Gap between rich and poor nations grows even wider: UN

UNITED NATIONS

The gap between rich and poor nations is growing even wider as actions agreed to by many countries last year, including overhauling the major global financial institutions, remain unfulfilled promises, a U.N. report concludes.

The report assessing the blueprint adopted in Seville, Spain, last June to narrow the gap and achieve U.N. development goals for 2030 was issued ahead of this week’s spring meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The report pointed to rising trade barriers and repeated climate-related shocks as also adding to the growing gap.

At last year’s conference in Seville, the leaders of many of the world's nations, but not the United States, unanimously adopted the Seville Commitment, which was aimed at closing the $4 trillion annual financing gap for development. It called for scaling up investments in developing countries and reforming the international financial architecture, including the World Bank and IMF.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly called for major changes to the two institutions, saying the IMF has benefited rich countries instead of poor ones, and the World Bank has failed in its mission, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which left dozens of countries deeply indebted.

The report said tariffs — including those imposed by the Trump administration — have had a major impact on developing countries. Average tariffs on exports from the world’s poorest nations surged from 9 percent to 28 percent in 2025, the report said, and for developing countries, excluding China, average tariffs increased from 2 percent to 19 percent.