LocationsSixty percent of people are hopeful that Artificial Intelligence will create new job opportunities
Human Development progress slows to a 35-year low according to UN Development Programme report
May 29, 2025
28 May 2025: Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay and UNDP Resident Representative Mohammad Younus launched the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) in Bhutan today.
The report titled "A matter of choice: people and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)” reveals a troubling reality: human development progress is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown. Instead of seeing sustained recovery following the period of exceptional crises of 2020-2021, the report reveals unexpectedly weak progress. Excluding those crisis years, the meagre rise in global human development projected in this year’s report is the smallest increase since 1990.
Honourable Prime Minister delivers the keynote address during the National Launch of the Human Development Report 2025.
UNDP Bhutan/Karma Jamtsho
The report analyses development progress across a range of indicators known as the Human Development Index (HDI), which encompasses achievements in health and education, along with levels of income. Projections for 2024 reveal stalled progress on the HDI in all regions across the world.
Mohammad Younus, Resident Representative, UNDP delivering the opening remarks to the audience gathered for the launch of the HDR.
UNDP Bhutan/Karma Jamtsho
Beyond the alarming rate of deceleration in global development, the report finds widening inequalities between rich and poor countries. As traditional paths to development are squeezed by global pressures, decisive action is needed to move the world away from prolonged stagnation in progress.
For the fourth year in a row, inequality between Low HDI and Very High HDI countries continues to increase, according to the report. This reverses a long-term trend that has seen a reduction in inequalities between wealthy and poor nations.
Rushnan Murtaza, Representative, UNICEF facilitating the session where AI trailblazers in Bhutan were celebrated for their work in the field of AI.
UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho
Development challenges for countries with the lowest HDI scores are especially severe, driven by increasing trade tensions, a worsening debt crisis and the rise of jobless industrialisation.
“The global human development slowing to a 35-year low is a cause for serious concern for the world. We must do more,” said Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay. “His Majesty The King has envisioned an enlightened, entrepreneurial bureaucracy. I can’t think of a quicker way to get there than by using AI. Let us harness AI for GNH—not just for Bhutan, but for the world.”
Tshering Choden, Accelerator Lab, UNDP Bhutan, presenting the findings of the report regarding the HDI status of Bhutan and the world.
UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho
“Bhutan is in the medium human development country category, which includes 43 countries globally. However, within this group, Bhutan holds the highest HDI. Bhutan is just 0.002 points away from crossing into the high human development category. The question is: can we collectively take this as a challenge and work together to cross this line and make Bhutan a high human development country soon enough that we all gather again and celebrate it?” said UNDP Resident Representative Mohammad Younus.
A panel discussion on Making AI work for people moderated by Dr Joshua Oware, Senior Policy Designer, Bhutan Innovation Lab, Prime Minister’s Office with speakers from Government of Japan, Asian Development Bank, GovTech Agency, and UNDP.
UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho
The report shows how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could reignite global human development. It contains the results of a new survey that showed people are realistic yet hopeful about the change AI can bring. Half of respondents worldwide think that their jobs could be automated. An even larger share—six in ten— expect AI to impact their employment positively, creating opportunities in jobs that may not even exist today.
The Bhutan Launch of Human Development Report 2025 was officially launched in the presence of leaders, changemakers, and a hall full of young minds ready to shape the future.
UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho
Only 13 percent of survey respondents fear AI could lead to job losses. In contrast, in low- and medium-HDI countries, 70 percent expect AI to increase their productivity, and two thirds anticipate using AI in education, health, or work within the next year.
The report advocates for a human-centered approach to AI – which has the potential to fundamentally redesign approaches to development. The survey results show that across the world people are ready for this kind of ‘reset’.
The Kabesa Robot taking centre stage in reminding AI is a powerful tool—but it is just that: a tool. Its impact on human development depends entirely on the choices, values, and ethics of the people who design, deploy, and govern it.
UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho
The report outlines three critical areas for action:
- Building an economy where people collaborate with AI rather than compete against it
- Embedding human agency across the full AI lifecycle, from design to deployment
- Modernizing education and health systems to meet 21st-Century demands
Dr Bhupinder Kaur Aulakh, Representative, WHO delivers the closing remarks for the session highlighting the importance of AI in this everchanging world.
UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho
Democratization of AI is already underway. Around one in five of survey respondents report already using AI. And two-thirds of respondents across lower human development countries anticipate using AI in education, health, or work within the next year. That makes closing electricity and internet gaps more urgent than ever, so no one is excluded from emerging possibilities. Yet, access alone is not enough: the real divide will hinge on how effectively AI complements and augments what people do.
The Human Development Report was joined by leaders from government, CSOs, academia, development partners, youth and the Kabesa robot.
UNDP Bhutan/ Karma Jamtsho
"The choices we make in the coming years will define the legacy of this technological transition for human development," states the report. "With the right policies and focus on people, AI can be a crucial bridge to new knowledge, skills, and ideas that can empower everyone from farmers to small business owners."
The 2025 Human Development Report is available at: https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2025
Media Contacts
Dechen Wangmo | dechen.wangmo@undp.org | +975 1734 3086
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