The Future of Growth Report 2024

Global growth has been slower in the past decade compared to previous ones, and the post-pandemic recovery is losing momentum. Between 2018 and 2023 – on average – high-income economies’ GDP
(in purchasing-power-parity terms) grew by 1.4% annually across economies featured in the report, by 2.2% across upper-middle income economies, by 3.1% across lower-middle income economies,
and by 3.1% across low-income economies. Total global GDP today is higher than its pre-pandemic level, but growth rates in 2023 remain below 4% across all income groups.

This conventional GDP growth picture is incomplete without a deeper understanding of the underlying nature and quality of growth, and whether it is in synergy with global and national priorities. The question is not whether the world still needs economic growth, but how the growth can be better aligned with other important priorities. This report provides a framework for looking at growth in the context of its quality and serves as a starting point for the Forum’s Future of Growth Initiative.