Abstract
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a universal agenda that nations have committed to achieving by 2030. The challenge is substantial, with no country excelling across all SDGs. Using global UN data, we assess patterns of positive and negative correlations between indicators of SDG status and progress. For nearly 70% of SDG indicators, status is positively associated with GDP/capita. Progress on SDG indicators, however, occurs in both poorer and wealthier countries. When GDP/capita is controlled for, positive associations remain between health, environment and energy usage indicators. Economic growth is negatively associated with changes in some health and environment indicators. For SDGs targets to be achieved, major opportunities and conflicts will need to be identified, prioritized and acted upon.
Highlights
In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a universal plan of action to shift the world towards a more sustainable and resilient future [1]
We assessed a consistent set of 42 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators across 123 countries for SDG status, and 29 SDG indicators across 127 countries for SDG progress, representing 83% and 85% of all 149 UN Member States, respectively
Assessing national-level SDG data, we find three broad patterns in SDG attainment and network connectivity
Summary
In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a universal plan of action to shift the world towards a more sustainable and resilient future [1]. The Agenda comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), further clarified in 169 SDG Targets. The Agenda is designed as an integrated and indivisible whole, covering areas of critical importance both to humanity and the planet, with interconnectedness embedded in the overall vision and policy wording [2]. Understanding how progress on one SDG may be correlated with, amplify or hinder progress on other SDGs is essential to identify opportunities both to achieve synergies and co-benefits, as well as anticipate areas of policy incoherence [9,10,11]. The literature on prioritization, implementation and national progress is growing [12,13], analyses of the interactions between SDG goals and targets primarily rely on expert opinion [9,14,15,16,17,18].
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