INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND

INFRASTRUCTURES
Inclusive and sustainable industrialization, together with innovation and
infrastructure, can unleash dynamic and competitive economic forces that
generate employment and income.
They play a key role in introducing and promoting new technologies,
facilitating international trade, and enabling efficient use of resources.

However, there is still a long way to go before the world can make the most
of this potential. Least developed countries in particular need to accelerate
the development of their manufacturing sectors if they are to achieve the
2030 target and increase investment in scientific research and innovation.

Global manufacturing growth has been steadily declining, even before the
outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic. The pandemic is seriously affecting
manufacturing industries and disrupting global value chains in the supply of
products.

Technological process and innovation are key to discovering lasting solutions

to economic and environmental challenges, such as increasing energy and
resource efficiency. Globally, investment in research and development (I+D),
as a percentage of PIB, increased from 1.5% in 2000 to 1.7% in 2015 and
continued at almost the same level in 2017 However, in developing regions it
was less than 1%.
In terms of communications infrastructure, more than half of the world's
population is now connected and almost the entire global population lives in
an area with mobile network coverage. It is estimated that in 2019, 96.5% of
the population had network coverage, at least 2G