Global development experienced backsliding

The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and conflicts have increased poverty and inequality. The pandemic also accelerated new solutions to development challenges.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world developed in the desired direction in many ways. The share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty decreased, maternal and child mortality decreased and an increasing number of people had improved access to safe water and electricity. On the other hand, the status of women, malnutrition, conflicts, climate change and inequality, as well as growing humanitarian needs, are problems that were already being addressed too slowly at that time.

The pandemic and conflicts have caused development to plunge into crisis in many places. Some of the results already achieved prior to the pandemic, including poverty reduction, have been lost. For the first time in 20 years, the share of people living in extreme poverty - on less than $1.90 a day - increased. According to a UN estimate, as many as 124 million people fell below the extreme poverty line in 2020. 60 per cent of them live in South Asia. The main reason for this was the decline in the world economy. 255 million full-time jobs were lost just in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic also caused the worst humanitarian crisis in 50 years, with long-lasting consequences.

Without a rapid turn, there is a risk that the first sustainable development goal of the Agenda 2030 - to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide by 2030 - will not be achieved.

Inequality has increased

As a result of the pandemic, the gap between rich and poor countries and within them has widened. According to the IMF, economic inequality has grown globally for the first time since the financial crisis in 2007-2009. The pandemic also widened the digital divide both within countries and between countries as well as between generations.

In particular, the lives of people working outside the formal economy have become even more difficult. This applies in particular to micro-entrepreneurs, women, young people and people with a low level of education living in the cities of developing countries who lack social protection in case of illness or unemployment.

As a result of school closures, 24 million children are estimated to completely fall outside the scope of education. It is also estimated that the risk of child marriage increased for more than 10 million girls over the next decade.

The COVID-19 pandemic also increased gender inequality more broadly. Women, 80 per cent of whom work in the informal sector, are significantly more affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic. The pandemic has also increased the burden of unpaid domestic and nursing work by women. Persons with disabilities, who were already among the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups prior to the pandemic, are at risk of falling even further away from development. The World Bank now estimates that almost 40 per cent of low and lower middle income countries have not been able to support the school attendance of children with disabilities during school closures.

Extreme poverty most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa

Number of people living in extreme poverty in 1990-2019.4

Download data fileSource: World Bank

The pandemic increased extreme poverty

People living in extreme poverty (less than $1.90/day).5

Download data file Source: World Bank

Climate change and conflicts make the situation difficult

Development results are also weakened by climate change and environmental degradation. Furthermore, these factors create crises, conflicts and migration that threaten also Finland's security and the well-being of Finns.

The message of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC is clear: Climate change has already caused irreversible changes and has weakened the food security of millions of people, especially in the regions closest to the equator.  

Development is also threatened by more complex and prolonged conflicts and the forced migration caused by them. Over the past few years, conflicts and internal tensions have shaken both Finland's bilateral cooperation partner countries and Europe's internal security.

According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR(Link to another website.), the number of forcibly displaced persons has doubled globally since 2010. At the end of 2021, the UNHCR estimated that around 90 million people were displaced due to war, conflict, persecution or human rights violations. Of them, around 22 million were refugees, 53 million were internally displaced and just under 5 million were asylum seekers. Of all refugees, 85 per cent live in developing countries. In 2022, the total amount has increased to 100 million.

The pandemic increased innovations

It is positive that the pandemic accelerated new opportunities offered by technology and innovations to resolve development challenges. When the pandemic closed schools around the world, there was a need to innovate new teaching and learning methods, including radio, television and digital platforms. New learning environments have come to stay. Although the digital divide is currently significant, the opportunities provided by digitalisation for developing education are seen as essential also in the poorest countries in the world.

The pandemic has also increased opportunities for developing operating methods that are more sustainable environmentally. During 2020 alone, 120 countries have developed and implemented a national or local disaster risk reduction plan.

Contrary to predictions, the COVID-19 pandemic did not cause remittances to developing countries to halt. These totalled USD 540 billion to low-income and middle-income countries in 2020, which was only 1.6 per cent less than in the previous year.

Boosted by COVID-19 measures, exclusive official development assistance increased by about four per cent in 2021 from the previous year to USD 179 billion. At the same time, it has become increasingly clear that it will not be possible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without significant increases in private funding.

The need for additional private funding has been addressed by means such as using public funding as a leverage to attract private investments to support sustainable development. Around USD 9 billion of public funds were earmarked for this type of blended finance each year in 2015-2019. However, the funds required by the pandemic measures have reduced the amount of blended finance.

