29. We have witnessed significant progress in several Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) in the past two decades. In the same period, middle-income countries have
become new engines of global growth, lifting many of their own citizens out of poverty
and creating a sizeable middle class. Some countries have shown real progress in
reducing inequalities. Others have attained universal health coverage. Still others have
evolved into some of the world’s most advanced and digitally connected societies. Wages
have increased, social protection has been expanded, green technologies have taken root, and education standards have advanced. Several countries have emerged from conflict
and made steady gains on the road to reconstruction, peace and development. These wideranging
experiences demonstrate that vulnerability and exclusion can be overcome, and
what is possible in the years ahead.
30. New demographic trends are changing our world. We are already a global
family of seven billion people and are likely to reach nine billion by 2050. We are an
ageing world, as people live longer and healthier lives. We are increasingly an urban
world, with more than half the world’s population living in towns and cities. And we are a
mobile world, with more than 232 million international migrants – and almost one billion
when internal migrants are counted. These trends will have direct impacts on our goals
and present both challenges and opportunities.