As we begin the second half of our journey to 2030, signs of a determined, sustained global comeback have yet to emerge. This year’s report reveals that only seventeen per cent of SDGs targets are on track to be achieved, nearly half are showing minimal or moderate progress, and progress on over a third has stalled or even regressed. The early years of SDG implementation saw slow but steady progress on some critical SDG indicators, but since 2019, national efforts have faced severe global headwinds.
The COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of conflicts, geopolitical and trade tensions and the ever-worsening effects of climate change have combined to leave the SDGs in peril. And massive shortcomings in our global economic and financial systems, coupled with historical injustices and a weakening of global solidarity, means that developing countries and the world’s most vulnerable people are bearing the brunt.
The pandemic and other factors led to 23 million more people living in extreme poverty and 123 million more suffering from hunger in 2022 compared to 2019, widening the gap in per capita income growth between the poorest and richest countries. While some health targets have improved, overall progress in global health has slowed since 2015. Progress on education – the foundation upon which so many rests – remains of grave concern, with only 58% of students worldwide achieving minimum proficiency in reading by the end of primary school and one in five young people neither in education, training nor employment.
The 2030 Agenda’s commitment to achieving gender equality remains a distant objective, with limited progress on achieving gender parity in public life and managerial roles and persistently high levels of violence against women and girls. In the area of climate and biodiversity, despite some reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, greenhouse concentrations hit record highs in 2022, with real-time data in 2023 indicating a continued rise. Carbon dioxide levels have surged to 150% above pre-industrial levels. Public funding for oil, coal, and gas production and consumption more than doubled from 2021 to 2022 and tripled since 2015, hindering progress towards a net-zero transition. Ocean acidification is on the rise and will persist if CO2 emissions continue to climb. Species extinction risk is worsening, with a 12% decline in the aggregate Red List Index since 1993.
All the while, violent organized crime and illicit arms trafficking continue to plague numerous countries, posing paramount security threats. And with the Russian invasion of Ukraine now in its third year, a brutal war now taking place in Gaza and the conflict in Sudan yet to show signs of easing, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has reached an unprecedented 110 million. Between 2022 and 2023, civilian casualties in armed conflict increased by 72%. What’s more, governments remain united behind the 2030 Agenda. This was one of the key takeaways from the SDG Summit in September 2023. It is essential that the UN protects this commitment by taking the critical steps needed to deliver transformative progress between now and 2030, at much greater speed and scale. Firstly, if the United Nations is to achieve the SDGs, we need world peace. The conflicts and violence that are causing untold death, destruction, displacement and disruption across the world must end and a new period of international relations that respects the principles of the UN Charter must begin.
SDG PROGRESS in 2024. The 2024 progress assessment reveals the world is severely off-track to achieve the 2030 Agenda. As illustrated in Figure 1, out of 135 targets with trend data and additional insights from custodian agencies, only 17% are progressing as expected to be achieved by 2030. Nearly half (48%) exhibit moderate to severe deviations from the desired trajectory, with 30% showing marginal progress and 18% indicating moderate progress. Alarmingly, 18% have stagnated, and 17% have regressed below the 2015 baseline levels
The above assessment is affected by ongoing challenges pertaining to SDG data availability and timeliness. Overall, as illustrated in Figure 3, commendable progress has been made in improving data availability for SDG monitoring when comparing the 2019 global SDG database and the 2024 database.
Back in 2016, when the indicator framework was initially agreed, only around one-third of the indicators had good data coverage (i.e. data was available for more than 50% countries) and a further 39% of the SDG indicators lacked internationally established methodologies or standards. Today 68% of indicators have good data coverage and all 231 indicators have a well-established and internationally agreed methodology since 2020. In addition, good trend data is available for 51% of indicators (at least two data points since 2015) in more than half of all countries. The variance in country data coverage plays out very differently across the goals, with significant data gaps in priority development areas such as gender equality (Goal 5), climate action (Goal 13), and peace, justice, and strong institutions (Goal 16). 4/26 A/79/79 E/2022/55 Moreover, data timeliness remains a challenge, with approximately one-third of the indicators lacking data for the last three years. The lack of timely data hampers policymakers' ability to make informed decisions and course corrections.
Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere Global efforts to eradicate extreme poverty have faced significant setbacks by the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of major shocks during 2020-22. The pandemic caused extreme poverty to increase in 2020 for the first time in decades, reversing global progress by three years. Recovery has been uneven, with low-income countries lagging behind. With the ongoing poly-crisis, ending poverty by 2030 appears increasingly out of reach, particularly in regions that lack the fiscal capacity to cope with economic stresses. • Target 1.1: Extreme poverty levels returned to pre-pandemic levels in most countries by 2022, except in low-income countries where recovery has been slower. In 2022, 9% of the world's population or 712 million people were living in extreme poverty, an increase of 23 million people compared to 2019. If current trends continue, 590 million people, or 6.9% of the world’s population will still live in extreme poverty by 2030. The share of the world’s working population living in poverty has steadily decreased, from 8.4% in 2015 to 6.9% in 2023. However, nearly 241 million workers globally were still living in extreme poverty in 2023 and little positive change is expected in 2024. • Target 1.2: Though data covering the period of COVID-19 are limited, the pandemic is likely to have slowed progress made in halving national poverty rates. Given historical trends, less than 30% of countries worldwide will have halved poverty by 2030. • Target 1.3: In 2023, only 28.2% of child globally received child cash benefits, compared to 22.1% in 2015, leaving 1.4 billion children aged 0-15 without coverage. To guarantee at least a basic level of social protection for all children, upper- and lower-middle-income countries would need to invest an additional US$98.1 billion and US$88.8 billion, respectively, while low-income countries would require an additional US$59.6 billion. • Target 1.5: Economic losses due to disasters remained stubbornly high in recent years and showed no sign of alleviation. Between 2015 and 2022 direct economic loss has been reported to exceed more than $115 billion per year worldwide, which amounted to 0.3% of the GDP of the reporting countries.