Remittances continued during the pandemic*

  • * See footnote 6

Download data file Source: World Bank

  • 1

    United Nations (2021). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/(Link to another website.)

  • 2

    World Bank (2022). Pandemic, Prices and Poverty.
    https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/pandemic-prices-and-poverty    (Link to another website.)      Referenced on 4.10.2022. 

  • 3

    World Bank (2022). World Development Indicators. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), personal remittances, received (current US$), net official development assistance received (current US$). DataBank. https://databank.worldbank.org/(Link to another website.)  Referenced on 6.7.2022. 

  • 4

    Finnish civil society organisations, including World Vision Finland, the International Solidarity Foundation and FIDA as part of the broader SRHR communication work and the results achieved by UNFPA with support from Finland.

  • 5

    UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2022). Completion rate, lower secondary, female %. http://sdg4-data.uis.unesco.org/(Link to another website.)  Referenced on 4.10.2022.

  • 6

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of teachers who received pre or in service training' from the following interventions: HEI-ICI programme, projects and programmes coordinated by the Finnish Bible Society, Wycliff, Finn Church Aid, FIDA, the Finnish Refugee Council, Disability Partnership Finland and Taksvärkki.

  • 7

    Finnish civil society organisations, including World Vision Finland, the International Solidarity Foundation and FIDA as part of the broader SRHR communication work and the results achieved by UNFPA with support from Finland.

  • 8

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of teachers who received pre or in service training' from the following interventions: bilat¬eral assistance and sector programmes in Nepal, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Palestinian Territories and Ukraine, as well as from UNESCO’s Capacity Building for Education programme. 

  • 9

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of teachers who received pre or in service training' from the following interventions: HEIICI programme, projects and programmes coordinated by the Finnish Bible Society, Wycliff, Finn Church Aid, FIDA, the Finnish Refugee Council, Disability Partnership Finland and Taksvärkki.

  • 10

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of teachers who received pre or in service training' from the following interventions: bilateral assistance and sector programmes in Nepal, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Palestinian Territories and Ukraine, as well as from UNESCO’s Capacity Building for Education programme.

  • 11

    Participating countries include those supported through UNESCO's CAP Ed programme and Finland's bilateral cooperation partner countries, where Finland supports structural reforms of the school system. 

  • 12

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of educational institutions whose capacity has been strengthened' (schools) from inter¬ventions in the following countries: Nepal, Myanmar (Sector Programme and Education Support to promote education in Ethnic Regions), Ethiopia and Ukraine. 

  • 13

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of educational institutions whose capacity has been strengthened' (schools) from the following interventions: Wycliffe, Finn Church Aid, Finnish Refugee Coun¬cil, Taksvärkki, FIDA, Disability Partnership Finland, World Vision, Finn¬partnership and Finnfund. 

  • 14

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'number of educational institutions whose capacity has been strengthened' (teacher education institutions) from the following interventions: Myanmar/UNESCO, Mozambique/FASE, Ukraine/basic education project, HEI-ICI programme and E-tale Africa project. 

  • 15

    This figure includes pupils assisted through country and regional cooper¬ation, humanitarian assistance and multilateral cooperation in projects in Ethiopia, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar, Iraq, including Finland's compu¬tational share of support to UNRWA and ECW. Pupils reached by civil soci¬ety organisations have been reported separately as a whole. 

  • 16

    Data collected on aggregate indicators' number of students enrolled in education '(vocational and non-formal) and' number of women and girls with disabilities who have access to vocational training 'from projects and programmes by the following organisations: Finnish Refugee Council, FIDA, the Abilis Foundation, Disability Partnership Finland. 

  • 17

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of students enrolled in education' (pre-primary, primary, secondary) from projects and programmes by the following organisations: Finn Church Aid, FIDA, Wycliffe. 

  • 18

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator ‘number of students enrolled in education’ (vocational and non-formal) and ‘number of women and girls with disabilities who have access to vocational training’ from projects and programmes by the following organisations: Finn Church Aid, Finnish Refugee Council, SOS Children's Villages, Disability Partnership Finland, Finnish Bible Society, Taksvärkki ODW Finland, The Abilis Foundation, The Finnish Foundation for Media and Development.

  • 19

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of students enrolled in education' (pre-primary, primary, secondary, vocational). This figure was calculated on the basis of the most recent pre-pandemic sta¬tistics on student number in Finland's bilateral cooperation partner coun¬tries: Nepal, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Palestine, Mozambique, Ukraine and Ethiopia. 

