The pandemic has pushed many parts of the world down the trajectory of human development.

Last year, global indexes finally surpassed pre-crisis levels after a pandemic-related decline. But unlike the pre-crisis era, when developed and developing countries were developing at similar rates, today the world is experiencing a “rich, poor” recovery.

Economist Pedro Conceição, lead author of the UN report, said: “The gap between the world’s richest and poorest people is widening. Unless we change course, we face a permanent decline in human development. “We face the risk of significant losses,” he said.

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In 1990, the United Nations introduced an index that combines a population’s life expectancy, years of schooling, and per capita income as a broad measure of human development. This year’s HDI analysis paints a bleak picture of a world that is materially richer than in the past, but still under severe stress, politically divided, and in the shadow of war.

[Notsince1945havetherebeensomanycross-borderarmedconflictsAccordingtothereporttheyforciblydisplaced108millionpeoplein2022morethanthepopulationofGermanyandmorethan25timesthe2010figure[1945年以来、これほど多くの国境を越えた武力紛争は発生していません。報告書によると、彼らは2022年に1億800万人を強制退去させたが、これはドイツの人口よりも多く、2010年の数字の25倍以上である。

At a time when countries need to work together to respond to global challenges such as climate change and the rise of artificial intelligence, countries are increasingly looking inward, said Achim Steiner, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, which prepared the assessment. said.

UNDP officials called for increased financial support for “global public goods” such as vaccine development and climate change mitigation efforts, saying political leaders “lower temperatures, contaminate everything they touch, and impede international cooperation. “We must prevent polarization,” he said.

The root of the problem lies in the failure of world leaders to properly manage globalization, U.N. officials say.While globalization has lifted 1.5 billion people out of devastating poverty in developing countries, the U.S. said many factory workers in developed countries like the United States were left feeling they had paid the price. .

This political failure has fueled widening inequality, fueled public anger, and left society, and increasingly the international community, unable to agree on collective action.

The backlash against the “mismanagement of interdependence” is a product of both economics and culture, Conceição said.

People in communities hit by relative economic decline conclude that the system is not working for them. And under economic stress, many people seek solace in a common identity defined in opposition to other groups, leading to polarization.

“What we’re seeing in many countries is that people are becoming more concentrated in groups that disagree on almost everything rather than just a few issues,” he said.

The report said worsening political polarization within and between countries was creating an “impasse” in obvious needs, such as helping the least developed countries cope with the impacts of climate change. . Since 2011, more than two-thirds of countries have become more polarized.

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A deep sense of malaise is also affecting people in countries around the world. Two-thirds of people surveyed around the world say they have no influence over government decisions. More than half say they have no or only limited control over their lives.

“If we measure development progress solely in terms of income, per capita income, per capita GDP, we miss an important part of what really defines human perception of human living conditions,” Steiner said. . .

The report’s authors also warned of growing public support for anti-democratic leaders. Research shows that while around 90% of people around the world support democracy as a goal, more than half of the world’s population currently supports politicians who threaten to undermine democracy in practice.

The study says a wave of populism across the United States, Europe and Latin America threatens progress in human development, citing research showing that populist governments are leading the way in declining economic growth.

Globalization should be reformed, not abandoned, because countries remain linked by trade, technology and finance, the report concluded. More attention needs to be paid to environmental issues, supply chain resilience and the needs of heavily indebted developing countries.

“Rather than roll back or reverse globalization, globalization can and should be pursued differently,” the report says.