• Target 1.a: Data from approximately 100 countries show that the proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection) is approximately 50%, with an average of 60% amongst advanced economies and 40% amongst emerging market and developing economies. While this indicator trends slightly upward for both groups over the past two decades, the gap between them remains stable at approximately 20 percentage points.
Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture Globally, hunger persists with nearly 1 in 10 of the world's population facing it in 2022, while 2.4 billion people experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. In the same year, nearly 60 per cent of countries worldwide saw significant increases in food prices due to conflicts and disrupted supply chains. Achieving zero hunger requires intensified efforts to transform food systems towards sustainability, resilience, and equity. Furthermore, accelerating improvements in diets, nutrition, health, and hygiene is crucial to meeting the SDG target of halving the number of children suffering from chronic undernutrition. Target 2.1: After a sharp increase following the COVID-19 pandemic, global hunger stabilized at around 9.2% of the population from 2021 to 2022. Between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022. Considering the midrange (735 million), 122 million more people faced hunger in 2022 than in 2019, when the prevalence stood at 7.9%. Additionally, an estimated 29.6% of the global population – 2.4 billion people – were moderately or severely food insecure in 2022. • Target 2.2: Globally in 2022, an estimated 22.3% of children under age 5 (148 million) were affected by stunting, down from 24.6% in 2015 and 26.3% in 2012 (baseline year of WHO nutrition targets). Based on current trends, 1 out of 5 (19.5%) children under age 5 will be affected by stunting in 2030. Overweight affected 37.0 million children under age 5 (or 5.6%) and wasting affected 45 million (or 6.8%) in 2022. • Target 2.3: The income gap between small-scale and non-small-scale food producers remains significant. In 95% of countries with available data, the average annual income of small-scale producers is less than half that of non-small-scale producers. Among small-scale food producers, units headed by men typically generate higher incomes compared to those headed by women.
Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Achieving global health goals faces significant challenges, with progress slowing since 2015 in areas like maternal mortality, premature deaths from major non communicable diseases, and access to essential healthcare. Inequalities persist, especially among vulnerable populations, exacerbated by the climate crisis. To meet the SDG 3 targets by 2030, substantial investment and focus are needed to address these challenges, including tackling inequality and environmental factors. Urgent action is required to protect vulnerable groups and regions with high disease burdens.
Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all SDG4 is a key enabler of most other SDGs. Unfortunately, global progress in education has not been fast enough. Only 58% of students worldwide achieved at least the minimum proficiency level in reading at the end of primary schooling in 2019. A large share of countries is moving backwards in learning outcomes at the end of lower secondary school. Improvement in upper secondary completion rate has slowed since 2015. Some regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, are facing teacher shortages, high student-teacher ratios, and inadequate training and lack of professional development opportunities for teachers. Accelerating progress towards SDG 4 should be prioritized as it will have a catalytic impact on achieving the overall 2030 Agenda.
Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Progress towards gender equality is clearly off track. Harmful practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation are decreasing, but not fast enough to keep pace with population growth. Gender parity, especially in women's participation in public life and managerial roles, remains distant. At the current rate, achieving gender parity in managerial positions will take 176 years. Many women still lack control over their sexual and reproductive health, and violence against women persists. Urgent action is needed to challenge biased social norms, eliminate harmful practices, and change discriminatory laws. Increasing women's leadership roles and investments in gender equality are crucial at national, regional, and global levels.
Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
None of the SDG 6 targets are on track to be met. As of 2022, 2.2 billion people were without access to safely managed drinking water and 3.5 billion lacked access to safely managed sanitation. Between 2002 and 2021 droughts affected more than 1.4 billion people. As of 2022, roughly half of the world’s population experienced severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, while one quarter faced ‘extremely high’ levels of water stress. Climate change worsens these issues, posing significant risks to social stability. While transboundary river and lake basins are home to approximately 40% of the world’s population and are shared by 153 countries, less than a fifth of these countries have operational arrangements for cooperation in place for all their transboundary waters. Coordinated global action on integrated water management, addressing the impacts of climate change on water resources, and better management of shared waters are key to restoring focus on the Goal. • Targets 6.1 and 6.2: Between 2015 and 2022, the population using safely managed drinking water increased from 69% to 73%, the population using safely managed sanitation increased from 49% to 57% and the population using basic hygiene services increased from 67% to 75%. Achieving universal coverage of safely managed drinking water, safely managed sanitation, and basic hygiene services by 2030 will require respective increases of 6x, 5x, and 3x in the current global rates of progress. • Target 6.3: Among the 73 countries reporting on both total wastewater generation and total wastewater treatment in 2022, 76% of total wastewater flows received at least some treatment. Of the 42 countries that specified the level of treatment, 60% of total wastewater flows were safely treated (i.e. at least secondary treatment). In all world regions, many rivers, lakes and aquifers are still in good condition – as of 2023, 56% of water bodies assessed in 120 countries have good water quality. However, countries that implement the most extensive monitoring programmes show that water quality is degrading since 2017. • Target 6.4: Water use efficiency rose from $17.4/m3 in 2015 to $20.8/m3 in 2021, a 19% increase. At the global level, the water stress level reached an average level of 18.6% in 2021 but it hides large regional variations as some regions in the world show critical water stress levels which may compromise their economic and social development. Globally, water stress level has slightly increased by 3% from 2015 to 2021. • Target 6.5: Global progress on implementing integrated water resources management remains slow – 49% in 2017, 54% in 2020, 57% in 2023, not on track to reach the 2030 target (91%). Only 43 out of 153 countries have operational arrangements in place for 90% or more of their shared transboundary waters (rivers, lakes and aquifers), and more than 20 countries have no operational arrangements in place for any of their transboundary waters. Since 2020 only around ten new arrangements for transboundary water cooperation have been adopted.
Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
In 2022, global electricity access declined for the first time in a decade, primarily due to disruptions from COVID-19 and the Ukraine conflict. Despite improvements in energy intensity and renewable energy growth, international financial flows for clean energy in developing countries remain insufficient. At the current rate, 660 million people will still lack electricity and 1.8 billion will not have access to clean cooking by 2030. To achieve universal access to energy by 2030, we need to expedite electrification efforts, boost investments in renewable energy, enhance energy efficiency, and establish supportive policies and regulatory frameworks. • Target 7.1: In 2022, global electricity access remained at 91%, but the number without access increased by 10 million from 2021 to 685 million people. Factors such as COVID-19 and the Ukraine conflict disrupted progress. Projections suggest that by 2030, 660 million will still lack electricity. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 83% of deficit in 2022. However, Central and Southern Asia reduced their gap from 235 million in 2015 to 33 million in 2022. Annual progress slowed to 0.4% between 2020 and 2022, requiring a 1.08% increase until 2030 to meet the target. o In 2022, around 74% of the world used clean fuels for cooking. Yet, about 2.1 billion still relied on polluting fuels and technologies such as charcoal, coal, crop waste, dung, kerosene, and wood. The global access deficit decreased from 36% to 26% since 2015. However, current trends suggest a 21% shortfall in achieving universal access by 2030, leaving 1.8 billion without access to clean cooking by 2030. • Target 7.2: In 2021 the global share of renewable sources in total final energy consumption stood at 18.7%. Excluding traditional use of biomass, the share of modern renewable sources rose gradually from 10% in 2015 to 12.5% in 2021. The electricity sector led the charge with renewables, contributing 28.2% to total final electricity consumption. However, insufficient progress in the heat and transport sectors underscores the need for stronger conservation measures and policy actions. Tripling world’s installed renewable energy generation agreed at the COP28 is an important step aligning with the SDG7. • Target 7.3: In 2021, the primary energy intensity improved by 0.8%, falling below both the 1.2% five-year average and the SDG 7.3 target of 2.6%. To meet the 2030 target, annual improvements must now average around 4%. The robust economic recovery in 2021 led to the largest annual rise in energy consumption in 50 years, exceeding 5%. This surge was driven by a shift towards energy intensive industries and the resurgence of other demand sectors after lockdowns were lifted.
Target 7.a: In 2022, international public financial flows supporting clean energy in developing countries rose to $15.4 billion, a 25% increase from 2021 but still half of the 2016 peak of $28.5 billion. However, in 2023, it was anticipated a decrease in global five-year average flows by $450 million. The decreasing trend in these flows may hinder SDG 7 achievement, especially for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS. • Target 7.b: Installed renewable energy capacity is on the rise worldwide, reaching 424 watts per person globally in 2022. Developed nations averaged 1,073 watts per person, while developing countries averaged 293 watts per person. This represents an 8.5% increase from 2021, maintaining a steady compound annual growth rate of 8.1% over five-year periods.
Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Progress towards SDG 8 faces challenges from COVID-19 aftermath, trade tensions, rising debts in developing nations, conflicts, and geopolitical strains, collectively threatening global economic growth. While labour markets have shown resilience, uneven pandemic recovery, the declining protection of labor rights and emerging vulnerabilities erode social justice prospects. The report foresees a worsening labour market outlook, with higher unemployment and sluggish growth in 2024, exacerbating income inequality and jeopardizing equitable pay for women and decent work for young people. Achieving SDG 8 mandates policies fostering economic growth with a focus on social justice and inclusive employment. • Target 8.1: After a sharp 3.9% decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy rebounded with a 5.3% increase in real GDP per capita in 2021. However, growth slowed to 2.2% in 2022 and is forecasted to slow down further to 1.0% in 2023, before picking up slightly to 1.8% and 1.5% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. For LDCs, real GDP growth dropped from 5.1% in 2019 to 0.7% in 2020, then recovered to 3.8% in 2021 and 4.6% in 2022. Growth is expected to rise to 4.4% and 5.5% in 2023 and 2024. However, it's projected to slow down to 4.9% in 2025. • Target 8.2: Productivity growth stagnated in 2022 and 2023, remaining below 0.5%. This sluggish trend stands in stark contrast to the pre-pandemic period of 2015 to 2019, where the rate exceeded 1.5%. The pandemic sharply interrupted this trend, with 2020 registering a marked decline as output fell faster than employment—though this was fully offset by a short-lived rebound of productivity during 2021. The recent slow productivity growth poses a risk to economic development and living standards, given its crucial role as a driver of growth. • Target 8.3: In 2023, over 2 billion workers globally were employed informally, accounting for 58.0% of the global workforce. This figure is expected to see a marginal decrease to 57.8% in 2024. The decline of the informality rate by less than a percentage point since 2015 is far too slow for widespread formalization to occur anytime soon.
Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Since 2022, the manufacturing sector has faced stagnation, attributed to geopolitical instability, inflation, logistical challenges, rising energy costs, and a broader global economic slowdown. Globally, manufacturing's share in employment has regressed. While there has been progress in reducing CO2 intensity in manufacturing, it falls short of 2030 target values. To expedite progress towards SDG 9, efforts should prioritize accelerating the green transition, strategically prioritizing sectors, and addressing inequalities in digital and innovation sectors. • Target 9.2: The manufacturing sector rebounded strongly in 2021 post-COVID, but growth has plateaued at around 2.7% since 2022, expected to continue in 2024. Despite this, global manufacturing value added per capita rose by 16% from 2015 to 2023, reaching $1,922 per capita. Regional gaps are stark, with Europe and Northern America hitting a record $4,986 per capita, contrasting with stagnant levels of $163 in sub-Saharan Africa. o Since 2015, global manufacturing employment has fluctuated. Starting at 14.3% in 2015, it dipped to 14.2% in 2020 but saw a marginal recovery in 2021. However, by 2022, it declined to 14.1%, with notable regional disparities. While sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia saw slight increases, other regions experienced declines, with Australia and New Zealand recording the highest fall of 0.5 percentage points from 2021 to 2022. These trends highlight the ongoing impact of crises on manufacturing employment growth. • Target 9.3: Small enterprises face heightened vulnerability, particularly in low income countries. According to survey data spanning from 2006 to 2023, only 16.9% of small-scale manufacturing industries in sub-Saharan Africa had access to loans or lines of credit, compared to 45.4% in Latin America and the Caribbean. This underscores how global uncertainty hampers investment flow and financial access for small businesses, hindering their resilience and adoption of new technologies. • Target 9.4: Globally, CO2 emissions per unit of GDP have steadily declined by 11.5% from 2015 to 2021, with a reduction of 16% observed in the manufacturing sector. Despite these positive trends, global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion hit a record high of 33.6 gigatonnes in 2021, with manufacturing emissions also reaching their highest level since 2014 at 6.1 gigatonnes. These figures highlight the insufficient rate of reduction in CO2 emissions intensity to achieve a significant overall decrease in worldwide CO2 emissions. • Target 9.5: After a slowdown in 2020, global research and development (R&D) expenditure appeared to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, climbing from 1.72% of GDP in 2015 to 1.93% in 2021. However, many developing economies have R&D expenditure relative to GDP below 1%. • Target 9.5: The number of researchers per million inhabitants globally increased from 1,143 in 2015 to 1,352 in 2021, with Europe and Northern America, and Australia and New Zealand employing three times higher than the global level (i.e. 4,050 and 4,696 respectively in 2021). On the other hand, sub-Saharan Africa has been substantially lower, standing at 96 researchers per million inhabitants. Additionally, women remain underrepresented, comprising only 31.5% of all researchers worldwide in 2021.
Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
Incomes of the poorest 40% of the population have generally grown faster than the national average in many countries and financial transfers during the pandemic boosted shared prosperity. However, over the past five years, the gap in per capita income growth between the poorest and richest countries has widened. In addition, discrimination based on age, gender, religion, race, or belief affects one in six people globally. The year 2023 marked a record high of 35.8 million refugees, and over 8,000 migrant deaths were recorded globally. Addressing both within- and between-country inequality necessitates equitable resource distribution, investment in education and skills development, implementation of social protection measures, combating discrimination, supporting marginalized groups, and fostering international cooperation for fair trade and financial systems. • Target 10.1: Among 124 countries with available data, more than half have achieved income growth for the bottom 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average. However, there are notable regional disparities. In 78% of countries in Northern America and Europe, the bottom 40% experienced faster income growth than the national average, while only 30% of countries in Central Asia and Southern Asia demonstrated this trend. Limited data from the pandemic period suggests that in most regions, financial transfers boosted shared prosperity in many countries by supporting the income growth of disadvantaged populations. • Target 10.3: The number of countries reporting on discrimination has increased by 37% since 2022. However, one person in six continues to encounter discrimination. Racial discrimination and discrimination based on age, gender, religion or belief remain pervasive. While 7% of the population surveyed report being discriminated on the ground of social origin or socio-economic status, only less than a fifth of countries monitor this ground. • Target 10.4: The share of economic output earned by workers decreased from 54.1% in 2004 to 52.7% in 2021, amounting to an average decline of $568 (PPP) per worker. The pandemic exacerbated this situation, with economic output and labour income in 2021 still below 2019 levels in many regions. As earnings from work are crucial for the less well-off and vulnerable, the long-term decline in labour income share represents an upward pressure for inequality.