  • 20

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator ‘Number of proposals for laws and policies that improve business environment and regional economic integration’. The results are the figures reported by the UN Industrial Development Organization UNIDO in 2019-2021. Finland is a UNIDO member state and pays a statutory membership fee annually.

  • 21

    Jobs and companies in developing countries have also been supported through other cooperation, but the figures reported by all supported actors do not fall under the indicators monitored by the Ministry for For­eign Affairs.

  • 22

    Multilateral cooperation: The data was collected from the aggregate indi­cator 'Number of full-time (or equivalent) jobs assisted or created' from the following actors: UN Industrial Development Organization UNIDO, 2019-2021; European Development Fund, 2019-2020.

  • 23

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of full-time (or equivalent) jobs supported or created' and includes the Energy and Envi­ronment Partnership’s (EEP) support 2020-2021 and the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IADB) general support 2020-2021.

  • 24

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator 'Number of full-time (or equivalent) jobs assisted or created' from the following projects: AgroBIG II, Assistance for agro-driven economic growth in Amhara, Ethi­opia (2019-2021); AGS Zambia, Assistance for SME growth in Zambia (2021) and SAIS, Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme (2021).

  • 25

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator 'Number of full-time (or equivalent) jobs assisted or created' from the following actors: Finn­partnership, 2019-201; FCA Investments, 2019-2021 and Finnfund, 2019-2020.

  • 26

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator 'Number of full-time (or equivalent) jobs assisted or created' from the following projects: HALO Trust, 2019-2020; International Solidarity Foundation, 2019-2021; Finn Church Aid, 2019-2021; Fairtrade, 2020-2021.

  • 27

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator ‘Number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries benefiting from business development services, including innovation support ser¬vices, responsible business practices and financing supporting improved or growing business’.International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD, 2019; UN Industrial Development Organization UNIDO, 2021; Euro¬pean Development Fund, 2019-2020; International Development Associ¬ation IDA, 2020-2021; International Trade Centre ITC, 2019-2021. 

  • 28

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator ‘Number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries benefiting from business development services, including innovation support ser­vices, responsible business practices and financing supporting improved or growing business’ from the following actors: European Bank for Recon­struction and Development (EBRD), 2020; Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2019-2020; African Development Bank (AfDB), 2020; Inter-American (IADB), 2020-2021.

  • 29

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator 'Number of MSMEs in developing countries benefiting from business development services, including innovation support services, and responsible business prac¬tices and funding for business improvement or growth', from the follow¬ing projects: Forestry and value chain development, Tanzania, 2019- 2020; AGS Zambia, Support for growth of Zambian SMEs, 2020-2021. 

  • 30

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator ‘Number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries benefiting from business development services, including innovation support ser­vices, responsible business practices and financing supporting improved or growing business’ from the following actors: Finnfund, 2019-2020; FCA Investments, 2019-2021, DevPlat, 2020-2021.

  • 31

    The data was collected from the aggregate indicator 'Number of MSMEs in developing countries benefiting from business development services, including innovation support services, and responsible business prac­tices and funding for business improvement or growth', from the follow­ing projects: Project Support, SOS Child Village, Ethiopia, Gambia, Tan­zania, 2020; Programme Support, International Solidarity Foundation, 2020-2021; Programme Support, Finn Church Aid, 2020-2021; Pro­gramme Support, WWF, 2019-2021; Programme Support, Plan Finland, 2019-2021; Programme Support, Finnish Refugee Council, 2019-2020; Programme Support, World Vision Finland 2020-2021.

  • 32

    The data was collected from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs aggregate indicator ‘Number of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) partner­ships with education and research institutions and private sector actors’ from the reports of the following projects and actors: Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme, Finnpartnership, BEAM/Developing Markets Platform, Plan Finland, HEI-ICI.

  • 33

    The data was collected from aggregate indicator 'Number of enterprises trained on decent work standards and/or responsible business practices', from reports by the following projects and actors: Finnish Refugee Coun­cil, Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme, Finnpartnership business partnership programme, supporting the growth of Zambian SMEs, Fairtrade, Evaluation of interest-subsidy projects, Finnwatch. The number of trained companies is calculated annually. It is possible that the same company will appear in the figures for several years.

