Rapid transformations, from artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to renewable energy and demographic shifts, are reshaping economies worldwide, creating new opportunities but also threatening to deepen socioeconomic inequalities, a new UN report warned on Thursday.
Benefiting from these changes often requires specialised skills and access to modern technologies, putting disadvantaged groups at risk of being left behind.
Women, young people, older persons, persons with disabilities, migrants, Indigenous Peoples and low-income communities are particularly vulnerable, the report said, outlining recommendations for governments to ensure these transformations benefit everyone.
Inclusion Is a Priority
Social inclusion is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity, according to the report from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
Expanding opportunities for marginalised groups can enlarge the productive workforce, strengthen human capital, boost innovation and entrepreneurship, improve labour allocation and distribute productivity gains more widely, it found.
“Inclusive societies are more productive, resilient, and prosperous,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message marking the report's launch.
The report stressed that action to promote social inclusion is urgent, as people excluded from key systems face greater barriers to catching up later.
What Governments Should Do
As AI transforms labour markets, the report urged governments to invest in continuous training and reskilling for workers whose jobs may be replaced or transformed, rather than focusing solely on creating new jobs.
Similarly, the transition to renewable energy must include support for workers and communities that depend on fossil fuels. Such support could include retraining, alternative employment opportunities and social assistance.
To bridge the digital divide, governments should expand affordable access to the internet, digital infrastructure and technology training, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
The report also recommended moving beyond gross domestic product (GDP) as the primary measure of economic progress. Governments should also assess poverty reduction, access to education and healthcare, employment security, inequality and environmental protection.
Economic growth that benefits only a small share of the population, it argued, cannot be considered genuinely inclusive.
Funding the Investments
These investments require substantial resources, but many developing countries face financial constraints that could hamper the transition.
Nearly half of the world's poorest countries are either in debt distress or at high risk of it, with interest payments relative to government revenue at their highest levels in a generation, Guterres warned.
He urged leaders to honour commitments made through the Doha Political Declaration on Social Development, adopted in 2025, and the Sevilla Commitment on financing for development.
He also called for reforms to international financial institutions to ensure they better represent and serve developing countries.
“Transformations are inevitable. Inequality and exclusion are not,” Guterres said.
“Let's work together to ensure that the profound transformations reshaping our world help build societies rooted in justice, dignity and opportunity for all.”