-12.0242022–24 CAGR, %-2.0 -4.0 -6.0 -8.0 -10.00 2019–24 CAGR, %-8.0 -7.5 -7.0 -6.5 -6.0 -5.5 -5.0 -4.5 -4.0 -3.5 -3.0 -2.5 -2.0 -1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0Trade and capital Select metrics linked to global multilateralism1Peace and securityInnovation and technology Climate and natural capital Health and wellnessEvolution by pillar: 2022–24 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) compared to 2019–24 CAGRFIGURE 3 1. Average across official development assistance (ODA), development assistance for health (DAH), International Health Regulations (IHR) score, ratio of UN Security Council resolutions to conflicts, ratio of multilateral peacekeeping operations to conflicts. Source: Aggregation of 41 metrics, McKinsey & Company analysis. As multilateral approaches become more fraught, new, smaller and more agile coalitions – both at the inter- and intra-regional levels – are filling the gaps. In the case of trade, amid increased tensions among the world’s largest economies, smaller, trade-dependent economies are taking greater agency to safeguard the benefits of economic integration. The Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership, launched in September 2025 and co-convened by New Zealand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, brings together 14 economies to pilot practical cooperation. Even in the case of the most sensitive flows of technology and resources, aligned partners are deepening cooperation, such as the US reinforcing ties in critical minerals7 with countries including Australia, Canada and Japan; or artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation among India, the Gulf, Japan and Europe.8 On climate action, the European Union (EU) aims to combine competitiveness with decarbonization through the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Clean Industrial Deal, while implementing the Critical Raw Materials Act to shore up strategic inputs. At the intra-regional level in South-East Asia, the LTMS-PIP (Laos PDR–Thailand–Malaysia– Singapore Power Integration Project) cross-border power-trading scheme is an early step towards an integrated Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Power Grid – bolstering energy security and enabling more clean-power deployment.9 Similarly, on health, several emerging economies are strengthening regional bloc-level access to medicines. Notable 2025 moves include the launch of the African Medicines Agency in October and the Accra Compact on African health sovereignty, as well as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States scaling a model to reduce the price of insulin throughout the region.10 As a general rule, across all pillars, cooperation is highest where there are clear national interests – often economic – binding countries. This may reflect what UN Secretary-General António Guterres called “hard-headed pragmatism” – the notion that cooperation makes sense when doing so yields meaningful mutual benefit.11 Importantly, while the pressure on global multilateralism has increased, the story is not one of a system in full collapse. In May 2025, World Health Organization (WHO) member states adopted the world’s first Pandemic Agreement after three years of challenging negotiations. On digital cooperation, 65 UN Member States convened in Viet Nam in October 2025 for the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, which will facilitate cooperative approaches to combating cybercrime. On the environment, after two decades of negotiations, the UN High Seas Treaty has reached the required 60 ratifications and will enter into force in January 2026, unlocking the world’s first legally binding framework for protecting two-thirds of the oceans beyond national jurisdiction. While these instances offer an indication that cooperation at the global level has continued even in a more contested landscape, it is notable that the world’s largest economy, the US, is not party to the health and cyber agreements and did not participate in the G20 Summit in South Africa. Across all pillars, cooperation is highest where there are clear national interests – often economic – binding countries. The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 9