  • 34

    Un Women Global Output Indicator 2.4.2. 2019 result 5,964, 2020 result 6,808 and 2021 result 11,597. https://www.unwomen.org/en/execu­tive-board/strategic-plan/outcome-area-2

  • 35

    Project support, Deaconess Institute in Helsinki, Europe/Romaninaisten voimaa - Romanina (2020); Project support, Deaconess Institute in Hel­sinki, KOSOVO//Eteenpäin elämässä (EqE) (2020); Project Support, Children and Youth Foundation, SEN/Naatange art la (2020); Project Support, SOS Child Village Foundation, TAN/Women's and Children's Rights, Mufindi (2020); Project Support, Finnish YMCA, LIB/Syyrialaisten pakolaisten amk (2020); Project Support, Interpedia, NEP/Haavoittu­vassa asemassa olevat lapset (2021); Support for International Non-gov­ernmental Organisations (INGO), Hivos (2020); Support for Interna­tional Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) (2019); Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO) joint application round, International Service for Human Rights (2020); Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), World Organisa­tion against Torture (2021); Other multilateral help, Justice Rapid Response (2020); Programme support, Abilis Foundation (2021); Pro­gramme support, Fida International (2021); Programme support, Finn­ish Red Cross (2019); Programme support, International Solidarity Foundation (2021); Programme support, KiOS Foundation (2021); Pro­gramme support, Finn Church Aid (2021); Programme support, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Finland’s Fund (2021); Programme support, Plan Finland Foundation (2019); Programme support, Fairtrade (2021); Pro­gramme support, Siemenpuu Foundation for civil society (2021); Pro­gramme support, Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland SASK (2020); Programme support, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (2020); Pro­gramme support Finnish Refugee Council (2019, 2020, 2021); Pro­gramme support, World Vision Finland (2021); Programme support, Taksvärkki (2021); Programme support, Disability Partnership Finland (2020); United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, ARFICA/Projects coor­dinated by youth funds, programming period 2019-2020.As the pro­gramme/project assistance organisation partnerships usually last throughout a project/programme period, the number of organisations supported in partner countries has been calculated by including only the year for which the highest result has been reported. The sum of the results for different years are only added together for those organisa­tions where it has been explicitly mentioned that partner organisations are not the same.

  • 36

    BI Cofinancing programme UN University, MOZ/MPD-UEM Policy Research (2020); ICI cooperation Finnish Forest Research Institute TAN/IKI/LUKE INFORES (2019); Bilateral project, DEMO Finland, MOZ/ DEMO Strengthening Parliament (2020/2021); Bilateral project, Nether­lands Institute for Multiparty Democracy: MOZ/Natural resources govern­ance (2019); Bilateral project, TAN/PFP 2 (2020); Asian Development Fund, Additional funding, AsDF-13 (2021), Asian Development Fund, Additional funding, AsDF-12 (2019, 2020); UN University MOZ/UNU-WIDER IGM II (2021); Thematic assistance, UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO (2019, 2020).

  • 37

    UN Development Programme, KGZ/Legal sector support project (2019, 2020); UN Development Programme, TJK/Legal sector support project (2019, 2020); KiOS, programme assistance (2019, 2020, 2021); Finn­watch, project assistance, THA/burmalaiset siirtotyöntekijät voimaan­tuneet (2020); European Development Fund, additional funding (2019, 2020); UN Women, general funding (2019, 2020, 2021). Disaggregation has only been calculated from the results for which disaggregated data has been available.

  • 38

    Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), Hivos (2019, 2020); Support for International Non-governmental Organ­isations (INGO), DefendDefenders, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (2020, 2021); Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), International Commission of Jurists (2019, 2020); Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (2019, 2020); Support for International Non-gov­ernmental Organisations (INGO), International Service for Human Rights (2020, 2021); Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), Minority Rights Group International (2020); Sup­port for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGO), World Organisation against Torture (2019, 2020, 2021); Programme support, KiOS Foundation (2019, 2020, 2021); Programme support, Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland SASK (2019, 2020, 2021); Embassy of Fin­land, MDA/IJC/Media literacy, Moldova (2020); Embassy of Finland, MDA/SP/media support, Moldova (2020).

  • 39

    In 2018, the Action Plan had been drawn up in 60 countries, while at the end of 2021 the number was up to 86 countries. Un Women https://www. unwomen.org/en/executive-board/strategic-plan/outcome-area-5.

  • 40

    In addition, community-level peace-building is carried out by Fida Inter­national, World Vision, Save the Children, the Deaconess Foundation (reconciliation project) and the YMCA Finland (2250).

