Course 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
- The effects of the pandemic have intensified social exclusion. Among the 18 countries which have data for 2020, two thirds saw rates of relative low income increase in 2020.
- Projections suggest that between-country inequality rose by 1.2 per cent between 2017 and 2021, the first such increase in a generation. Before the pandemic, inequality was expected to have fallen by 2.6 per cent over the same period.
- Income inequality within countries will also have increased around 1 per cent, on average, in emerging market and developing countries, halting the steady decline seen in these countries since the start of the millennium.
- Roughly one in five people have experienced discrimination on at least one of the grounds prohibited under international human rights law, such as ethnicity, age, sex, disability, religion and sexual orientation.
- In some countries, women are more than twice as likely as men to experience discrimination on the grounds of sex. One third of persons with disabilities experience discrimination.
- A decline in the labour share of income from 2014 to 2019 ‐ from 54.1 per cent to 52.6 per cent ‐ represents upward pressure on inequality.
- By mid-2021, the number of people forced to flee their countries had grown to a record high 24.5 million. For every 100,000 people worldwide, 311 are refugees outside their country of origin, up 44 per cent from 216 per 100,000 people in 2015.
- Countries in Northern Africa and Western Asia were the largest regional source of refugees (8.4 million), followed by countries in sub-Saharan Africa (6.7 million), and Latin America and the Caribbean (4.5 million).
- As of 23 May 2022, more than 6 million people in Ukraine had moved to other countries to escape the conflict, with at least 8 million people displaced inside the country.
- In 2021, 5,895 people died fleeing their countries, surpassing pre-pandemic figures and making 2021 the deadliest year on record for migrants since 2017.
10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
10.6 Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions
10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies
10.A Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements
10.B Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes
10.C By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent
