Sustainable Development Indicators Research Articles

Evaluating plans for sustainable development in Arctic cities

Cities located in the Arctic often have extreme geographic and environmental contexts and unique sociopolitical and economic trajectories that, when combined with amplified effects of climate change in the region, impact future sustainable development. Well-recognized and standardized sustainable development indicator (SDI) frameworks such as ISO 37120 or UN-Habitat City Prosperity Index are often used to compare data across cities globally using comprehensive sets of indicators. While such indexes help characterize progress toward development and guide short- and long-term decision-making, they often lack relevance to specific contexts or characterize future visions of urban growth. To evaluate the extent of these deficiencies and to provide a comparative analysis of approaches to sustainable urban growth in the Arctic, this paper analyzes city planning documents for five northern cities - Anchorage (USA), Utqiagvik (USA), Reyjavik (ISL), Iqaluit, (CAN), Whitehorse, (CAN) - for goals, targets, and indicators and compare these to thematic areas and indicators defined by ISO 37120:2018 Sustainable Cities and Communities. The results confirm that although international SDI frameworks may be useful for comparative analysis of cities across diverse regions, they exclude important local factors that influence goal-oriented urban sustainability planning strategies employed in the Arctic region.

THE DILEMMA OF FALTERING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN IRAQI SOCIETY

Sustainable development has its economic, social, environmental, and other dimensions. With great interest, whether at the level of developed or developing countries, because of its impact on preserving current and future ecological resources and capabilities, as it represents the goal and means for every country that seeks to develop and change reality and create a better future to achieve the goals it aspires to and push the wheel of growth and development towards achieving sustainable growth. Social justice and an environment free of corruption, pollution, and economic problems. Iraq is one of the countries that went through abnormal economic conditions more than four decades ago due to wars, economic blockades, and sanctions, and the subsequent political, economic, social, and environmental developments contributed to the lag in sustainable development indicators. The deterioration of the quality of potable water, the waste and depletion of resources, the increase in the rate of desertification, and the decline in public spending. Talking about the possibility of achieving the desired sustainable development in Iraq is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. Therefore, our research attempted to analyze the reality of development in Iraq by examining some indicators of sustainable development and proposing future visions for developing capabilities that would achieve the desired development and a safe, stable, and sustainable environment. The research reached a conclusion emphasizing the necessity of activating, developing, and sustaining development programs to maintain a reasonable amount of decent living and healthy living in a fair and equal manner for all without discrimination.

Assessing Algerian government support for sustainable development goals: A study from 2000 to 2022

The Algerian government has integrated the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) into its development strategy beyond 2030, focusing on social policies like healthcare and education while investing in environmental enhancements and clean energy initiatives. This study evaluates the impact of government policies on achieving the SDGs in Algeria from 2000 to 2022. Utilizing the ARDL model, the research demonstrates that government support has a positive long-term effect on sustainable development indicators, with a coefficient of 1.14. Importantly, the model analysis did not identify any statistical anomalies. This assessment highlights the significant role of government support in advancing SDGs in Algeria and underscores the importance of continued policy commitment to drive progress in key areas such as healthcare, education, environmental sustainability, and clean energy.

Global impact of urbanization on ecosystems: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis

This paper demonstrates a comprehensive assessment of bibliometric analysis of published research on the global impact of urbanization on environmental consequences. Scopus database was used to collect data on the global impact of urbanization on ecosystem research from 2000 to 2023 and scrutinizes the progression of publications, keyword analysis, co-citation of authors, citation of documents, co-authorship of authors, and most efficient and influential authors, countries, and institutions. A total of 4322 research papers (journals) were published during the period (2000–2023). This bibliometric study was carried out with the Vos Viewer software. The study's findings demonstrate that the number of publications has continuously increased between 2000 and 2023. In 2020 and 2022, there were 396 and 635 publications, respectively. The top three influential journals in terms of citations are Remote Sensing of Environment (2415 citations), Ecological Economics (1456 citations), and PLoS (1410). From 2000 to 2023, the most often appearing terms were urbanization (3028), urban area (1111), people (853), land use (769), environmental monitoring (594), environmental effect (570), sustainable development (567), and climate change (534). We created a time series with four periods (2000–2005, 2006–2011, 2012–2017, and 2018–2023) based on the periodic changes, which also shows the trend. In more specific terms, this study demonstrates not just a logical structure but also the development of keywords throughout time. The empirical evidence also shows that while this field initially focused on a few themes, it has since broadened to include the many aspects of urban sustainability. This analysis also identifies the most efficient and influential authors, institutions, and nations in terms of total publishing (TP), proportion of cited publications (PCP), total citation (TC), h-index, and g-index. Yang K is the most prominent author, China and the United States are the most efficient nations, and the Chinese Academy of Science is the most powerful organization. The top two nations by co-authorship are China (40 ​695 citations and 1527 publications) and the United States (41 ​119 citations and 833 publications). Additionally, it is noted that while environmental concerns continue to dominate, basic socioeconomic problems like equality, justice, and public participation are underrepresented. Sustainable development indicators, energy, ecologically friendly infrastructure, water, the use of land, and urban planning are prominent subject topics, with the first three exerting a larger influence in shaping the field's growth. This research may be utilized as a resource for people intrigued in learning more about the evaluation of urban sustainability and its advancement.

