The global economy cannot fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic unless internationally coordinated actions are taken, and the industrial sector must be central to these efforts. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that manufacturing remains the backbone of our economies. Yet, it also shows the vulnerability of our production systems to sudden shocks. For recovery to take hold, it is critical to understand how the pandemic has affected the sector—and the prospects for the future of industrialization as economies worldwide continue to rebound and recover. The Industrial Development Report 2022 contributes to this discussion by providing evidence at the country, industry, and firm level and documents the impacts of the crisis, by examining the drivers of resilience and vulnerability in those same contexts. The main finding of this report is that industrial capabilities are a key driver of resilience. The industrial sector provides employment and income generation opportunities across the globe. During the pandemic, the sector ensured continuous access to essential goods and services for populations all over the world, including food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical products. Indeed, this report reveals that countries with stronger manufacturing capabilities and more diversified industrial sectors have weathered both the economic and the sanitary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic better than their peers. Findings documented in the report strongly reaffirm the centrality of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation)—which is at the core of UNIDO's mandate—to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
