The SDG Index and Dashboards provides an annual assessment of SDG progress in all 193 UN member states. It builds on a peer-reviewed, statistically audited, and transparent methodology (Schmidt-Traub et al. 2017; Lafortune et al. 2018; Papadimitriou, Neves, and Becker 2019). The methods summary provides additional information about the underlying data sources and the main changes from previous editions. This year’s SDG Index incorporates 125 indicators, including 98 global indicators and 27 additional indicators used for the OECD countries’ dashboards. While all UN member states have a country profile, only those with less than 20 percent of missing data have an SDG Index score and rank. This is to ensure the comparability of the results and minimize missing data bias. This year, 167 countries are ranked in the SDG Index, including for the first time Guinea-Bissau. We also include average results and country profiles for the BRICS (Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa) and the BRICS+ countries for the first time, incorporating countries that were invited to become part of the BRICs in 2023 (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). The full database and methodological papers, as well as regional and local editions of the SDG Index and Dashboards, are available on the SDG Transformation Center website.

Overall, at the global level, SDG progress has stalled since 2020 (Figure 2.1). Global SDG progress was already too slow even before the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises hit. Based on the rate of progress since the SDGs were adopted by the international community in 2015, none of the 17 SDGs will be achieved by 2030 (Figure 2.2). The spread in SDG performance across countries remains wide, with scores ranging from 80+ in top performing countries to below 50 in countries where SDG implementation remains particularly challenging. At the global level, SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) are particularly off track, with major SDG challenges (as indicated by red on the dashboards) and no or very limited progress since 2015. SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) is the only goal that none of the 193 UN member states has achieved or is on track to achieve, due to undernourishment, obesity, unsustainable agriculture and/or unsustainable diets (or a combination of these). Part 4 discusses integrated pathways and scenarios for sustainable food and land-use systems.

Note: The dots represent individual country scores. Precise values by country are available in the SDG Index database.The world and regional averages are population weighted. Countries that are OECD member states are only included in the OECD regional average, they are not included in other regional groupings. Oceania does not include Australia nor New Zealand.

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

The poorest and most vulnerable countries, including the Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), are not catching up with the world average SDG Index score. Prior to the pandemic, SDG progress was too slow globally, but there was some convergence taking place, with poorer countries progressing faster on the SDG Index between 2015 and 2019 (+1.6 points) than rich countries (+0.7 points) (Figure 2.3). Since 2020, the SDG Index score of rich countries has slightly improved (+0.3 points), while that of the poorest countries has stagnated (+0.1 points), with the result that the average score of the poorest countries for 2023 is only 51, compared with 77.6 for the rich countries. The gap between the world average SDG Index score and that of poor countries and SIDS is larger in 2023 than it was in 2015 (Figure 2.4). Poor countries and countries with structural vulnerabilities may be particularly affected by the multiple and simultaneous crises, and by the effects of climate change (Massa et al. 2023). The socio-economic consequences of these crises might be exacerbated by having only limited access to international financing, including international capital markets (see Part 1). In contrast, the average SDG progress in BRICS and BRICS+ countries since 2015 has been faster than the world average.

Source: Authors

Note: Positive values mean that average scores are above the world average, negative values mean that average scores are below the world average.

Source: Authors

As in previous editions, European countries, particularly the Nordic countries, top the 2024 SDG Index. Finland ranks first, followed by Sweden and Denmark. Interestingly, Finland also ranks first on the World Happiness Report (Helliwell et al., 2024). However, even these countries face significant challenges in achieving several SDGs, especially SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), partly driven by unsustainable consumption patterns and negative international spillover effects. Countries at the bottom of the SDG Index ranking tend to be impacted by military conflicts, security issues, and political or socio-economic instability. Yemen, Somalia, Chad, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan rank at the bottom of this year’s SDG Index.

Note: * The data for Ukraine correspond to the situation prior to February 2022, as many data points have not been updated since then.

Source: Authors

Based on the SDG Index, we estimate that only about 16% of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved. The remaining 84% either show limited progress (insufficient to achieve the target by 2030) or even a reversal of progress. The majority of the targets that are particularly off-track are related to food systems, biodiversity, sustainable land use, or peace and strong institutions. Globally, the five SDG targets on which the highest proportion of countries show a reversal in progress since 2015 are obesity rate (under SDG 2), press freedom (under SDG 16), the red list index (under SDG 15), sustainable nitrogen management (under SDG 2) and life expectancy at birth (under SDG 3). According to Reporters Without Borders, press freedom has declined in many parts of the world since the adoption of the SDGs, and in particular since 2022. In contrast, targets related to basic access to services and infrastructure tend to show more positive trends, including: mobile broadband use (under SDG 9), internet use (under SDG 9), access to electricity (under SDG 7) and under-five mortality (under SDG 3). Most countries are also making progress on the statistical performance index (under SDG 17).

