What are the most pressing issues in the world today? What will demand the most attention in the next 5, 10 and 20+ years? In this article, we explore 20 current global issues we must address, from climate change, poverty and displacement to artificial intelligence, disinformation and declining democratic freedoms.
While this list is not exhaustive, it offers a starting point for understanding the challenges shaping our shared future – and why addressing them requires urgent action right now.
#1. Poverty
In June 2025, the World Bank updated the International Poverty Line from $2.15 to $3.00. This means anyone living on less than $3.00 a day is in “extreme poverty.” Why the change? The revision was not simply an adjustment for inflation. It incorporated updated international price comparisons and improved measurements of the cost of meeting basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter in low-income countries. As for the World Bank’s goal to reduce extreme poverty to 3% or less by 2030, the pandemic has made it even harder. Extreme poverty isn’t the only poverty we have to contend with. Nearly half of the global population lives on less than $8.30 per day. While there’s been progress over the years, the end of poverty is still far off.
Do you want to pursue a career in human rights?
Our eBook "Launching Your Career in Human Rights" is an in-depth resource designed for those committed to pursuing a career in the human rights field. It covers a wide range of topics, including the types of careers available, the necessary skills and competencies, and the educational pathways that can lead to success in this sector. Whether you're considering a master's degree, looking for your first job, or exploring specific human rights issues, this guide offers valuable insights and practical advice. It's a helpful tool for anyone looking to understand the complexities of working in human rights and how to effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with this important work. Learn more.HRC Insights
Human rights data
#2. Climate change
The IPCC is currently preparing its Seventh Assessment Report, which is expected to be completed by 2029. In the meantime, the latest comprehensive scientific assessment remains the Sixth Assessment Report. In its summary for policy-makers, the report’s authors outlined a series of near-term, mid-term, and long-term risks. If global warming reaches 1.5°C in the near term (2021-2040), it would cause “unavoidable increases in multiple climate hazards,” as well as “multiple risks to ecosystems and humans.” In the long term, climate change will present major health issues, premature deaths, risks to cities and settlements, and other dangers. Mitigation is desperately needed – and fast. Because of climate change’s connection to other issues on this list, it’s one of the most serious challenges facing humanity.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#3. Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence affects our rights in many ways, from privacy, surveillance and discrimination to education, employment and access to public services. One of its most significant impacts concerns freedom of expression under Article 19 of the UDHR and ICCPR, and especially the right to seek, receive and share information. As AI systems increasingly select, summarize, withhold and present information, they gain unprecedented power to shape public understanding, drive polarization and control the narratives that affect all our lives. Google handles more than 5 trillion searches annually and its AI summaries reach more than 2.5 billion users each month. Against this scale, Pew Research Center found that AI summaries almost halved the rate at which users clicked through to other websites. This means that instead of consulting millions of independent sources, more people receive information through a single AI-generated answer controlled and presented by one company.
#4. Aid cuts
The global humanitarian system depends heavily on funding from a small number of wealthy governments. When one withdraws, the effects spread across UN agencies, international NGOs, local organizations, health systems and emergency responses. USAID is the clearest example: in 2025, the US government dismantled the agency and terminated 83% of its awards. According to the OECD, international aid fell by 23.1% in 2025 – the largest annual decline on record – with Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and France accounting for 96% of the reduction. Aid is projected to fall again in 2026, while humanitarian assistance could decline by around 40% between 2024 and 2026. The consequences are measured in lives. A study published in The Lancet estimated that the dismantling of USAID-supported programmes alone could cause 14.1 million additional deaths by 2030, including more than 4.5 million children under five. As programmes close and experienced staff and infrastructure disappear, rebuilding through other donors is incredibly difficult.
