United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has released its Industrial Development Report 2026, the organisation’s flagship global publication on the future of industry, the green transition, and the megatrends shaping economic and technological development through 2050. The report highlights rising global inequalities, climate pressures, demographic shifts, and rapid technological change, while outlining how sustainable industrialisation can reverse current trends and support inclusive growth.
The University of Dubrovnik contributed to the report as UNIDO’s regional expert for Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, through a team led by Prof. Nebojša Stojčić and including Dr. Edvard Orlić (UNDP) and Prof. Slavo Radošević (UCL). UNIDU’s contribution consisted of a comprehensive regional assessment of industrial trends, structural bottlenecks, productivity and technology gaps, and emerging sectoral opportunities.
The report emphasizes the need to close industrial, technological, and environmental efficiency gaps between advanced and developing economies, the importance of investing in green technologies, skills and digital transformation and the rise of clean energy industries, artificial intelligence, and new production ecosystems as drivers of future-ready growth.
“Contributing to the Industrial Development Report 2026 is both a great recognition and a responsibility. The report raises essential questions about the future of industry, global inequalities, the climate transition and the profound technological shifts ahead. The fact that UNIDO relies on Croatian researchers in this process demonstrates the relevance of our expertise in a global context. I am proud that from Dubrovnik we can contribute to shaping development policies that go beyond national borders and influence economic trajectories on a global scale.”
As the first Croatian economic research institution to contribute to a UN global industrial development report, the University of Dubrovnik continues to strengthen its international visibility as a leading national centre for industrial policy research. At the same time, this contribution further enhances Croatia’s presence within the international scientific community and in global policy-shaping processes.
