2025 Public Sector Perspectives

Welcome to Citi Perspectives for the Public Sector T he past year marked a historic period of change, with voters inmore than 60 countries – home to over half of the world’s population – casting their ballots. 1 It was a challenging year for sitting governments: over 80% of incumbent parties experienced a decline in either seats or vote share compared to the previous election. 2 Faced with rising prices, divisions over cultural issues, and frustration with the political status quo, voters inmany countries expressed their discontent. As we head into 2025, many governments continue to grapple with these challenges. Fiscal spending is under pressure, high debt-to-GDP ratios limit flexibility, and they must navigate a more complex global geopolitical and economic landscape. These obstacles are widening the gap toward achieving sustainable development goals. Innovative, creative solutions will be crucial to addressing them. Fortunately, public sector entities, ranging from governments and state-owned enterprises to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multilateral organizations, prove themselves day after day to be hugely resilient and adaptable. The public sector is often farsighted in spotting and facilitating opportunities for citizens, companies, and countries themselves, and is open-minded to enlisting the support of the private sector. 1 https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/12/11/global-elections-in-2024-what-we-learned-in-a-year-of-political-disruption/ 2 h ttps://abcnews.go.com/538/democrats-incumbent-parties-lost-elections-world/story?id=115972068