DOES ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PRESENT A PROMISING TREND OF RURAL DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT? ATTITUDES OF VOJVODINA RURAL RESIDENTS

To be considered sustainable, tourism in rural destinations should provide long-term economic benefits and have a push-up effect on the population’s determination to engage in sustainable tourism. Also, sustainable tourism must reduce the negative effects of business activities on the natural environment and improve the quality of life as well as the standard of living of the local population. In order to check the impact of sustainable tourism on the development of rural destinations, economic indicators of sustainability are most often used, as measurable indicators of sustainable development. In the paper, we examined the attitudes of 421 local residents using the TIAS scale, in 17 Vojvodina villages. Only those who declared that they are involved in the tourism economy were taken for further analysis. It was concluded that positive economic indicators of sustainable development are “wind in the sails” of the development of rural destinations, and that sustainable tourism is a desirable economic activity in the villages of Vojvodina to whom more and more residents are turning, especially women as of very sensitive category.

Ассимиляционный потенциал природы и территорий: нетривиальные следствия управления устойчивым эколого-экономическим развитием

Ecological-economic systems, which are in a state of unstable dynamic equilibrium under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, strive for sustainability if human economic activity is able to maintain the assimilation potential at the level of reproduction of natural resources and environmental quality by devoting part of the income to the environmental agenda. Within the framework of the law of balanced environmental management T=1.618·t·a, sustainable environmental and economic development is achieved by allocating funds at the level (t) of the GDP growth rate (T) to the environmental agenda for the regions. The value of the ecological situation coefficient (ESC) in the law of balanced environmental management for the Russian Federation varies around the golden numbers 0.618, 1.618, 2.618, depending on the level of economic development in the biosphere, artificial maintenance of the quality of the environment in it, as well as in the future possibility of terraforming the solar planets systems. An indicator of sustainable, harmonious environmental and economic development is a linear relationship between the assimilation potential (a) and the EES at the level of golden numbers 0.618, 1.618, 2.618. In this case, sustainable environmental and economic development can be achieved in any environmental condition as long as balance is maintained between the rate of economic growth and allocations of funds for the restoration of the assimilation function of nature. But they must be directed to the environmental agenda in strict accordance with the golden proportion relative to the main directions of environmental activities, even in conditions of transformed (converted) nature, and in the near future, in conditions of terraforming. However, then all development costs will go exclusively to maintaining the habitat in multiples of the golden numbers of 1.618 and 2.618 in the coefficient of the law of balanced environmental management.

ICT penetration and life expectancy in emerging market economies: panel evidence from asymmetric causality analysis

BackgroundLife expectancy is a significant result indicator of public health and sustainable development. Therefore, one of the final objectives of all economic and social policies is to increase the life expectancy. In this context, a limited number of researchers have investigated the relationship between ICT penetration and life expectancy. However, multiple interaction channels exist between ICT penetration and life expectancy. Furthermore, the studies have usually focused on the effect of ICT penetration on life expectancy through regression and ignored the effect of life expectancy on ICT penetration to a large extent. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to the empirical literature by investigating the causal relationship between ICT indicators and life expectancy.MethodsThis study uses symmetric and asymmetric causality approaches to investigate the two-way interaction between ICT indicators and life expectancy in emerging market economies over the 1997–2020 period. Employment of the asymmetric causality test enables us to analyze the hidden relationships between ICT indicators and life expectancy, unlike the traditional causality test.ResultsThe results of the symmetric causality test uncover a bidirectional causal interaction between mobile subscriptions and life expectancy but a one-way causal relationship from life expectancy to internet usage. However, the asymmetric causality test results uncover a unidirectional causal relationship between mobile subscriptions and life expectancy in China, Colombia, Czechia, Egypt, Greece, India, Kuwait and Turkiye due to positive shocks from mobile subscriptions. On the other hand, a bidirectional causal interaction exists between internet usage and life expectancy in all countries due to negative shocks from internet usage and life expectancy. Last, a unidirectional causal relationship exists between internet usage and life expectancy in all countries due to positive shocks from internet usage.ConclusionICT indicators significantly influence life expectancy health in a sample of emerging market economies. Therefore, internet usage and mobile devices are significant tools to improve life expectancy.

