But despite these gains, developing countries still have
a long development path ahead of them, since they
fall short of industrial countries on a large number of
important economic indicators. Significant proportions of
their populations still live below the poverty line. Incomes
in emerging economies are still a fraction of those in
developed economies. While the export success of
today’s emerging economies highlights new opportunities
and paths for other developing countries, the pace of growth
among developing countries remains uneven. Some are
experiencing high and sustained growth, others are struggling
to move beyond middle-income levels, while still others may
be falling behind. This report sheds light on the growing
importance of developing countries in the world trading system, and explores how the WTO can play an increasingly
central role in advancing their various development objectives.