When the ETS Human Progress Report launched in 2024, it set out to answer a deceptively simple question: how easy — or difficult — is it for people around the world to access education, build skills and move forward?

Three years later, the answer is no longer simple. But it is revealing.

Across 2024, 2025, and 2026, the data tells a story not of a single global trajectory, but of divergent national responses to the same pressures: rapid technological change, shifting job requirements, and growing demand for proof of skills. Some of the most surprising insights don’t come from who is “ahead” or “behind,” but from where expectations, confidence and momentum are emerging — and where they are stalling.

Here are the global signals that stand out most.

One of the most consistent — and counterintuitive — findings across all three years is this: countries experiencing the most disruption often express the strongest optimism about skills and learning.

Middle income countries such as Vietnam, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Indonesia and Brazil repeatedly report high confidence in the value of upskilling, strong belief in credentials and optimism about future opportunity — even as they face real constraints around access and affordability.

By contrast, several highincome economies show lower optimism, particularly around education systems and workforce readiness. Countries with longestablished institutions report more skepticism about whether learning systems are keeping pace with change.

The surprise isn’t that challenges differ — it’s that momentum does. Where opportunity feels competitive and fastmoving, people appear more willing to adapt. Where systems feel entrenched, confidence in change is harder to sustain.

Across three years, AI emerges as both a divider and an accelerant — but not in the way many expect.

In 2024, trust in AIenabled learning and assessment was already high globally. By 2025, interest in AI literacy credentials surged. By 2026, AI had become embedded in daily work, with workers in several middleincome countries reporting higher AI usage than peers in wealthier economies.

Countries such as Vietnam, India, Nigeria, Kenya and Indonesia consistently report:

• Higher experimentation with AI tools
• Stronger belief that AI will create new skills
• Greater demand for AI credentials and standards 

Meanwhile, workers in some highincome countries report lower AI usage and higher anxiety about falling behind.

The global insight is striking: AI readiness is not strictly a function of economic maturity. In many cases, countries building new workforce systems appear more willing — and better positioned — to integrate AI than those adapting legacy ones.

Across all three years, one pattern holds: the perceived value of credentials rises where upward mobility feels uncertain.

In countries where income inequality is high or job pathways are less predictable, people consistently report that certifications, licenses and skills credentials improve their chances of advancement. Credentials are not viewed as “nice to have,” but as essential proof in crowded or unstable labor markets.

What’s notable is how this evolves:

• In 2024, credentials were seen as important signals.
• In 2025, they became evidential currency.
• In 2026, they function as infrastructure — helping people navigate disruption, job changes and AIdriven shifts. 

The surprise isn’t that credentials matter globally. It’s how tightly they are linked to confidence and agency in specific national contexts.

Over three years, the Human Progress Index shows steady improvement in access to education and upskilling in many countries. Yet trust in education systems — especially K–12 — lags behind.

Countries across regions report growing concern that education systems:

• Don’t measure what students can actually do
• Fail to provide visibility into skills
• Are slow to respond to workforce change

This concern is especially pronounced in countries experiencing rapid economic growth. There, people place enormous importance on education — but are often dissatisfied with how learning is assessed and connected to opportunity.

The global signal is clear: access alone is no longer enough. People want measurement, transparency, and relevance — regardless of geography.

By 2026, adaptability emerges as the defining skill — not just for individuals, but for systems.

Countries where workers report:

• frequent workplace disruption
• high rates of reskilling
• strong belief in credentials

also tend to show stronger confidence in future opportunity, even amid uncertainty.

This cuts across income levels and regions. Adaptability is not about stability; it’s about how people respond when stability is gone.

The most surprising insight from three years of data may be this: countries that normalize change — rather than resist it — appear better positioned for longterm progress, even when shortterm conditions are difficult.

Taken together, three years of countrylevel data challenge several assumptions:

• Economic maturity does not guarantee readiness.
• Optimism often emerges where competition is fiercest.
• AI adoption is shaped as much by mindset as by infrastructure.
• Credentials function differently depending on national context — but matter everywhere.
• Education systems are being judged less on access and more on relevance.

Human progress is continuing, but unevenly. The next phase will not be defined by who has the strongest institutions today — but by who can adapt them fastest.

Across countries, cultures and economies, one message is consistent: the future belongs to systems that make skills visible, credentials trusted and opportunity navigable in a world that won’t slow down.

For a deeper look at human progress worldwide, download the full 2026 ETS Human Progress Report.