Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Industrialization, innovation, and infrastructure are critical for generating income, creating employment and opportunities, facilitating international trade, and improving the economic stability and position of developing nations. Global manufacturing growth was already in a decline before the pandemic hit and has been hit particularly hard compared to other industries. In order to meet the 2030 targets, LDC’s need to accelerate growth in this area significantly. Below are some statistics related to industry, innovation, and infrastructure from the United Nations:
- More than half of the world’s population is now online, but in LDC’s, only 1 in 5 people have access to the internet
- Financing is critical for small-scale industries to survive the pandemic, but 35% of business have access to credit in LDC’s and only 22% in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Global investment in Research & Development has increased from $1.4 Trillion in 2010 to $2.2 Trillion in 2017, but growth in this area needs to accelerate
- Globally, the portion of GDP spent on R&D was 1.7%, but is less than 1% in LDC’s
- In 2019, it’s estimated that 96.5% of the world lives in an area that is covered by a mobile network (at least 2G)
- In 2019, manufacturing grew by only 1.5%, the lowest year over year growth since 2012
- 14% of the global workers are employed in manufacturing activities, but less than 6% in Sub-Saharan Africa
- The number of researchers per million increased from 1,018 in 2010 to 1,198 in 2017, however, these researchers are not distributed equally around the world. In Europe and North America, there are 3,707 researchers per million. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s less than 100. Also, women account for only 30% of global researchers
- Total flows for economic infrastructure in developing countries reached $61B in 2018, an increase of 32.6% from 2010
- For more statistics related to Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, please see the Goal 9 Progress site here
Goal 9 Targets:
- 9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
- 9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
- 9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
- 9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
- 9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
- 9.A Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States 18
- 9.B Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
- 9.C Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
This Month’s Challenge:
In October 2020, we are sharing Goal related data from the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal Database, with regional data on all of the targets listed above. The data can be found on our Data.World page here. If you would like participate, you can use data from any source, but the overall goal is to focus your analysis on some of the topics mentioned in the Targets section above. If you come across other interesting datasets, please let us know so we can add them to our Data.World project. The deadline for submission will be October 31, 2020. Make sure to tag us in your submission, add the #TheSDGVizProject hashtag, and add your submission to #TheSDGVizProject tracker.
As we mentioned on our Home page, building a viz is not the only way to participate. Our main goal is to spread awareness, so if you see a viz with #TheSDGVizProject, please share it. And keep an eye out for a post at the end of the month with ways that you can contribute to this month’s goal.