The world is now 8.6% circular.

“Build” countries have a low material footprint per capita. As a result, the impact of their economic activities often falls within the regenerative capacity of the planet. On the downside, however, they are struggling  to meet all basic needs, not least in relation to HDI indicators such as education and healthcare. Natural capital, rather than human capital, is their dominant source of wealth, which means that the focus is on extraction and sale of raw materials, while investment in education and skills is insufficient.

The good news is their potential: as “Build” countries are still building-up their basic infrastructure for public services, hospitals and transport, they have an opportunity to apply circular strategies such as modular, passive and flexible design. In construction they can also prioritise the use of regenerative resources in buildings and avoid, by design, the operational inefficiencies which characterise infrastructure in Shift countries.

The decentralised nature of the informal economy prevalent in Build countries also provides a platform on which to develop distributed professional services that allow welfare to grow, while providing decent health and safety conditions.

Most "Grow" countries have already experienced a degree of economic growth and industrialisation, broadly expected to continue due to a combination of rising standards of living and population increase. As a result, resource use in these countries is characterised by fast economic growth and associated material consumption, rapid stock build-up and an expanding industrial sector (also responding to demand from Shift countries). 
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In part, therefore, sustainable growth is about more efficient use of natural capital — investing earnings from the likes of minerals into infrastructure and education, thereby developing human capital. Such investment results in growth of total wealth. Designing new infrastructure, buildings and consumer goods in a circular manner, simultaneously considering both enhanced durability for lifetime optimisation and end-of-life scenarios, are key strategies for these countries to become more circular. 
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Alongside this, professionalising and improving the labour conditions in the informal parts of waste management in these countries also bears potential to reduce the environmental impact of both industrial and consumer waste.

"Shift" countries maintain the highest proportion of services as part of their GDP. Yet, their material consumption is 10 times greater than that of the Build countries. They also produce high volumes of waste, although what they process in-country themselves is usually managed relatively efficiently. With consumption levels exceeding several planetary boundaries, however, the true impact of Shift countries extends far beyond their national borders, with much of the environmental and social costs incurred elsewhere. 
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Ultimately, Shift countries need to stop passing the buck and take responsibility for these impacts, regardless of where they occur. To that end, they can start incentivising the dematerialisation of consumption by aligning their tax regimes with sustainability ambitions. 
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One other characteristic of Shift countries is their distinctive demographic: the population tends to be relatively small and ageing; although, when it comes to sustainability matters, most notably and recently climate, it is the younger generation that have adopted a clear position, taken to the streets and made a stand on the global stage. Their activism is an increasingly influential factor in social change.