Goal 9: Build a resilient infrastructure and promote innovation and equitable, responsible and sustainable industrialisation.
Investments in infrastructure – transportation, irrigation, energy, and information and communication technologies – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and building community capacities in many countries.
It has long been recognized that growth in productivity and incomes, as well as better health and education outcomes, require investment in infrastructure.
Inclusive and sustainable industrial development is the first source of income generation; it allows a rapid and sustained increase in people's living standards and provides technological solutions for an industrialization that respects the environment.
Technological progress underpins efforts to achieve goals related to the environment, such as the increase in resources and energy efficiency. Without technology and innovation, there will be no industrialization, and without industrialization there will be no development.
Facts and figures
- Basic infrastructure such as roads, information and communication technologies, sanitation, electricity and water are still in short supply in many developing countries
- About 2.6 billion people in developing countries face impediments to continuous access to electricity
- 2.5 billion people worldwide lack access to sanitation and nearly 800 million people, many hundreds of millions of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, lack access to water
- 1-1.5 billion people lack reliable phone service
- The quality of infrastructure is positively linked to the achievement of social, economic and political objectives
- Inadequate infrastructure prevents access to markets, jobs, information and training, creating strong barriers to economic activity
- Undeveloped infrastructure limits access to health care and education
- For many African countries, especially in low-income ones, existing infrastructure restrictions inhibit business productivity by about 40%
- The manufacturing industry is one of the main sources of employment, providing about 470 million jobs worldwide – equal to about 16% of the 2.9 billion workforce. It is estimated that in 2013 manufacturing offered more than half a billion jobs
- The job multiplier effect of industrialization has a positive impact on society. Each job in manufacturing creates 2.2 jobs in other sectors
- Small and medium-sized enterprises active in manufacturing and processing are the most decisive actors in the early stages of industrialization, and typically create the largest number of jobs. They make up over 90% of businesses worldwide, and are responsible for approximately 50-60% of employment
- In countries for which data is available, the number of people employed in the renewable energy sector is currently around 2.3 million. Given the statistical gaps, this is certainly a conservative figure. Given the strongly growing interest in alternative energies, the highest expected employment level in the renewable sector is around 20 million jobs by 2030
- Least developed countries have immense industrialization potential in food (food and beverage), textile and garment industries, with good prospects for sustained job generation and higher productivity
- Middle-income countries can benefit from entry into the sector of basic and processed metals industries, which offer a wide range of products in response to rapidly growing international demand
- In developing countries, nearly 30% of agricultural production is processed. In high-income countries, 98% is processed. This suggests great opportunities for developing countries in the agri-food industry.
Achievements
9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure – including regional and cross-border infrastructure – to support economic development and the well-being of individuals, with particular attention to equitable and affordable access for all
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and significantly increase, by 2030, the shares of employment in industry and gross domestic product, in line with the national context, and double this share in least developed countries
9.3 Increase access of small industrial and non-industrial enterprises, particularly in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable loans, and their integration into related industries and markets
9.4 By 2030, improve infrastructure and reconfigure industries in a sustainable way, increasing efficiency in the use of resources and adopting technologies and industrial processes that are cleaner and healthier for the environment, causing all states to take action in respect for their respective capabilities
9.5 Increase scientific research, enhance the technological capabilities of the industrial sector in all states - especially in developing states - as well as encourage innovations and substantially increase, by 2030, the number of employees for every million people, in the research and development sector and expenditure on research – both public and private – and on development
9.a Facilitate the build-up of sustainable and resilient infrastructure in developing countries through enhanced financial, technical and technological support for African countries, least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing States
9.b Support internal technological development, research and innovation in developing countries, including ensuring a favorable environmental policy, inter alia, for industrial diversification and added value to products
9.c Significantly increase access to information and communication technologies and strive to provide least developed countries with universal and affordable Internet access by 2020
