--- title: "SDG 8 and 9 Progress in 2026: Key Numbers | Robert Nikic" description: "Robert Nikic on SDG 8 and 9 progress in 2026: the UN's numbers on jobs, growth, industry, credit and connectivity, and what they mean for founders." canonical: "https://robertnikic.com/blog/sdg-8-and-9-in-2026" author: "Robert Nikic" advisory_role_profile: "https://reseated.com/robert-nikic" type: "Article" published: "2026-10-30T11:00:00.000Z" updated: "2026-10-30T12:54:54.100000" --- # Where the World Stands on SDG 8 & 9 in 2026 Robert Nikic on SDG 8 and 9 progress in 2026: the UN's numbers on jobs, growth, industry, credit and connectivity, and what they mean for founders. **In short:** Robert Nikic on SDG 8 and 9 progress in 2026: the UN's numbers on jobs, growth, industry, credit and connectivity, and what they mean for founders. Every year the UN publishes its scorecard on the Sustainable Development Goals. Most people read the headline and move on. The useful part is underneath. This is a roundup of the 2026 numbers for SDG 8, decent work and economic growth, and SDG 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure. These two goals describe the economy small businesses actually live in. For each number, I've added what I think it means for a founder. ### The big picture Of the 139 SDG targets with enough data to assess, only 36% are on track or making moderate progress. 49% are moving too slowly and 15% have gone backward since 2015 ([SDG Report 2026 press release](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2026/SDG_Report_2026_Press_Release_EN.pdf)). That's across all 17 goals. SDG 8 and 9 follow a similar pattern: steady in some places, stuck in others, and very uneven depending on where you are. ### SDG 8: work and growth **Growth is steady but slow.** Global real GDP per capita grew 1.9% in 2024 and is projected to stay around 1.9% through 2027. From 2015 to 2024 it averaged 1.7% a year, down from 2.0% in 2010 to 2014 ([UN, Goal 8 report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/Goal-08/)). What it means: the global economy isn't collapsing, but it isn't lifting all boats either. Growth at this pace doesn't create enough new opportunity on its own. Small businesses have to find it. **The poorest countries are falling short.** Least developed countries grew 3.9% a year in 2023 and 2024, and are projected to reach 4.4% by 2027, well below the 7% the 2030 Agenda calls for ([UN, Goal 8 report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/Goal-08/)). What it means: the markets that most need business growth are getting the least of it. That's also where the opportunity for founders who can solve real problems is biggest. **Productivity picked up.** Output per worker grew 1.7% in 2025, up from 0.7% in 2023. But it grew more than 3.5% in Central and Southern Asia and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, and less than 1% in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean ([UN, Goal 8 report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/Goal-08/)). What it means: productivity is where wages come from. The gap between regions is a gap in tools, training, infrastructure and capital, all things small businesses struggle to get. **Informal work hasn't moved.** 57.9% of the world's workers were in informal employment in 2025, a share that has barely changed since 2015. In least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa, it's nearly 9 in 10 workers ([UN, Goal 8 report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/Goal-08/)). What it means: this is the number I watch most. Informal businesses can't easily borrow, sign contracts with big buyers or grow. When formalizing is too expensive or too complicated, good businesses stay small forever. **Unemployment is low, youth unemployment isn't.** Global unemployment was 4.9% in 2025, unchanged from 2024. Youth unemployment was 12.4%, nearly four times the adult rate ([UN, Goal 8 report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/Goal-08/)). **One in five young people is out of work, school and training.** The share of young people not in employment, education or training rose to 20.0% in 2025 and is projected to reach 20.2% in 2027. Young women are twice as likely as young men to be in that group globally, and four times as likely in Central and Southern Asia ([UN, Goal 8 report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/Goal-08/)). What it means: there is a huge pool of young talent that nobody has given a first chance. Companies that build real entry-level paths have access to people their competitors ignore. ### SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure **Manufacturing keeps growing, slowly.** Global manufacturing grew 3.0% in 2024 and 2.7% in 2025. Manufacturing value added per person rose 18.1% from 2015, but fell 16.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean ([UN, SDG 9 factsheet](https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/2026%20HLPF%20FACTSHEET%20SDG9.pdf)). **Factory jobs are a shrinking share.** Manufacturing's share of global employment fell from 14.3% in 2015 to 13.7% in 2025 ([UN, SDG 9 factsheet](https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/2026%20HLPF%20FACTSHEET%20SDG9.pdf)). What it means: industry is producing more with fewer people. The jobs are moving into services, software, logistics and the businesses around manufacturing. That's where a lot of small companies live. **Small firms still can't get credit.** Globally, 32.7% of small enterprises have a loan or line of credit. In least developed countries it's 18.8%, and in sub-Saharan Africa 19.1%. In Latin America and the Caribbean it's 47.3% ([UN, Goal 9 extended report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/extended-report/Extended-Report-2026_Goal-9.pdf)). What it means: two out of three small businesses in the world are growing, if they grow at all, without a loan. Every one of them is building without a safety net, whether they chose to or not. **Research spending is rising.** R&D rose from 1.71% of global GDP in 2015 to 1.92% in 2023, and the number of researchers per million people went from 1,141 to 1,486 ([UN, SDG 9 factsheet](https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/2026%20HLPF%20FACTSHEET%20SDG9.pdf)). What it means: more innovation is happening, but most of it is still concentrated in a few regions. Europe and Northern America plus Eastern and South-Eastern Asia accounted for about 89% of global R&D investment in 2023 ([UN, Goal 9 extended report](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/extended-report/Extended-Report-2026_Goal-9.pdf)). **Connectivity is nearly universal, with big exceptions.** 5G reached 55% of the world's population in 2025: 84% of people in high-income countries, but just 4% in low-income countries. In least developed countries, 12% of people still have no mobile broadband signal at all ([UN, SDG 9 factsheet](https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/2026%20HLPF%20FACTSHEET%20SDG9.pdf)). What it means: a business with no signal can't sell online, take digital payments or reach customers outside its town. The last 12% is the hardest and most important to reach. ### The three numbers I'd put on every founder's wall - **57.9%** of workers are informal. Formalizing has to get easier. - **32.7%** of small firms have credit. Lending has to fit small companies. - **20.0%** of young people are out of work, school and training. Somebody has to give them a first chance. Those three numbers are, in a very real sense, the three doors I keep writing about. Fix them and a lot of the other numbers start to move. [How the UN keeps score](/blog/how-the-sdgs-are-measured) explains where these numbers come from. [My work on SDG 8 & 9](/blog/un-sdg-8-and-9) explains why I follow them. ### Related reading - [Why small businesses can't get credit, and what SDG 9.3 says](/blog/small-business-credit-gap) Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and Advisory Council Chair at Reseated Councils (United Nations SDG 8 & 9). He writes about what he has seen build and break companies, and about the rules that decide whether small businesses get a fair shot. Read his writing on [Medium](https://medium.com/@robertnikic), the Open Doors newsletter on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic) and daily posts on [X](https://x.com/robertnikic).