#5. Gender equality
Global gender equality has gradually improved over the years, but data from the 2025 Global Gender Report shows that the end of the global gender gap is still 123 years away. The pandemic temporarily reversed positive trends and hit women harder financially. According to Oxfam, women experienced a 5% decline in employment in 2020, compared with 3.9% for men. This meant that women lost at least $800 billion in income that year. Even this is a conservative estimate because it does not include wages lost by millions of women working in the informal economy. Gender inequalities remain widespread: in 2025, 9.2% of women and girls were living in extreme poverty, compared with 8.6% of men and boys. Women and girls also face widespread gender-based violence and are disproportionately affected by climate change.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#6. Children’s rights
Children are a very vulnerable group. In 2024, around 4.9 million children under five died from mostly preventable and treatable causes. 2.3 million were newborns under 28 days old. Leading causes include preterm birth complications, pneumonia, and malaria. According to UNICEF, the climate crisis also represents a severe threat to children. Its Children’s Climate Risk Index estimates that around 1 billion children live in “extremely high-risk countries” facing severe climate and environmental hazards. Around 920 million children are highly exposed to water scarcity, while 600 million are highly exposed to vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. Child labor also remains an issue. In 2024, approximately 137.6 million children were engaged in child labour, equivalent to 7.8% of children globally, or almost 1 in 13. Around 54 million were engaged in hazardous work. As is often the case, the other issues on this list – climate change, poverty, gender equality, etc – factor into children’s rights.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#7. Food and water insecurity
According to the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises, 266 million people across 47 countries and territories experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025 – almost 23% of the population analyzed. Acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, while the number of people facing catastrophic hunger is nine times higher than in 2016. For the first time in the report’s history, famine was confirmed in two separate contexts during the same year: Gaza and parts of Sudan. Conflict remains the main driver, compounded by climate shocks, displacement and economic pressures. Although the reported total is lower than in 2024, this largely reflects missing data from 18 countries and territories rather than a genuine improvement. Water insecurity is similarly widespread. According to the latest WHO/UNICEF estimates, 2.1 billion people – one in four globally – lacked safely managed drinking water in 2024, including 106 million who relied directly on untreated surface water.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#8. Refugee rights
According to UNHCR, the war in Ukraine sparked the fastest-growing and largest displacement crisis in Europe since World War II. At the end of 2025, 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees were living abroad. UNHCR’s weekly Refugee Brief compiles important stories about refugees and forced displacement. Recent developments highlight the continuing scale of crises in countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Myanmar. At the end of 2025, an estimated 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide, including 41.6 million refugees and 68.7 million people displaced within their own countries by conflict or violence. Around 45 million displaced people, or 38%, were children. Displacement places already marginalized groups – particularly women and children – at greater risk of trafficking, exploitation, violence and death.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#9. Pandemics
COVID-19 showed how quickly a local outbreak can become a global crisis. The WHO estimated that the pandemic was directly or indirectly associated with 14.9 million excess deaths in 2020 and 2021, while the IMF projected cumulative global output losses of nearly $13.8 trillion through 2024, relative to pre-pandemic forecasts. COVID-19 taught the world the importance of preparedness. During a 2022 Harvard lecture, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, outlined the lessons the world should take to heart. The first: science has to guide policy. The politicization of the pandemic led to unnecessary harm and cost lives. Another lesson is that science must be paired with equity or it can make inequalities worse. This became clear when low-income countries struggled to obtain vaccines while wealthier countries secured much of the available supply. More resilient health systems are also a must, as are more coherent global plans for responding to future pandemics. In May 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement to strengthen global prevention, preparedness and response, although negotiations on its pathogen access and benefit-sharing system are continuing. The world must also invest in research on infectious and zoonotic diseases, the effectiveness of outbreak responses and other emerging health threats.
