Agriculture/Forestry

Entertainment/Tourism

Entertainment and Tourism:  The Asia-Pacific region has seen a strong rebound in tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), international visitor arrivals reached 647.9 million in 2024, representing a 91.9% recovery compared to 2019 levels. Under a medium-growth scenario, arrivals are projected to grow to 813.7 million by 2027. This recovery has been driven by improved connectivity through expanded airline routes and infrastructure upgrades, simplified visa processes such as China’s visa-free transit expansion and Thailand’s “Six Countries, One Destination” initiative, and digital transformation trends like mobile payments and social media-driven travel, which are fueling outbound travel from India and Southeast Asia. China is expected to reclaim its position as the leading inbound destination by 2027, with Japan, Türkiye, and Hong Kong SAR among the fastest-growing markets.

The United States registered a 6% drop in foreign visitors in 2025 even as global tourism overrode concerns about saturation in some locations to generate a 6.7% rise in spending compared to the previous year, according to an industry group.

More than 1.5 billion tourists spent $11.7 trillion on hotels, cruises, and flights last year, according to the data from the World Travel and Tourism Council. These figures underscore the sector’s resilience and its critical role in global economic recovery.

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Energy/Mining

Europe: The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 accelerated Europe’s transition away from Russian fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. By 2024, renewables accounted for 46.9% of EU electricity generation, up from 34% in 2019, while fossil fuels fell to a historic low of 29%. For the first time, wind and solar together surpassed fossil fuels, generating 30% of EU electricity in the first half of 2024 compared to 27% of coal and gas. Wind power grew by nearly 10%, and solar by 20%, supported by favorable conditions and capacity additions.

Hydropower also rebounded after years of drought, helping renewables exceed half of the EU’s power mix.

Fossil fuel generation dropped sharply, with coal output falling by 24% and gas by 14%, driving a 17% overall decline in fossil-based electricity. This structural shift reduced EU power sector emissions to less than half their 2007 peak and cut reliance on imported gas, saving billions in energy costs. Electricity demand, which had slumped during the energy crisis, rebounded slightly by 0.7% in 2024 but remains below pre-crisis levels.

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Defense/Security

Europe has increasingly had to raise its defense spending, as the future of NATO, which remained the cornerstone of transatlantic security, originally formed in 1949 as a collective defense alliance against Soviet aggression, is increasingly in doubt. After the Cold War, NATO adapted to new missions, including counterterrorism and crisis management. Following the 9/11 attacks, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time and deployed forces to Afghanistan. Today, NATO faces unprecedented challenges amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and growing global instability. At its 75th anniversary summit in Washington in July 2024, NATO welcomed Sweden as its newest member and reaffirmed its commitment to collective defense. NATO launched Steadfast Defender 24, its largest exercise in decades, to strengthen deterrence and readiness on its eastern flank. Defense spending among the 32 allies surged by 15.9% in 2025. Total NATO defense spending was $1.6 trillion in 2025.



Despite these efforts, NATO’s performance is under scrutiny. The alliance must balance urgent support for Ukraine with long-term modernization, while managing internal political divisions and addressing emerging threats from China and hybrid warfare. NATO has pledged continued assistance to Ukraine, including advanced air defense systems, long-range precision fires, and F-16 fighter jets, but production bottlenecks and political uncertainty in member states remain major obstacles. READ MORE

