A growing set of international standards, ranging from food labeling to 5G network specifications, is reshaping the global economic landscape, benefiting wealthy nations and multinational corporations while leaving many developing countries behind, according to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development. The report highlights that standards today function as essential economic infrastructure, comparable to roads or ports, facilitating trade and economic growth. For example, the standardization of the shipping container boosted global trade more than all trade agreements over the last 60 years. However, standards have also become instruments in trade disputes, with non-tariff measures now affecting 90 percent of global trade, up from 15 percent in the late 1990s.
Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank, emphasized that standards, when properly implemented, are powerful yet often invisible tools for growth and poverty reduction. The report serves as a first comprehensive assessment of the role of standards in economic development and calls on developing nations to integrate standards into their development strategies. Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), echoed this view, highlighting that unlocking the development potential of standards requires broader participation and cooperation in global standard-setting.
The demand for standards has surged in recent decades, with more than half of the 20,000 standards issued by ISO over the last 70 years created since 2000. In 2024 alone, global standard-setting bodies issued over 7,000 standards. Despite this growth, developing countries are underrepresented in technical committees that determine standards, participating in less than one-third of ISO committees on average. Strengthening strategic participation is critical to ensure standards are globally relevant and responsive to diverse development contexts.
The report proposes an adapt-align-author framework for countries at different stages of development. Low-income countries should first adapt international standards to local contexts, enabling firms to learn and markets to grow. As capacity strengthens, countries can align with international standards to reduce duplication, ease market entry, and compete abroad, while also contributing to the development of global standards. Wealthier developing countries should ultimately author new standards or update existing ones to reflect national priorities.
Japan is cited as an example of leveraging standards for development. After World War II, Japanese consumer exports were considered low-quality and unreliable. By systematically adopting and improving international standards through the Japanese Standards Association and Total Quality Management, Japan transformed into a global leader in quality manufacturing. Xavier Giné, Director of the report, noted that successful economies treat standards not as mere technical rules but as foundations for innovation, competitiveness, and long-term prosperity.
