The Asia-Pacific region has seen rapid poverty reduction, having lifted 1.5 billion people out of extreme poverty in a few generations.  Yet, millions continue to live precarious lives amid entrenched inequalities. And across countries in the region progress in human development has been uneven, with the pandemic and follow-on shocks creating major disruptions.     

The 2024 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report Making our Future: New Directions for Human Development in Asia and the Pacific, argues that unmet aspirations, heightened human insecurity, and a potentially more turbulent future create an urgent need for change.

The report paints a qualified picture of long-term progress, but also persistent disparity and widespread disruption, foreseeing a turbulent development landscape and urgently calling for new directions to boost human development.