Answering the question, “What’s going on in development?,” isn’t easy. With exhaustive amounts of data and analysis at our fingertips, the best-informed of us can find it hard to choose what to read, remember and reference.

This report aims to help UNDP colleagues orient themselves in a constantly changing landscape by providing an overview of the issues that should be on everyone’s radar in 2024. Among lots of trends reports out there, this one is written for UNDP. It is not intended to be all-encompassing or definitive, but rather to alert us to what’s worth watching across the landscape of development.

Each chapter describes a current global theme and why it matters for development. In addition to key trends, “what to watch” lists emerging issues worth keeping an eye on because they look likely to become more prominent or serious. “Still uncertain…” points to signals of change whose direction and meaning are not yet clear.