trade

A new study by UNCTAD, UN Women and ILO examines the impact of trade agreements on gender equality and women's economic empowerment.

This Policy Brief was developed jointly by UNCTAD and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) under the WE EMPOWER – G7 programme funded by the European Union and jointly implemented with the International Labour Organization and UN Women.