Compared to the record high of $32 trillion in 2022, it shrank by 3% last year (equivalent to about $1 trillion).
Despite this decline, the services sector showed resilience, increasing by $500 billion (8%) year-on-year, while trade in goods decreased by $1.3 trillion (5%) compared to 2022.
The fourth quarter of 2023 was a complete departure from previous quarters, with both goods and services trade stabilizing. Developing countries, especially those in Africa, East Asia, and South Asia, have returned to growth.
A female employee in Port Victoria, Seychelles. She works for a company that services Seychelles' largest industry, the industrial tuna fishery.
regional dynamics
Merchandise trade, or imports and exports of goods, generally declined in major economies last year, but there were exceptions, UNCTAD said.
Russia “showed significant fluctuations in trade statistics,” with merchandise trade increasing towards the end of 2023 with China (5% increase in imports) and India (5% increase in exports), although it decreased in Russia and India. european union.
In 2023, trade performance declined by about 4% in developing countries and by about 6% in developed countries.
South-South trade, or trade between developing countries, fell sharply by about 7%.
However, these trends reversed in the final quarter of 2023, with developed countries trade remaining stable while developing countries and South-South trade resumed growth.
Geopolitical tensions continue to impact bilateral trade, as evidenced by Russia's decreasing trade dependence on the European Union and increasing dependence on China. Trade interdependence between China and the US will further decline in 2023.
Regionally, trade between African economies grew by 6% last year, bucking global trends, while intraregional trade in East Asia and Latin America lags behind the global average.
E-waste piles are growing five times faster than recycling rates
The amount of e-waste, or e-waste, we generate is at least 62 million tons and is growing five times faster than the amount recycled.
This is the alarming finding of the United Nations Global E-Waste Monitoring Report released on Thursday.
The report looked at the sheer volume of old mobile phones, batteries and other technology being thrown away and found that all this e-waste would fill more than 1.5 million 40-tonne trucks. This is enough to form bumper to bumper. A line of trucks surrounding the equator.
Only 25% of e-waste is recycled
Data processed by ITU and UNITAR, the UN agencies behind the report, also found that only about 25 percent of e-waste in 2022 was officially recorded as recycled.
This means $62 billion worth of recoverable natural resources are missing, increasing the risk of pollution to communities around the world.
Globally, e-waste is increasing by 2.6 million tons per year and is expected to reach 82 million tons by 2030.
E-waste (discarded products with plugs and batteries) is harmful to health and the environment, containing toxic additives and harmful substances such as mercury that can damage the human brain and nervous system.
7,000 deaths averted in Europe due to coronavirus pandemic: WHO
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO)'s European region has seen nearly 7,000 excess deaths from tuberculosis during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Thursday. This was revealed in new data released.
Based on pre-2020 estimates, the number of deaths would not have occurred if tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment efforts had not been disrupted, WHO said.
This revelation comes through the latest TB Surveillance and Monitoring Report by WHO/Europe and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which is released annually ahead of World Tuberculosis Day on 24 March. has been done.
“Our latest report reveals a heartbreaking and entirely avoidable situation: people with TB were left unprotected during the pandemic and 7,000 people died needlessly due to disruptions to TB services. ,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
“This report also reveals another ongoing and preventable tragedy: the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis continues to rise,” he said. “We call on national authorities to strengthen TB testing programs, speed diagnosis and apply the latest WHO guidelines.”
Dr. Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC, said that due to the impact of COVID-19, “we still have a long way to go to reach the goal of eliminating tuberculosis.”
“Timely ramping up of prevention, testing and treatment is a key element in the fight against tuberculosis, and delays lead to further suffering and death. Countries must act now,” she said. Told.