Financials/Investments

Foreign investment in China has sharply declined in recent years. After peaking at $344 billion in 2021, inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) fell to $114.8 billion in 2024, marking a 27% drop year-on-year and the lowest level in decades. This downturn reflects growing investor concerns over China’s restrictive business environment, regulatory unpredictability, and heightened state control over private enterprises. Beijing has attempted to reverse the trend by pledging further market opening and easing some rules, but foreign firms remain cautious due to capital controls, data security laws, and political risks. While China’s economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, structural challenges such as property sector stress and weak consumer demand persist, adding to investor uncertainty.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, continues to evolve. Initially criticized for creating “debt traps,” the BRI is now shifting toward smaller, greener, and less risky projects, emphasizing high-quality investment, project finance, and green energy initiatives. However, debt sustainability concerns remain acute: in 2025, 75 developing countries faced $22 billion in BRI-related repayments, raising fears of economic strain and sovereignty risks. Italy, the only G7 country to join the BRI in 2019, formally withdrew in December 2023, citing limited economic benefits and strategic realignment with the EU and the United States. Meanwhile, the U.S. and G7 partners are advancing the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) as a counterweight to BRI. PGII aims to mobilize $600 billion by 2027, with the U.S. committing over $60 billion to date and focusing on strategic corridors linking India, the Middle East, and Europe. READ MORE

 Healthcare/

 Pharmaceutical

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in healthcare systems worldwide, including those in Europe and Asia. Both regions have since accelerated reforms aimed at strengthening resilience, expanding coverage, and modernizing infrastructure to better prepare for future health crises.

In Europe,  most countries maintain universal healthcare systems, either fully tax-funded or through social insurance models. Nations such as Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Iceland provide comprehensive free healthcare, while others like Austria, France, and Germany operate two-tier systems combining public coverage with optional private insurance. Recent reforms across Europe focus on reducing barriers to access, improving affordability, and adapting to demographic shifts, particularly aging populations and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases.

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Manufacturing

Manufacturing (Europe vs. Asia-Pacific)

Europe: pressure persists, even as “green re‑industrialization” accelerates. Europe’s industrial cycle in 2025 has been choppy: Eurostat reported that EU industrial production fell sharply month‑on‑month in April 2025 (‑1.8% in the EU; ‑2.4% in the euro area), while still showing modest year‑on‑year gains versus April 2024 (+0.6% EU; +0.8% euro area). This pattern—volatile monthly swings with only mild annual improvements—fits the broader “stagnation with bursts” narrative for European manufacturing: some months rebound, but the underlying momentum remains fragile. UNIDO’s Q3 2025 manufacturing update similarly characterized Europe as “largely stagnating” while other regions posted clearer growth, highlighting that Europe has not yet regained a consistently expanding industrial footing.

Germany and France: divergent month-to-month moves; weak baseline in parts of the bloc: Germany and France—still pivotal to European supply chains—showed mixed 2025 signals. An EU-member comparison for August 2025 (calendar‑adjusted) reported Germany’s industrial production down 4.6% year‑on‑year and France up 0.5% year‑on‑year, while EU production overall was up 1.1% year‑on‑year (and down 1.0% month‑on‑month). Germany’s dynamics also reflect “front‑loading” behavior linked to tariff uncertainty: the Bundesbank noted that industrial output rose notably in March 2025, with anticipatory effects ahead of expected tariff changes, and that pharmaceuticals (a sector with high U.S. export exposure) contributed strongly. France, meanwhile, posted a sharp monthly rebound in June 2025: Insee reported manufacturing output up 3.5% month‑on‑month (and total industry +3.8%), with a particularly large swing in transport equipment—driven by aerospace catch‑up and easing supply constraints in parts of the chain.

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Property prices around the European Union have resumed growth after a period of correction. According to Eurostat, house prices in the EU rose by 5.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, following modest gains in 2024 after two quarters of decline in 2023. This recovery has been supported by easing inflation and interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England in mid-2024, which improved financing conditions for buyers and investors. Despite these positive signs, the market remains cautious due to lingering geopolitical risks and structural supply shortages in major cities.

