World Bank Warns Global Standards are Reshaping Economic Power, Disadvantaging Developing Countries
A rapidly expanding web of international standards—from food labelling protocols to the technical specifications governing 5G networks—is steadily reshaping the global economic landscape, delivering outsized benefits to wealthier nations and multinational corporations while leaving developing economies at a disadvantage, the World Bank has cautioned.
Findings from the World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development, released this week, show that standards have evolved into a central pillar of global economic infrastructure, rivaling the importance of physical assets such as roads, ports and energy systems.
The report notes that the standardisation of the shipping container catalysed more global trade than all trade agreements combined in the last six decades, underscoring the transformative power of harmonised standards. Yet, since the early 2000s, standards have also become tools in geopolitical and trade disputes, with non-tariff measures—including pesticide limits and detailed labelling requirements—now impacting 90% of global trade, up from 15% in the late 1990s.
“Standards are both central and unsung today,” said Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. “When countries are active in adapting, aligning and authoring standards, they become a powerful tool for growth and poverty reduction. This report is a call to developing nations to make standards a core component of their development strategies.”
ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica described the World Bank’s focus as “a powerful signal” that global standards must now be treated as integral to sustainable and inclusive development. He warned that many developing economies lack the technical and financial capacity to participate in standard-setting processes, resulting in standards that often do not reflect their needs.
Developing countries sidelined in global standard-setting
According to the report, the demand for standards is surging. More than half of ISO’s 20,000 standards have been created since 2000, with over 7,000 issued in 2024 alone.
However, developing countries remain largely absent from the drafting table. On average, they participate in less than one-third of ISO’s technical committees, and their presence is even lower in other global standards bodies. This underrepresentation, the World Bank warns, risks deepening global inequality.
A three-stage strategy for development through standards
The report outlines a strategic “adapt-align-author” framework for developing countries:
Adapt: At early stages of development, countries should tailor international standards to local conditions rather than copy the most demanding global benchmarks.
Align: As industry capacity expands, countries can harmonise with global standards, easing market access and promoting competitiveness.
Author: With growing technological and institutional capability, countries should co-create and update standards to reflect their priorities.
Japan is highlighted as a case study of successful standards-driven development. After World War II, Japanese exports were widely regarded as inferior, but deliberate reforms—championed through the Japanese Standards Association and widespread adoption of Total Quality Management—helped the country evolve into a global benchmark for quality.
“Standards are not just technical rules, they are the foundation for innovation and global competitiveness,” said Xavier Giné, Director of the 2025 World Development Report. “Countries that make them central to development planning are those that successfully climb the ladder of prosperity.”
The World Bank is urging developing economies to invest in technical capacity, strengthen participation in international standard-setting bodies and embed standards into national growth strategies to avoid being increasingly locked out of global trade and technological progress.