The SDGs are a global responsibility. As such, the domestic implementation of the SDGs should not compromise other countries’ ability to achieve them (Schmidt-Traub, Hoff, and Bernlöhr 2019). Via unsustainable consumption, the export of toxic waste, illicit trade, unfair tax competition, tax havens and, more generally, poor implementation of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), including support to UN-based multilateralism, countries can generate negative international spillovers, which are incorporated in the SDG Index but also compiled separately as part of the ‘International Spillover Index’. Positive spillovers are also considered, such as the provision of Official Development Assistance (ODA). This year’s edition includes 16 spillover indicators, one of which is a new indicator measuring countries’ support for UN-based multilateralism. Further details on our conceptual framework and policy and data work on international spillovers have been presented in previous editions and are available on the SDG Transformation Center website.

Overall, rich countries tend to generate larger negative international spillovers, driven principally by trade-related spillovers such as unsustainable consumption, which fuels deforestation and other negative environmental and social impacts in the rest of the world. Several studies by the SDSN and partners discuss in detail policy and data priorities towards curbing negative consumption-based spillovers (Schmidt-Traub, Hoff, and Bernlöhr 2019; Malik et al. 2021; 2022; University of Tokyo, Systemiq, and SDSN 2023; Ishii et al. 2024; Fuller and Bermont-Diaz 2024). Many rich countries also perform poorly on indicators related to unfair tax competition, tax havens, and the profit shifting of multinationals, and on the new index of support for UN-based multilateralism (discussed in Part 3). Some rich countries are also among the largest exporters of major conventional weapons. Finally, only five of the 31 OECD/DAC member states have met their ODA targets, with most countries falling well short of the 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) target. To address international spillovers – particularly trade-related spillovers – global partnerships and UN-based multilateralism are critical, including to establish ambitious norms and standards for a more sustainable trade system that works for people and the planet (Remaking trade for a Sustainable Future 2023).

Note: Included under SDG 16 (Peace Justice and Strong Institutions)

Source: Authors’ elaboration, based on Reporters Without Borders

Note: More details about the indicators used to compile the International Spillover Index are accessible in the methods' summary. Averages are population-weighted.

Source: Authors

Note: Excluding OECD specific indicators. Population-weighted averages.

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Note: *The data for Ukraine correspond to the situation prior to February 2022, as many data points have not been updated since then.

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Source: Authors

Fuller, Grayson, and Leslie Bermont-Diaz. 2024. International Spillover Effect and Germany: An Analysis of Germany’s Performance on Spillovers and the Policy Options to Manage Them. SDSN and GIZ. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17990.89922

Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., De Neve, J.-E., Aknin, L. B., & Wang, S. (Eds.). 2024. World Happiness Report 2024. University of Oxford: Wellbeing Research Centre.

Ishii, Naoko, Guillaume Lafortune, Daniel C. Esty, Etienne Berthet, Grayson Fuller, Akiyuki Kawasaki, Leslie Bermont-Diaz, and Sara Allali. 2024. Global Commons Stewardship Index 2024. SDSN, Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, and the Center for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo. Paris; New Haven, CT; and Tokyo.

Lafortune, Guillaume, Grayson Fuller, Jorge Moreno, Guido Schmidt-Traub, and Christian Kroll. 2018. SDG Index and Dashboards. Detailed Methodological Paper. Paris: Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sdsna/2018GlobalIndex/master/2018GlobalIndexMethodology.pdf.https://deploy-preview-222--sdr-data-viz.netlify.app/

Malik, Arunima, Guillaume Lafortune, Sarah Carter, Mengyu Li, Manfred Lenzen, and Christian Kroll. 2021. International Spillover Effects in the EU’s Textile Supply Chains: A Global SDG Assessment. Journal of Environmental Management 295 (October):113037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113037.

Malik, Arunima, Guillaume Lafortune, Camille J Mora, Sarah Carter, and Manfred Lenzen. 2022. International Spillovers Embodied in the Eu’s Supply Chains: Tracking forced labour, accidents at work and climate impacts in the EU’s consumption of fossil and mineral raw materials. Case Study. GIZ, SDSN and University of Sydney.

Massa, Isabella, Simona Marinescu, Grayson Fuller, Leslie Bermont-Diaz, and Guillaume Lafortune. 2023. Sustainable Development Report for SIDS 2023: Addressing Structural Vulnerability and Financing the SDGs in Small Island Developing States. UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. https://sdgtransformationcenter.org/reports/sustainable-development-report-for-small-island-developing-states-2023.

Papadimitriou, Eleni, Ana Fragoso Neves, and William Becker. 2019. JRC Statistical Audit of the Sustainable Development Goals Index and Dashboards. European Commission, Joint Research Centre. https://dx.doi.org/10.2760/723763, JRC116857.

Remaking trade for a Sustainable Future. 2023. Villars framework for a sustainable global trade system. Remaking Trade Project.

Schmidt-Traub, Guido, Holger Hoff, and Maren Bernlöhr. 2019. International Spillovers and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): International Spillovers and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Measuring How a Country’s Progress Towards the SDGs is Affected by Actions in other Countries. SDSN Policy Brief. Paris: Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Schmidt-Traub, Guido, Christian Kroll, Katerina Teksoz, David Durand-Delacre, and Jeffrey D. Sachs. 2017. National baselines for the Sustainable Development Goals assessed in the SDG Index and Dashboards. Nature Geoscience 10 (8): 547-55. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2985.

University of Tokyo, Systemiq, and SDSN. 2023. Tackling International Spillovers – An Overview of Policy Options. Discussion Paper. Center for Global Commons.