#10. Healthcare
The healthcare industry has experienced major shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the World Economic Forum, the pandemic triggered new investment and innovation, particularly in technology, digital health and telehealth. In 2021, $44 billion was raised globally for health innovation – twice as much as in 2020. These changes have continued, with AI, remote monitoring and virtual care increasingly reshaping healthcare, although equitable access remains a major issue. According to the 2025 WHO-World Bank Global Monitoring Report, the global Universal Health Coverage Index increased from 54 out of 100 in 2000 to 71 in 2023. However, progress since 2015 has slowed considerably: 4.6 billion people still lacked access to essential health services in 2023, while 2.1 billion experienced financial hardship because of out-of-pocket healthcare costs in 2022. In places such as the United States, the pandemic also exposed serious weaknesses and inequalities within healthcare systems. In a 2021 MIT News article, Andrea Campbell, a professor of political science, said the pandemic revealed a “dire need” to invest in public-health infrastructure, expand healthcare access and increase insurance coverage. She also emphasized the need to address structural racism and the broader social and economic conditions that contribute to poor health.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#11. Mental health
Globally, around 1.1 billion people – nearly one in seven – were living with a mental disorder in 2021. COVID-19 intensified the crisis, with anxiety and depression increasing by an estimated 25% during the pandemic’s first year, but inadequate access to care is a much broader and continuing problem. According to the WHO, governments spend a median of just 2% of their health budgets on mental health, while fewer than 10% of countries have fully transitioned to community-based care. Suicide is one of the gravest issues connected to mental health, although its causes are complex. An estimated 727,000 people died by suicide in 2021, equivalent to an age-standardized suicide mortality rate of 8.9 deaths per 100,000 people. Although the global rate fell by 35% between 2000 and 2021, progress remains far too slow to meet the UN target for 2030. Expanding accessible, rights-based mental health and suicide-prevention services is therefore essential. It also makes economic sense: anxiety and depression cost the global economy around $1 trillion annually.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#12. Disability rights
According to the WHO, an estimated 1.3 billion people – 16% of the global population – experience a significant disability. Access to healthcare remains deeply unequal. The UN Disability and Development Report 2024 found that in various developing countries, more than half of persons with disabilities cannot obtain healthcare because they cannot afford it. Some also die up to 20 years earlier than people without disabilities. Persons with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty and face barriers to education and employment. Globally, only 27% of working-age persons with disabilities are employed, compared with 56% of those without disabilities. Human Rights Watch has also documented abuses including exclusion from education, institutionalization, violence and shackling. Although disability rights have gained greater recognition, progress remains inadequate: in 2025, the UN warned that nearly all disability-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators were off track. The world still has a long way to go to ensure equal rights, accessibility and inclusion.
#13. LGBTQ+ rights
Members of the LGBTQ+ community face discrimination in many forms. According to Amnesty International, discrimination can target sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. The situation remains especially severe in countries where LGBTQ+ identities are criminalized. In June 2026, ILGA World reported that 65 UN member states still criminalized consensual same-sex sexual acts, while seven prescribed the death penalty. At least 63 also restricted freedom of expression related to sexual and gender diversity. Even in countries with established legal protections, such as the United States, people continue to face violence and discrimination. As of July 2026, the ACLU was tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in US state legislatures. These included restrictions affecting education, healthcare, identity documents, public spaces and participation in sports, with many specifically targeting transgender people and young people. Considering the United States’ influence in the world, these attacks on LGBTQ+ rights could encourage similar restrictions elsewhere and must be addressed.
#14. Reproductive justice
Reproductive justice – which encompasses more than just abortion rights – is threatened by restrictive legislation, lack of funding, lack of education and unequal access to healthcare. It includes the ability to decide whether and when to have children and to access contraception, maternal care, abortion services and accurate information. Wealth remains a major determinant of whether a person can exercise these rights. According to UNFPA, an estimated 259 million women who want to avoid pregnancy cannot use safe and effective modern contraception. The WHO estimates that around 73 million induced abortions occur annually and about 45% are unsafe. Access is better in some places than others, but even countries with established protections, such as the United States, have experienced major shifts. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion. By June 2026, 20 states had imposed total bans or severe restrictions, and nearly 63 million women and girls lived in states with abortion bans. These restrictions affect people with low incomes most severely and could influence reproductive-rights debates in other countries.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#15. Cybersecurity
The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 describes cybersecurity risks as accelerating because of rapid AI adoption, geopolitical instability, complex supply chains and unequal levels of preparedness. As governments, businesses and individuals become more dependent on digital systems, they also become more exposed to cyberattacks. According to the report, 87% of respondents identified AI-related vulnerabilities as the fastest-growing cyber risk during 2025. Cyber-enabled fraud has also become widespread: 73% of respondents said they or someone they knew had been directly affected during the year. Other major concerns include phishing, ransomware, data leaks and attacks on supply chains and critical infrastructure. Easier access to advanced attack tools, poor governance and shortages of funding and cybersecurity skills make the problem harder to address. Cyberattacks can disrupt essential services, cause serious financial losses, expose personal data and erode public trust. As countries become increasingly dependent on digitalization, their cybersecurity and ability to recover from attacks must keep up.
#16. Disinformation
Rapid digitalization comes with many issues, including the lightning-fast spread of disinformation. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 ranks misinformation and disinformation as the second-most severe global risk over the next two years. It also appears among the ten greatest risks in 67 countries. Deepfakes and other forms of AI-generated content can imitate real people and events, potentially influencing elections, conflicts and other political outcomes. Disinformation does not need to be sophisticated to be successful, however. Misleading social-media posts, edited videos, recycled images and coordinated networks can still reach large audiences. A UNESCO-UNDP brief notes that 56.8% of the global population uses social media and around 4 billion people are eligible to vote, giving digital platforms and their algorithms enormous influence over the information people encounter. Disinformation can increase vaccine hesitancy, fuel political radicalization, intensify social divisions and undermine trust in elections, journalism and public institutions. Because false content can spread across borders faster than corrections and fact-checking, it is a global issue that must be addressed while protecting freedom of expression.
