There are approximately 38 million Indigenous peoples across 12 OECD countries

Indigenous peoples are defined by the United Nations as those who inhabited a country prior to colonisation, and who self-identify as such due to descent from these peoples, and belonging to social, cultural or political institutions that govern them. They have unique assets and knowledge that address global challenges such as environmental sustainability and that contribute to stronger regional and national economies.  

 Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals for Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples represent about 5% of the world’s population, but they comprise 15% of the world’s extreme poor and one-third of the rural poor (UN). These gaps are larger in rural and remote areas. For example, gaps in the employment rate between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples living in urban regions is on average 8.4 percentage points across a sample of OECD member countries (Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States) whereas it is 20.2 percentage points in rural regions.

Economic development gives Indigenous peoples the opportunity to break dependency relationships, use assets that align with their objectives for development and support self-determination. Activating these opportunities depends on four interconnected elements:  i) good data; ii) enabling policies for entrepreneurship and small business; iii) instruments to mobilise land for development, and; iv) effective and inclusive governance.

• Project Kick-off Workshop Proceedings, Wendake Quebec, 2017
• Proceedings, Policy Workshop "Indigenous economic development in the European Arctic" . 5 June 2018, Brussels
• Project discussion paper
• Link to project flyer
• Linking the Indigenous Sami People with Regional Development in Sweden (2019) Link to Policy highlights
• Indigenous community capacity and multi-level governance
• Promoting Indigenous community economic development, entrepreneurship and SMEs in a rural context
• Making land management work for Indigenous economic development
• Indigenous economic development and well-being in a place-based context

Launch of the study Linking the Indigenous Sami People with Regional Development in Sweden Luleå, March 27, 2019.

• Indigenous Affairs, Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
• National Planning Department, Colombia
• Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, Sweden
• Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions