ESG and Of Interest News
Corruption Perceptions Index 2025: Decline in leadership undermining global fight against corruption
January 10, 2026-At a time of massive Gen Z-led protests against corruption and a dangerous disregard for international norms by some governments, the 31st edition of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index reveals a concerning picture of long-term decline in leadership to tackle corruption, alongside limited signs of progress
Corruption is worsening globally, with even established democracies experiencing rising corruption amid a decline in leadership, according to Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published today. This annual index shows that the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five this year.
Our data show that democracies, typically stronger on anti-corruption than autocracies or flawed democracies, are experiencing a worrying decline in performance. This trend spans countries such as the United States (64), Canada (75) and New Zealand (81), to various parts of Europe, like the United Kingdom (70), France (66) and Sweden (80). Another concerning pattern is increasing restrictions by many states on freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Since 2012, 36 of the 50 countries with significant declines in CPI scores have also experienced a reduction in civic space.
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Source: transparency.org
5 Things to Know About GEMs
February 9, 2026--The Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs) Consortium is a joint initiative of 29 multilateral development banks and development finance institutions that pools 40 years of credit risk data on their lending operations in emerging markets.
It provides the related statistics at no cost to members and to the public at gemsriskdatabase.org and on other platforms like Bloomberg and Data360.
The European Investment Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) created the Consortium in 2009. It has since evolved into a community of practice that develops common approaches and data methodologies to record default and recovery statistics. It offers insights into the true potential of emerging markets.
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Source: African Development Bank
Mapped: Which Countries Rely Most on Imports
February 4, 2026-Key Takeaways
Globally, imported goods and services are equal to 28% of GDP.
Despite importing $3.4 trillion of goods, the U.S. has one of the lowest import-to-GDP ratios because of its massive and diverse economy.
Several small island economies have extremely high import-to-GDP ratios, including Cuba (82%) and Taiwan (49%), given limited domestic production.
Global imports are valued at approximately 28% of GDP, with trillions of dollars in goods and services moving across borders each year.
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Source: visualcapitalist.com
FSB warns of financial stability challenges in repo markets
February 4, 2026-Repo markets are critical to the functioning of the global financial system and have been involved in several recent episodes of stress, including the March 2020 dash for cash and September 2022 gilt market episode.
Report warns that leverage, demand and supply imbalances, and high levels of concentration within repo markets have the potential to create strains.
Report calls on authorities to consider actions to close data gaps, strengthen surveillance, and address vulnerabilities around the build-up of liquidity imbalances and leverage.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) today published a report on Vulnerabilities in Government Bond-backed Repo Markets.
Repo markets play an important role in facilitating the flow of cash and securities throughout the financial system.
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Source: Financial Stability Board (FSB)
The WFE creates Listing Stringency Index that enables comparison of markets
February 4, 2026-The World Federation of Exchanges, the global industry association for exchanges and CCPs, has published a paper introducing its Listing Stringency Index (LSI), a standardised framework that can be used to analyse the relative stringency of listing regimes and make informed decisions.
This unique, survey-based composite measure, developed using data from WFE members, quantifies and compares IPO listing requirements across nine regulatory dimensions. It captures cross-jurisdictional differences and directional regulatory changes, documenting where listing requirements have been tightened or relaxed - particularly in response to ESG-related developments and SME access priorities.
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Source: World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)
Mapped: Which Countries Are Expected to Grow the Most in 2026?
January 27, 2026--Key Takeaways
Guyana is forecast to see 23% real GDP growth in 2026, the highest rate globally, supported by a massive oil boom.
Global real GDP growth is projected to be 3.1% in 2026, slightly lower than the 3.2% forecast for 2025.
After several years of economic volatility, growth in 2026 is expected to remain uneven across the world.
While global growth is projected to hold steady overall, momentum varies sharply by country, shaped by factors such as energy production, trade exposure, fiscal conditions, and demographic trends. As a result, some economies are positioned for rapid expansion, while others face more modest outlooks.
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Source: visualcapitalist.com
Clear Orbit, Secure Future: A Call to Action on Space Debris
January 26, 2026-Space is the foundational infrastructure of the 21st-century global economy. From navigation and finance to climate monitoring, daily life on Earth depends on satellites. Yet this critical orbital infrastructure is under threat. Congestion from space debris is rising, creating a strategic vulnerability for the entire planet.
This inaugural report, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and the Centre for Space Futures, provides the first data-driven forecast of the economic impact of inaction. Using a novel orbital population model, it projects that space debris could impose a direct cost of up to $42.3 billion over the next decade, a"“hidden tax" on the space economy.
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Source: World Economic Forum (WTO)
Mapped: AI Adoption Rates by Country
January 22, 2026--Key Takeaways
The UAE has an AI adoption rate of 64.0%, the highest globally in 2025.
Even though the U.S. is a global leader in AI infrastructure and frontier model development, it ranks 24th in AI adoption based on analysis from Microsoft.
In the second half of 2025, 16.1% of the global working-age population used AI, indicating substantial room for further adoption.
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Source: visualcapitalist.com
'Frontier Market' Economies Haven't Lived Up to Potential Since 2010
January 20, 2026--Investment growth has halved, more than in other low- and middle-income economies
"Frontier market" economies-a cluster of mostly middle-income economies regarded as the proving ground for the next generation of economic superstars-have largely failed to live up to their potential in recent decades, a new World Bank study has found.
On average, investment growth per person in the 2020s so far has been less than half the rate in the 2010s. Yet the experience of the top performers among frontier markets reveals lessons for the 56 economies currently in the cluster.
For global investors looking for opportunities beyond high-income economies, frontier markets constitute the middle of the range: they are generally less tightly integrated into global financial markets than emerging markets but more so than other developing economies that belong to neither the "emerging" nor the "frontier" classes.
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Source: worldbank.org
Women's Health Investment Outlook: 6% of Funding for Nearly 50% of the Population-Not Just a Gap, but Untapped White Space
January 20, 2026-Women's health represents a large and undercapitalized opportunity in global healthcare. Despite women and girls making up nearly half the world's population, women's health has captured just 6% of private healthcare investment. The fundamentals are strong, but funding remains limited and narrowly focused, historically confined to reproductive and maternal health.
More than 25 organizations from the investment community, industry, philanthropies and beyond provided insights for this comprehensive insight report, Women’s Health Investment Outlook. Developed in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, it addresses critical gaps in understanding investment flows in women's health, market opportunity and unmet need. To quantify private investment flows in women’s healthcare over the past five years, the report introduces the Women's Health Investment Index.
Major areas of unmet need and opportunity across high-burden, high-prevalence conditions that affect women uniquely, differently and disproportionately-such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, menopause and Alzheimer’s disease -have been overlooked. A recent analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that effectively addressing these four therapeutic areas for women in the US could unlock a $100 billion-plus market opportunity by 2030.
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Source: World Economic Forum (WTO)
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