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The calculation
0.5%

of global company revenues – every year from 2027 to 2050 – could close the funding gap to structurally end hunger, poverty, climate change and forced migration.

This is not a dream, but reality – here is the calculation, step by step, with all assumptions and sources.

Step 1

The funding gap

How much money is missing each year to reach the central UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? We have combined the estimates of leading international institutions for eight goals.

4,406 bn USDfunding gap per year
SDG 1: No poverty325
SDG 2: Zero hunger300
SDG 3: Good health and well-being371
SDG 4: Quality education148
SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation680
SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy1,164
SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure418
SDG 13: Climate action1,000

Annual funding gap in billion USD, target year 2030.

Show sources
  • SDG 1: No poverty – UNU-WIDER (2024); UC Berkeley CEGA (2026); ILO (2020)
  • SDG 2: Zero hunger – PLOS review (2022); FAO/IFAD/WFP (2015); World Bank/IFPRI/FOLU (2021)
  • SDG 3: Good health and well-being – WHO/Stenberg (2017); PLOS review (2022)
  • SDG 4: Quality education – UNESCO GEM Report; UNESCO (2023); UNESCO (2020)
  • SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation – IWA Water Policy (2025); UNCTAD SDG Pulse/Monitor; World Bank (2026)
  • SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy – UNCTAD World Investment Report 2023; UN Women Gender Snapshot 2025
  • SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure – UNCTAD; IMF via UNCTAD costing
  • SDG 13: Climate action – UNEP (2022); CPI/Songwe-Stern; IHLEG (2024)
Step 2

The lever: company revenues

By 2050, we can reach the SDG goals shown above – with a small share of global company revenues:

Required share of global company revenues, 2027–2050

0.50%0.55%0.60%2027203020352040204520502027: 0.58%2028: 0.58%2029: 0.57%2030: 0.57%2031: 0.57%2032: 0.57%2033: 0.56%2034: 0.56%2035: 0.56%2036: 0.56%2037: 0.55%2038: 0.55%2039: 0.55%2040: 0.54%2041: 0.54%2042: 0.54%2043: 0.54%2044: 0.53%2045: 0.53%2046: 0.53%2047: 0.53%2048: 0.52%2049: 0.52%2050: 0.52%0.58% in 20270.52% in 2050

The required share falls over time because company revenues grow faster than the funding need.

Show assumptions and sources
AssumptionValueSource
World GDP 2025 (nominal)118,180 bn USDIMF, World Economic Outlook
Company revenues as a multiple of GDP1.74 ×U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – gross output vs. GDP (Q3 2024)
Real economic growth p.a.2.5%OECD long-run scenarios 2025; World Bank
Inflation p.a.3.0%Central bank targets and IMF forecasts
Real increase of the funding need p.a.2.0%Own assumption
Time horizon2027–2050 (24 years)Own assumption – reaching all goals by 2030 is not realistic
The result
0.5%

of global company revenues – every year from 2027 to 2050 – could close the funding gap to structurally end hunger, poverty, climate change and forced migration.

Company 4 Humanity acts today: 5% of our revenue flows into self-sustaining development projects.

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Calculation: Company 4 Humanity, development finance model 2026.