Industries, innovation and infrastructure

 Industries, innovation and infrastructure forms part of core pillars of the SDGs.  It seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. Nations with a diversified industrial sector and strong infrastructure sustained less damage and are experiencing faster recovery. In 2021, global manufacturing rebounded from the pandemic, although the recovery remains incomplete and unequal.

Higher-technology industries performed better and recouperated faster, providing a strong example of how important technological innovation is to achieving Goal 9.

Quick Facts and Numbers

• Global manufacturing production grew by 7.2 per cent in 2021, surpassing its pre-pandemic level.
• The global share of manufacturing value added in total GDP increased from 16.2 per cent in 2015 to 16.9 per cent in 2021.
• Globally, the share of manufacturing jobs in total employment declined from 13.7 per cent in 2019 to 13.1 per cent in 2020.
• The number of airline passengers travelling internationally totalled 2.3 billion in 2021, sharply falling from 4.5 billion in 2019 and resulting in financial losses of $324 billion.
• A record in 2021, shows domestic air traffic reached 68 per cent of 2019 levels, while international traffic remained weak – at about 28 per cent – mostly due to sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 variants and travel restrictions.
• Spurred by a resurgence of economic activity along with a roaring e-commerce industry during the pandemic, air cargo traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels by the beginning of 2021 and is maintaining robust growth.
• Only about one in three small manufacturers are benefiting from a loan or line of credit.
• 15.7 per cent of small-scale industries in Africa and 44.2 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean received the forms of credit.
• In 2019, the share of medium- and high-tech manufacturing in total manufacturing in Europe and Northern America was 47.7 per cent compared with 21.4 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 10.5 per cent in least developed countries.
• Between 2015 and 2021, 4G network coverage doubled, reaching 88 per cent of the world’s population.
• Although 2021 survey show that 95 per cent of the world’s population are covered by a mobile-broadband network, the gap remains significant for least developed countries and landlocked developing countries, where 17 per cent of the population are without coverage.
• In least developed countries, 14 per cent of the rural population have no mobile network coverage at all, while another 12 per cent have only 2G coverage.