  • 41

    With Finland’s assistance, the Mines Advisory Group, Halo Trust, Danish Demining Group and the United Nations Mine Action Service have cleared 6.78 km2 of mines.

  • 42

    The data was collected from the following civil society organisations: Finnish Red Cross, 2019-2021, and World Vision Finland, 2020-2021.

  • 43

    The data was collected from the following civil society organisations: Finnish Red Cross, 2019-2020, and World Vision Finland, 2020-2021.

  • 44

    The data was collected from the following civil society organisations: Fida International, 2019-2021, and World Vision Finland, 2020-2021.

  • 45

    The data was collected from the following projects: Community led Accel­erated WASH in Ethiopia, Ethiopia, 2019-2020; Support to equitable access to quality water, basic sanitation and enhanced water resources management for the underserved communities in rural Kenya, Kenia, 2019-2020; Rural Village Water Resources Management Project Phase III, Nepal, 2019-2021; Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in West­ern Nepal Phase II, Nepal, 2019; UNICEF ONE WASH, Nepal, 2020-2021; WASH in Schools UNICEF, Afghanistan, 2019-2021.

  • 46

    Data kerätty seuraavista hankkeista: Support to equitable access to quality water, basic sanitation and enhanced water resources management for the underserved communities in rural Kenya, Kenia, 2019-2020; Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal Phase II, Nepal, 2019; UNICEF ONE WASH, Nepal, 2020-2021; WASH in Schools UNICEF, Afganistan, 2019-2021.

  • 47

    The data was collected from the following projects: Support to equitable access to quality water, basic sanitation and enhanced water resources management for the underserved communities in rural Kenya, Kenya, 2019-2020; Rural Village Water Resources Management Project Phase III, Nepal, 2020-2021; UNICEF ONE WASH, Nepal, 2020-2021. 

  • 48

    The data was collected from the following actors: UNICEF, 2019-2021; European Regional Development Fund ERDF, new European beneficiaries, 2019-2020; World Bank/International Development Organisation IDA, 2019-2021; Asian Development Bank ADB, 2021; African Development Bank AfDB, 2019-2021. 

  • 49

    The data was collected from the following actors: UNICEF, 2019-2021; World Bank/International Development Association IDA, 2019-2021; Asian Development Bank ADB, 2021; African Development Bank AfDB, 2019-2021. 

  • 50

    UNICEF, UNICEF Development WASH, 2019-2021.

  • 51

    FAO/Forest and Farm Facility; Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania, Zambia, Vietnam (2020-2021); Participatory Forestry Programme, Tan­zania (2019-2021); Forestry and Value Chains Development Programme, Tanzania (2020-2021); The Alternative Development Programme in Shan State, Myanmar (2019-2020); WWF; Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, East-Af­rica (2019-2021); FIDA International (2019-2021); Finnfund (2019- 2020).

  • 52

    FAO/Forest and Farm Facility; Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania, Zambia, Vietnam (2020-2021); WWF; Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, East-Af­rica (2019-2021), Finnfund (2019-2020), UNIDO (2019-2021); Agro­business Induced Growth Programme in Amhara, Ethiopia (2019-2021).

  • 53

    WWF; Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, East Africa (2019-2021); FIDA Interna­tional (2019-2021); the International Solidarity Foundation (2019- 2021); Fairtrade (2020-2021); Siemenpuu Foundation; Brazil, Indone­sia, India (2019-2021).

  • 54

    Participatory Forestry Programme, Tanzania (2019-2021); Forestry and Value Chains Development Programme, Tanzania (2020-2021); Tree Outgrower Support Programme, Tanzania (2020); The Alternative Development Programme in Shan State, Myanmar (2019-2020); Agrobusiness Induced Growth Programme in Amhara, Ethiopia (2019-2021).

  • 55

    FAO/Forest and Farm Facility; Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania, Zambia, Vietnam (2020-2021).

  • 56

      Finnfund (2019-2020).

  • 57

    GEF Corporate Scorecard June 2021; IFAD Development Effectiveness Report 2020.

  • 58

    European Commission Staff Working Document. Accompanying the document ‘Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council 2021’. Annual Report on the Implementation of the European Union’s External Action Instruments in 2020.

  • 59

    OCHA Financial Tracking Service (2021). Appeals and response plans 2021. https://fts.unocha.org/appeals/overview/2021 Referenced on 8.9.2022.