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
More than half the world’s population currently reside in cities. However, cities are grappling with a multitude of complex issues, made more difficult by rising global urban poverty levels in the wake of COVID-19. From rising slum populations, insufficient public transport, city expansion outpacing population growth to threats to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services by disasters, it is essential that cities are equipped to adequately handle these challenges. As the world turns more urban, with nearly 70% of the global population projected to reside in cities by 2050, critical infrastructure, affordable housing, efficient transport and essential social services are crucial for creating resilient, sustainable cities for all. • Target 11.1: In 2022, 24.8% of the urban population lived in slums or slum-like conditions, slightly lower than 25% in 2015, but higher than 24.2% in 2020. The total number of slum dwellers was 1.12 billion in 2022, 130 million more than in 2015. Over 85% of slum dwellers were concentrated in Central and Southern Asia (334 million), Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (362 million), and sub-Saharan Africa (265 million). Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest percentage of urban population living in slums, at 53.6%. Projections suggest that sub-Saharan Africa will experience the greatest proportional increase in slum dwellers, with an additional 360 million expected by 2030. This emphasizes the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to address the urban housing crisis, including providing varied housing options and equitable access to basic services. • Target 11.2: Data collected in 2023 from 2,039 cities across 188 countries shows that 6 out of 10 urban residents globally have convenient public transport access, with notable gaps between developed and developing regions. In LDCs, only 4 out of 10 people have access, compared to 8 out of 10 in more developed regions. Urgent investments are needed to expand access, especially in impoverished urban areas in developed countries. • Target 11.3: Data from 1217 cities across 185 countries shows that cities are sprawling faster than they are densifying. Between 2000 and 2020, cities expanded up to 3.7 times faster than they densified. Globally, sprawl averaged 5.6% annually, while densification was only 1.5%. Despite a slight decline in sprawl rates from 2010 to 2020, they still exceeded densification rates, displacing ecologically valuable lands. Balancing people, prosperity, and the planet by 2030 17/26 A/79/79 E/2022/55 requires concerted efforts to curb urban sprawl locally, sub-nationally, and nationally. • Target 11.5: On average, 104,049 critical infrastructure units and facilities were destroyed or damaged by disasters annually from 2015 to 2022. Furthermore, disasters disrupted over 1.6 million basic services, including educational and health services, each year. • Target 11.6: A comparison of air pollution five-year average before and after the development of the SDGs showed a significant decrease of 9% in fine particulate matter global levels and current alignment with the WHO Air Quality Guideline (AQG) Interim Target 1 value of 35 ug/m3. • Target 11.7: Data from 1,365 cities across 187 countries reveals that access to open public spaces is notably deficient in LDCs, where fewer than 3 in 10 people can conveniently reach such areas. Conversely, in high-performing regions like Australia and New Zealand, North America, and Europe, approximately 6 to 7 out of 10 urban residents enjoy convenient access to open public spaces, highlighting the prevalent global challenge. • Target 11.b: In 2023, local-level risk governance has improved in recent years, with 106 countries cumulatively reporting having local disaster risk reduction strategies in place and in line with national strategies. On average, 72% of the local governments in reporting countries have specified having local disaster risk reduction strategies.
Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
The crisis of unsustainable consumption and production patterns worldwide is fuelling the ongoing triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution. Domestic material consumption and material footprint continue to rise, some one billion meals worth of edible food are wasted every day in homes around the world and stockpiles of e-waste steadily grow. While countries are fulfilling their environmental agreement obligations and embracing comprehensive approaches to address environmental degradation, public funding supporting the production and consumption of fossil fuels has more than tripled since 2015, impeding the transition to net-zero emissions. Each stage of production or manufacturing presents an opportunity to reduce resource and fossil fuel use, foster innovation, conserve energy, cut emissions, and advocate for a circular economy approach. • Target 12.1: From 2019 to 2023, one-third of member states (63 countries) have reported 516 policy instruments related to sustainable consumption and production. • Target 8.4/12.2: From 2015 to 2022, Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) increased by 5.8%, and Material Footprint (MF) rose by 6.8%. Regional disparities between DMC and MF continue to grow, particularly between regions where MF is higher than DMC (Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Europe and Northern America, Northern Africa and Western Asia) and those where MF is lower than DMC (Central and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania), showing different patterns of material consumption and their corresponding environmental impact. • Target 12.3: In 2022, 19% of global food was wasted, totalling 1.05 billion tonnes, with household waste accounting for 60%. This waste generates significant greenhouse gas emissions, costing over $1 trillion annually, while 783 million people suffer from hunger. Addressing this issue is crucial for halving 18/26 A/79/79 E/2022/55 food waste by 2030, yet only 9 out of 193 countries have included food waste in their Nationally Determined Contributions as of 2022. Meanwhile, the percentage of food lost globally after harvest on farm, transport, storage, wholesale, and processing levels is estimated at 13.2% in 2021. • Target 12.4: Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement: o Minamata Convention on Mercury: Most Parties have met their obligations, with 94% appointing National Focal Points and 95% submitting complete national reports in 2023. o Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions: Parties continue to make strides in meeting their obligations and in policymaking to keep pace with rapidly changing global circumstances, such as responding to the growing challenges created by contemporary waste streams such as plastic waste and e-waste, improving the procedure to control transboundary movements of wastes, and enlarging their scope with the listing of new chemical. o Montreal Protocol: Parties consistently fulfil reporting obligations on the production and use of ozone-depleting substances, with 156 out of 198 ratifying the Kigali Amendment by January 2024, demonstrating an increased commitment to mitigating climate change under the Protocol. • Targets 12.4 and 12.5: In 2022, e-waste generation rose to 7.8 kg per capita from 6.2 kg per capita in 2015, but only 1.7 kg per capita was properly managed. Mismanaged e-waste leads to resource loss, increased use of virgin resources, and environmental hazards, underscoring the urgency for improved and environmentally sound management. • Target 12.6: In 2021-2022, 73% of companies included in the sample published sustainability reports, with the number of companies tripling since 2016. This growth was observed in all regions in 2022 • Target 12.c: Fossil fuel subsidies hit a record high of $1.53 trillion in 2022, reversing the declining trend observed from 2012 to 2020. The post-COVID energy price surge inflated these subsidies, prompting some governments to introduce new support measures. Consequently, public funding for oil, coal, and gas production and consumption more than doubled from 2021 to 2022 and tripled since 2015, impeding progress towards net-zero transition.
Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Climate records were shattered in 2023, with the world watching the climate crisis unfold in real time. Communities around the world are suffering the effects of extreme weather, which is destroying lives and livelihoods on a daily basis. The roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C and avoid the worst of climate chaos cannot afford any delays, indecision or half measures by the global community. It demands immediate action for drastic reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions in this decade and the achievement of net zero by 2050. • Target 13.1: The number of disaster-related deaths and missing persons per 100,000 population (excluding COVID-19 deaths) has nearly halved from 1.62 in the decade 2005-2014 to 0.82 in 2013-2022. However, the absolute number remains 19/26 A/79/79 E/2022/55 high. Between 2013 and 2022, disasters worldwide claimed 42,553 mortalities each year. Further, the number of persons affected by disasters per 100,000 population has increased by over two-third, from 1,169 in 2005-2014 to 1,980 in 2013-2022. o In 2023, 129 countries reported the adoption and implementation of national disaster risk reduction strategies, increasing from 55 countries in 2015. Among these countries, 122 countries have reported promoting policy coherence and compliance with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement as a key element in the strategy. • Target 13.2: The year 2023 broke every single climate indicator and was the warmest year on record according to the World Meteorological Organization. Global temperatures rose to 1.45°C, dangerously close for the first time to the 1.5°C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Despite some reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, concentrations of greenhouse gases reached record high observed levels in 2022 and real-time data in 2023 show greenhouse gases continuing to increase. Carbon dioxide levels are 150% above pre-industrial levels. • Target 13.3: A study in 2023 of more than 530 grade 9 science and social science subject curricula found that 69% contained no reference to climate change and 66% made no mention of sustainability. However, three-quarters of countries reported they have plans to revise their curricula in the next three years to focus more on climate change and sustainability. • Target 13.a: Climate finance, reported by Annex I Parties as support provided to developing countries, has increased at a compound rate of 5% from 2015 to 2020, amounting to $41 billion. Although there are a range of estimates and a lack of an agreed accounting methodology on the $100 billion per year goal, the goal was not yet met as of 2021. However, recent progress made in the provision and mobilization of climate finance amounted to $89.6 billion in 2021.
Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface and play a crucial role in providing food and livelihoods for more than 3 billion people as well as combating the effects of climate change. Yet, alarming trends from declining fish stocks, marine pollution, ocean acidification and habitat destruction threaten marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal communities worldwide. Urgent action is needed to address these challenges and ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the ocean through sustainable fishing practices, marine conservation efforts, pollution reduction and global cooperation to safeguard marine life and ecosystems for future generations. • Target 14.3: Ocean acidification is increasing and will continue to do so if carbon dioxide emissions do not stop rising. An increasing number of countries and stations (from 178 stations in 2021 to 638 in 2024) highlights the growing capacity of countries to observe the continued decline of ocean pH in the global ocean as well as the strong regional differences in the pace of change. • Target 14.6: Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens the social, economic and environmental sustainability of global fisheries, hindering countries’ abilities to manage their fisheries effectively. The first binding international agreement to specifically target IUU fishing, the Agreement of Port State Measures, now has 102 States covered under the Agreement (from 25 in 20/26 A/79/79 E/2022/55 2016), covering 63% of the world’s coastal States. States have made good overall progress with close to 75% scoring highly in their degree of implementation of relevant international instruments in 2022 compared to 70% in 2018.
