The least developed countries report 2025
UN Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan speaks at the launch of the LDC 2025 Report at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 10 February 2026. The event highlighted the growing role of services in least developed countries (LDCs) and examined whether services can become a genuine driver of structural transformation. The launch featured contributions from Junior Davis, Officer-in-Charge of the Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes (ALDC), and Matfobhi Riba, Economic Affairs Officer at UN Trade and Development. The report finds that while services now account for around half of economic output in the average LDC, their expansion has yet to deliver broad-based development. Most service jobs remain low-skill, and LDCs account for just 0.16 per cent of global exports in digitally deliverable services. It concludes that services can support development only when closely linked to manufacturing, agriculture and other productive sectors, and when backed by investment in digital skills and infrastructure, active trade and investment policies, regional cooperation and stronger multilateral support. As UN Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan underscored: “Services can reinforce industrialization, expand trade and enhance competitiveness, but only when supported by coherent national strategies and an enabling global environment. Without both, the same forces that create opportunity will deepen exclusion.” Photo credit: UN Trade and Development/William Albors. More info: <a href="https://unctad.org/publication/least-developed-countries-report-2025" rel="noreferrer nofollow">unctad.org/publication/least-developed-countries-report-2025</a>