London continues to rank among Europe’s top investment destinations, driven by regeneration projects and strong rental demand. Prime areas such as Battersea, King’s Cross, and Paddington are attracting global investors, with projected price growth of up to 13.9% over the next five years and rental yields averaging between 8.5% and 9.2% annually for buy-to-let properties. Germany remains Europe’s largest commercial real estate market, valued at nearly $2 trillion in 2024, despite price declines of 7.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024 due to high financing costs and economic uncertainty. Analysts expect stabilization as interest rates fall and ESG-driven retrofits boost demand for sustainable assets. READ MORE

The retail industry in Europe was one of the highest and most important industries, accounting for 11.5% of EU value added and employing nearly 30 million people. After severe disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, the sector has shown signs of recovery. Retail sales in the EU grew by 1.0% year-on-year in August 2024, with non-food products up 1.7%, although foot traffic in physical stores remains below pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the European retail market expanded by around 5% in 2024, led by retail parks and experiential shopping centers, while vacancy rates declined across most asset types, signaling resilience despite inflationary pressures.

E-commerce continues to reshape the retail landscape. Online sales accounted for 16% of total retail sales in Europe in 2024 and are projected to reach 21% by 2029, with annual growth of 7.8% across major markets such as the UK, Germany, and France. The UK leads in online penetration, where e-commerce represents 27% of retail sales, expected to rise to 32% by 2029. Germany and France follow with shares of 16% and 14%, respectively, highlighting the structural shift toward digital channels. The EU’s Single Market Strategy 2025 aims to reduce regulatory barriers, harmonize digital labeling, and tackle territorial supply constraints to strengthen competitiveness and support SMEs in adapting to omnichannel retail models.

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Europe’s technology sector in 2025 is best characterized as “maturing at scale while still capital-constrained at the growth stage.” Europe’s tech ecosystem was assessed at nearly US$4 trillion in value in 2025 and linked to roughly 15% of European GDP, reflecting the increasing macroeconomic footprint of listed and private technology firms across the region. Venture and growth financing also stabilized in 2025: European technology companies raised about €72 billion across more than 3,740 deals, with investment increasingly concentrated in fewer, larger rounds and in infrastructure-adjacent categories (data centers, connectivity, security, and semiconductors) alongside application-layer software. Policy tailwinds remain material: the EU’s State of the Digital Decade 2025 report identifies national measures worth €288.6 billion embedded in Member States’ digital roadmaps, while simultaneously stressing persistent gaps in advanced digital skills, stand‑alone 5G deployment, semiconductors, and strategic dependencies in cloud and cybersecurity.  READ MORE

The internet and mobile broadband have permanently transformed global communication, enabling near real-time connectivity across borders and reshaping how individuals, businesses, and governments interact. In 2025, almost three-quarters of the world’s population is online, yet 2.2 billion people remain offline—mostly in low- and middle-income economies—highlighting that the binding constraint is increasingly “quality of connectivity” (speed, reliability, affordability, and skills) rather than basic coverage alone. Mobile broadband coverage is described as nearly universal at the global level, but affordability and capability gaps persist, reinforcing the role of mobile networks as the primary gateway to digital services, financial inclusion, and public-service accesses especially where fixed infrastructure expansion is slower or capital-intensive. A precise global statistic for “smartphone ownership” that is consistently measured and comparable across countries using 2025+ sources remains incomplete; where such figures are cited in secondary compilations, they are often methodologically heterogeneous and should be treated as unverified for cross-country benchmarking.  READ MORE

Utilities such as electricity, heating, and water remain essential to the quality of life across Europe. Most EU citizens enjoy near-universal access to these services, supported by strong regulatory frameworks and infrastructure. Under EU law, households have the right to be connected to electricity networks, and vulnerable consumers cannot be disconnected even if they cannot pay their bills. However, rising energy prices during the recent energy crisis exposed affordability challenges, with monthly utility costs ranging from €115 in Helsinki to €370 in Munich, making Germany and the UK among the most expensive regions for basic utilities.

To strengthen resilience and sustainability, the EU is investing heavily in modernizing utility infrastructure. Programs under the European Green Deal and REPowerEU allocate billions toward electrification, renewable integration, and smart metering. By 2025, over 80% of EU households had smart electricity meters, enabling dynamic tariffs and energy savings of up to 10% per household. These initiatives aim to reduce energy poverty, improve efficiency, and support the transition to carbon neutrality by 2050.  READ MORE