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
SDG 15 underscores the critical importance of biodiversity as humanity’s life-support system. Yet, the relentless depletion of forests, coupled with an alarming rate of species extinction and stagnation in safeguarding key biodiversity areas, jeopardizes the delicate balance of our ecosystems. To address the pressing global environmental challenges and crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, as well as desertification, land and soil degradation, drought and deforestation, it is imperative to intensify efforts in fulfilling our global environmental and biodiversity commitments • Targets 15.1 and 15.2: The world’s forest area continues to decline, albeit at a slightly reduced pace compared to previous decades. The proportion of forest cover to total land area decreased from 31.9% in 2000 to 31.2% in 2020 with agricultural expansion accounting for nearly 90% of global deforestation. However, there has been notable progress towards sustainable forest management, marked by an increase in the proportion of forests under management plans and within protected areas. Moreover, certified forest area, which had shown steady long-term growth, has experienced a significant decline in the last two years, attributed to suspension of certificates due to the conflict in Europe. • Targets 14.5, 15.1 and 15.4: Global protected and conserved area coverage of marine, terrestrial, freshwater and mountain key biodiversity areas showed substantial improvements prior to 2000, this growth has stagnated over the last two decades. Particularly worrying is Central, Southern and Western Asia, Northern Africa, and Oceania, where average protected and conserved area coverage of key biodiversity areas is less than 30%. Progress has been more positive in Northern America and Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Australia and New Zealand, where over 40% of each key biodiversity area is now covered on average. • Target 15.5: Species extinction risk continues to worsen, as evidenced by a 12% deterioration in the aggregate Red List Index between 2024 and 1993 (and 4% since 2015). The extinction risk of the world’s amphibian species was recently comprehensively re-assessed, revealing that for amphibians, climate change impacts, habitat conversion and alien invasive fungal disease are the most severe drivers of increasing extinction risk. • Target 15.6: Countries continue to make progress in ratifying and implementing access and benefit-sharing instruments. By the end of 2023, 75 countries (up from 6 countries in 2016) and 93 countries (up from 12 countries in 2015) had reported on their legislative, administrative or policy measures under the Nagoya Protocol and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, respectively. • Target 15.7.1/15. c.1: Estimates available for the first time show that, globally, intercepted illegal wildlife trade as a proportion of all wildlife trade (legal and illegal) increased from 2017 onwards, reaching its highest levels during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. It is estimated that wildlife seizures made up around 1.4 to 1.9% of global wildlife trade in 2020-2021. • Target 15.9: In 2023, 90 countries implemented the international statistical standard to measure the environment and ecosystems and their connection to the economy, an increase of 30% since 2017.
Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Around the world, we need peace in every sense. Yet the road to global peace and security has become even more complex. Global forced displacement is at an all-time high, exceeding 110 million people forced to flee from persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations as of May 2023. Between 2022 and 2023, civilian casualties experienced the highest spike since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. Persistent threats to human security across the globe underscore the breakdown of peaceful and inclusive societies, crucial for sustainable development and the need to restore trust and strengthen and renew global peace and security frameworks to heed the desperate pleas for peace from countless voices worldwide. • Target 16.1: The global homicide rate gradually decreased, falling from 5.9 victims per 100,000 population in 2015 to 5.5 in 2020. However, this trend was disrupted in 2021, with a sharp rise to 5.8 victims per 100,000 population, only slightly decreasing to 5.6 in 2022. High levels of violence linked to organized crime and gang activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, along with Africa's heightened vulnerability to homicide, continue to contribute to these regions having the highest homicide rates and numbers globally. The number of civilian deaths in armed conflict skyrocketed in 2023. Between 2022 and 2023, civilian casualties increased by 72%, the highest increase since 2015. In 2023, seven out of ten recorded deaths occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. Moreover, for the second consecutive year, the number of civilians killed in conflict has risen dramatically; reversing the downward trend between 2016 and 2019. By 2023, the number of civilian casualties had risen to over 33,400, almost matching the peak of 2015. By 2023, four out of every ten civilians killed in conflicts were women, and three in ten civilians killed were children, doubling and tripling, respectively, the previous year’s proportion. o Data on experience of violence, remain limited outside of Europe and Northern America and Latin America and the Caribbean. Available data show women and men are not impacted by the same type of violence. The median prevalence of sexual violence in countries with data is 3.0% for women compared to just 0.8% for men. However, the median prevalence of physical violence is 3.0% for men compared to 2.1% for women. • Target 16.2: Violent discipline is the most common and widespread form of violence against children. In 82 (mostly low- and middle-income) countries with available data from 2015 to 2023, nearly 8 in 10 children from 1 to 14 years of age were subjected to some form of psychological aggression and/or physical punishment at home in the past month.
Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Global partnerships for sustainable development encompass key areas such as finance, technology, trade and data. There are mixed trends in mobilizing financial resources for development, expanding internet connectivity and strengthening statistical systems. However, a substantial $4 trillion annual investment gap for developing countries to achieve the SDGs, persistent and crippling issues such as unprecedentedly high external debt levels, and limited access to online connectivity in low-income countries underscore the need for sustained collaboration and enhanced cooperation and support in a landscape of worsening international cooperation and geopolitical tensions.
FINANCE
• Target 17.1: 2022 data from approximately 130 countries show that globally, government revenue accounts for approximately 33% of GDP. The average overall tax burden or revenue in the form of taxes is 26% of GDP among advanced economies and 18% of GDP among emerging market and developing economies. In 2019, the overall average of proportion government expenditure funded by taxes was about 66% among advanced economies and 61% among emerging market and developing economies. The overall average sharply declined following the pandemic to about 52% in 2020 but rebounded in 2021 and 2022 for both groups of economies (to 62% for advanced economies and 59% for emerging and developing countries), however, still lower than the pre-pandemic level. • Target 17.2: In 2023, ODA by member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) amounted to $223.7 billion, representing 0.37% of DAC members’ combined GNI. Total ODA in 2023 rose by 1.8% in real terms compared to 2022 and by 47% compared to 2015. This was the fifth consecutive year ODA reached a new high. The increase was primarily due to aid for Ukraine, humanitarian aid and contributions to international organisations. • Target 17.3: In 2022, financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources reported by 101 bilateral and multilateral providers amounted to $276.6 billion in official resources, $55.3 billion mobilized from private finance and $10.2 billion from private grants for development. Sustainable development grants (both official and private) decreased in 2022, compared to 2021. However, sustainable concessional development loans increased by 6%, while non-concessional loans decreased and mobilized private finance increased by 21%, compensating the decrease of 2021. o Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in 2023 amounted to an estimated $1.37 trillion, a marginal increase over 2022. However, the increase was due largely to higher values in a small number of conduit economies; excluding these conduits, global FDI flows were 18% lower. The number of international investment projects announced in developing countries in sectors relevant to the SDGs – including infrastructure, renewables, water and sanitation, food security, health and education – remained flat. o The annual SDG investment gap in developing countries is now about $4 trillion. If the SDG investment needs to 2030 are to be met, some $30 trillion of additional investment must be found over the next eight years. More than half of the gap, or $2.2 trillion, relates to the energy transition alone. o In the post-COVID period, remittances have proved to be resilient and become a premier source of external finance for developing countries. In 2022, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries increased by 8%, to reach $647 billion. This increase is remarkable, given that it followed a 10.6% growth rate in 2021. The remittance growth rate is expected to moderate to about 4% in 2023. 24/26 A/79/79 E/2022/55 • Target 17.4: The external debt stock level of low- and middle-income countries decreased in 2022 for the first time since 2015, to $9.0 trillion in 2022 from $9.3 trillion in 2021. Despite the slight decrease in 2022, external debt stock levels remained unprecedentedly high following more than a decade of rapid debt accumulation. Moreover, going forward, interest costs both in nominal terms and in relation to GNI and export revenue are expected to increase given the aggressive rise in global interest rates to tame inflation and could become increasingly burdensome by crowding out spending on other priorities for many low- and middle-income countries. • Target 17.5: The number of countries that actively promote outward foreign direct investment to developing countries, including least developed countries, remains limited. In 2023, at least 50 countries, including 19 emerging or developing economies, had at least one type of investment promotion mechanism for outward foreign direct investment in place. However, out of those, only 23 countries have adopted an outward foreign direct investment promotion scheme specifically targeting developing countries, including least developed countries.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
• Target 17.6: Fixed-broadband subscriptions continue to grow steadily, at an average annual growth rate of 6.4% between 2015 and 2023, reaching 19 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2023 globally. Nevertheless, while fixed connections are common among households in upper-middle-income and high-income countries, they are nearly non-existent in low-income countries due to high prices and a lack of infrastructure. • Target 17.8: Approximately 67% of the world’s population, or 5.4 billion people were online in 2023. This represents a growth of 4.7% since 2022, a higher increase than that recorded from 2021 to 2022 at 3.5%. While there was an uptick in the increase in the number of Internet users during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the last three years growth rates in the number of Internet users were back to pre-pandemic levels.
DATA MONITORING AND ACCOUNTABILITY
• Target 17.18: One of the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was the limited ability of national statistical offices to collect recent data for the Sustainable Development Goals. This was reflected in a drop in average data coverage scores in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN). Despite the recent decrease in data production capabilities, a comparison of ODIN coverage scores from 2017 to 2022 shows that the scores of low- and middle-income countries have increased at the same pace as high-income countries. o Globally, scores on the Data Sources Performance Index (Statistical Performance Indicators Pillar 4) and Data Infrastructure Performance Index (Statistical Performance Indicators Pillar 5) have been improving since 2016. Data sources improved by only 3 points, held back in part because of COVID disruptions, while data infrastructure—meaning both the hard and soft infrastructure needed to produce data are available—has increased by around 14 points. In 2023, 159 countries and territories reported having national statistical legislation in compliance with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, representing a significant increase from 132 in 2019 and marking the fastest annual growth of 10 countries.
