A new international assessment warns that several of the world’s wealthiest nations—including the United States and Japan—are scaling back their contributions to global development at a time when low-income countries face mounting economic and climate pressures. The findings come from the latest Commitment to Development Index (CDI), released on Thursday by the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD).
The CDI evaluates 38 advanced economies across more than 100 indicators, measuring how their policies support lower-income nations in areas such as development finance, trade, migration, health, technology, security, environmental sustainability and foreign investment.
In the newest ranking, Sweden, Germany, Norway and Finland retained their positions as the strongest contributors to global development. The United Kingdom, assessed before its recent 40% cut to development assistance, climbed two spots to fifth place—though CGD analysts expect its standing to slip sharply once the aid reduction is fully reflected.
By contrast, the United States dropped to 28th, falling two places from the previous edition. Analysts note that this decline does not yet capture the full effect of the significant aid reductions and institutional changes enacted since President Donald Trump took office. Earlier this year, the administration disbanded USAID and diverted major portions of development funding toward domestic and defence priorities.
“These policy shifts are substantial and will likely lead to an even steeper decline in America’s ranking,” said Ian Mitchell, senior policy fellow at CGD, noting that cuts to multilateral development banks and bilateral aid are already straining global poverty-reduction efforts.
The report’s release coincides with South Africa’s hosting of the G20 leaders’ summit—the first held on African soil—where the country will hand over the G20 presidency to the United States. President Trump will not attend, underscoring what experts describe as a broader retreat of major powers from international development engagement.
Despite the overall downward trend, the index highlights pockets of progress. Between 2019 and 2023, more than three-quarters of the assessed countries reduced their greenhouse gas emissions, even though rising emissions in China offset some global gains. Several nations also expanded refugee and migrant intake, reflecting growing humanitarian commitments.
Still, the improvements were overshadowed by negative trends. According to CGD, arms exports, trade barriers and fossil-fuel subsidies all increased across advanced economies, undermining sustainable development goals.
“Some countries made encouraging progress in areas like migration and climate,” Mitchell said, “but the broader picture shows many wealthy nations moving backward at a critical moment for global cooperation.”
Source:Africa Publicity
