A rapidly expanding system of international standards governing everything from food labels to 5G networks is quietly reshaping the global economy, delivering major gains to wealthy countries while leaving many developing nations struggling to keep pace, according to the World Development Report 2025 released by the World Bank.
The report, titled Standards for Development, is the first comprehensive global assessment of how standards function as economic infrastructure. It concludes that international standards now play a role in global prosperity comparable to physical infrastructure such as ports and highways, yet their creation and implementation remain uneven and skewed toward countries with greater technical and financial capacity.
Standards Now ‘Foundational Economic Infrastructure‘
The report highlights how standards have evolved from simple technical guidelines into powerful determinants of global trade patterns. The standardization of the shipping container, for example, boosted international trade more than all the trade agreements signed over the last six decades.
“Standards are both central and unsung today,” said Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. “When they’re set right, they go unnoticed: the ship sails through the canal, the building withstands an earthquake, a kilogram weighs the same in Kenya as in Canada. Digital standards could do the same for the services trade.”
But while standards promote efficiency, they are increasingly used as non-tariff trade barriers. Requirements related to pesticides, labeling or packaging now affect 90 percent of global trade, up from 15 percent in the late 1990s.
Developing Countries Sidelined in Standard Setting
The World Bank warns that developing countries are largely absent from the rooms where global standards are created. Many lack the expertise, funding and institutional capacity required to help shape technical committees in bodies like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica said the decision to dedicate the 2025 report to standards “sends a powerful signal” that international standards are now central to sustainable, inclusive development.
“Unlocking the full development potential of standards means ensuring all countries can participate in their creation and implement them,” he said. ISO data shows that more than half of its 20,000 standards have been issued since 2000, with 7,000 new standards adopted in 2024 alone.
However, developing countries occupy less than one-third of ISO’s standard-setting committees, and even fewer seats in other global bodies, limiting their influence over rules that determine market access, product quality, and competitiveness.
A Strategic Blueprint for Developing Nations
To ensure standards contribute to, rather than hinder, development, the report proposes a three-stage “adapt, align, author” strategy.
At early stages of development, countries are encouraged to adapt international standards to local realities—rather than adopting rigid global norms that their domestic firms cannot meet. As capacity grows, nations should align with international standards to ease trade, reduce duplication and improve competitiveness.
In the long term, developing countries should work toward authoring new standards, ensuring global rules reflect their priorities and innovations.
“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 treat standards as part of their development strategy are the ones that have managed to climb the ladder of prosperity.”
Japan as a Model for Standards-Led Transformation
The report cites Japan as a powerful example of how standards can be used to accelerate economic transformation. After World War II, Japanese exports were widely seen as low-quality. But through a national strategy centered on standardization, the Japanese Standards Association and the adoption of Total Quality Management, the country rapidly became a global benchmark for manufacturing excellence.
This transformation shows how developing nations can move from adapting standards, to aligning with global norms, to authorship and ultimately using standards as tools of competitiveness rather than obstacles.
A Call to Action for Developing Economies
The World Bank stresses that international standards are no longer invisible background rules. They determine who can trade, who can innovate, and who advances in global markets. As the appetite for standards grows in fields like digital trade, climate technology, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, countries that fail to engage risk being locked out of future economic opportunities.
The report concludes that stronger global cooperation and broader participation in setting standards are essential to building a more inclusive global economic order.