#17. Freedom of the press
According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders, global press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in the Index’s 25-year history. For the first time, more than half of the 180 countries and territories assessed are classified as having a “difficult” or “very serious” press-freedom situation. Scores declined in 100 of the 180 countries, while China ranked 178th, India 157th and Russia 172nd. The United States fell seven places to 64th. Journalists and news organizations face threats including violence, imprisonment, restrictive national-security laws, abusive lawsuits, lack of funding and coordinated online attacks and harassment. A free and independent press is essential to a functioning democracy because it exposes abuses, holds powerful institutions accountable and gives the public access to reliable information. Without press freedom, all human rights are at greater risk.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#18. Corruption
Corruption encompasses a host of actions, including bribery, election manipulation, fraud, embezzlement and state capture. The World Bank describes corruption as a major obstacle to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. It harms poor and marginalized populations most by increasing costs and reducing access to healthcare, education, social protection and justice. Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked 180 countries and territories by perceived levels of public-sector corruption on a scale from 0, meaning highly corrupt, to 100, meaning very clean. The global average remained at just 43, while more than two-thirds of countries scored below 50. Almost 6.8 billion people – around 85% of the world’s population – lived in those countries. Denmark scored highest with 90, while South Sudan scored lowest with 8. Since 2012, only 32 countries have significantly improved, while 148 have stagnated or worsened. When it comes to addressing poverty, climate change, healthcare and gender equality, corruption diverts public funds, distorts government contracts, weakens regulation and allows powerful interests to control decisions. Because corruption crosses borders, global solutions are necessary. Independent courts and oversight bodies, transparent public procurement and political financing, whistleblower and journalist protections, open data and international cooperation to trace and recover stolen assets can all help.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#19. Authoritarianism
According to Freedom House, global democracy and freedom continue to erode, including in countries with long-established democratic institutions. Its Freedom in the World 2025 report found that global freedom declined for the 19th consecutive year in 2024. Sixty countries experienced deterioration in political rights and civil liberties, while only 34 improved. These declines affected more than 40% of the global population. Only 20% of the world’s population lived in countries rated Free, while 40% lived in countries rated Not Free. Freedom House’s 2025 Freedom Score combines political rights and civil liberties on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing greater freedom. The United States scored 84 and remained Free, while China scored 9 and Russia scored 12, both Not Free. Authoritarianism grows when leaders manipulate elections, weaken courts and the media, restrict civil society and eliminate checks on their power. What can be done? Governments and citizens must protect democratic institutions, defend free elections and independent journalism, support human rights defenders and hold authoritarian leaders accountable. Reversing this decline requires a bold and sustained commitment to democracy at home and abroad.
HRC Insights
Human rights data
#20. Global cooperation
Addressing the issues in this article is not an easy task. True progress is possible only through global cooperation, a fact woven throughout the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026. Half of the experts surveyed expected the world to be turbulent or stormy over the next two years, rising to 57% over the next decade. Geoeconomic confrontation was ranked as the greatest immediate global risk for 2026, reflecting growing competition and fragmentation between countries. Yet everything from addressing climate change and cybersecurity threats to responding to pandemics and humanitarian emergencies depends on strong international cooperation. This means sharing information and scientific knowledge, respecting international law, funding multilateral institutions and coordinating action across borders. As the report’s preface states, “cooperation is indispensable for global risk management.” However, armed conflict, economic protectionism, geopolitical rivalry, inequality and declining trust are making cooperation increasingly difficult. The gap between how urgently countries need to work together and their willingness or ability to do so makes global cooperation one of the most serious issues of the day.
Want to help address these global issues?
If you want to help address any of the issues explored in this article, your career can be one place to start. Human Rights Careers connects current and aspiring professionals with the knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to contribute. You can explore current human rights jobs and opportunities, compare master’s programmes and online courses, or develop practical career skills through the Human Rights Careers Academy. Whether you are entering the field, changing direction or advancing your career, these resources can help you identify where you can make a meaningful contribution.