Финтех как фактор улучшения корпоративных ESG-показателей

The article considers the relationship between the financial technologies development and sustainable development indicators on the example of emerging markets’ companies. While environmental, social and corporate governance attracts significant attention in discussions about corporate sustainability, its implementation depends on the development of financial technologies. The mechanisms by which the fintech development affects corporate sustainability indicators in emerging economies remain relatively unexplored. The necessity to understand how the development of financial technologies affects the corporate spheres of ESG reinforces the relevance of the research since it is of great importance for the formation of effective sustainable development strategies. The study uses a comprehensive methodological approach, which includes analysis of data on companies’ financial performance and assessment of the fintech development level in various regions, as well as analysis of its impact on sustainable development corporate indicators. The author uses statistical methods of analysis and mathematical models, as well as comparative studies to obtain more accurate and objective data. The results indicate an obvious relationship: companies operating under less financial constraints demonstrate noticeably higher indicators of sustainable development, especially in regions with developed fintech ecosystems. The research provides a detailed understanding of how the use of fintech can contribute to improving the indicators of sustainable development in emerging markets’ companies. The scientific novelty of the study lies in its in-depth analysis of the factors driving the corporate sustainability development under the influence of fintech technologies, which expands the understanding of the fintech impact on corporate sustainability indicators and opens up new prospects for future research in this area.

The illusion of the Holy Grail of decoupling: Are there countries with relatively high SDGI and moderately low ecological footprint?

The development of sustainability indicators at the national level emerged due to the limitations of using GDP as a measure of well-being, sustainability, and resilience. Over time, various indicators and rankings have been formulated, with a shift in focus from solely economic growth to a more encompassing perspective. The objective of this study was to create a new ranking, based on the integration of two methodologies, namely UN Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI), and the Global Footprint Network's Ecological Footprint (EF), in order to identify meaningful clusters of countries based on both measures. Hierarchical clustering was utilized to group countries, while the Nearest Neighbour method was employed to filter out outliers, and the Ward method determined the final clusters. Additionally, the Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the relationship between the 17 SDGIs and the EF. The clustering outcomes revealed that a three-cluster solution can be considered satisfactory. The results obtained with the new method demonstrate that the environmental dimension of SDGI is a sufficient metric for environmental sustainability in terms of ranking countries.

Altmetric functions of foreign current research information systems (CRIS-systems)

Altmetric methods enable to facilitate assessing research results on the basis of their citations and use by other users. The author addresses Current Research Information Systems (CRIS) as the core resources to reflect research output of individual research institutions. The purpose of her study is to analyze the experience of applying altmetrics in foreign CRIS. Besides, she reviews the studies in altmetrics and characterizes in brief altmetric indicators and their providers. Based on the analysis, the author suggests that Altmetric.com and Plum Analytics are the main source of altmetric data. Three groups of indicators are specified, namely: social metrics (twits, likes, reposts, comments), influence metrics (saving bookmarks and favorites, citing from different information resources, meeting a sustainable development goal), and use metrics (clicks, views, loads, library lending). The influence metrics is an alternative metric characteristic for foreign CRIS, as it is a sustainable development indicator based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Opportunities and Challenges: Adopting “Blue-Green Economy” Terms to Achieve SDGs

Sustainable development and the blue-green economy are intimately linked and collaborate. Like other nations, Indonesia follows Blue-Green economic principles to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study intends to investigate Indonesia's capacity and challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through implementing the Blue-Green economic concept and suggest solutions to address these barriers. Indonesia has adopted a substantial approach to attain sustainable development objectives by implementing a blue-green economic policy. This is primarily due to the country's status as a growing archipelago with a heightened susceptibility to natural disasters that affect all facets of society, the economy, and advancement. Indonesia is crucial in the global geopolitical scene because of its plentiful, untapped maritime resources. Implementing the Blue Economy in Indonesia offers a great chance to accomplish the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Prior studies focused solely on the blue or green economy and strategies for attaining sustainable development goals in Indonesia. This research is innovative as it integrates the blue-green economic idea. The study discovered that obstacles can be surmounted by implementing solutions to address legislative, governance, legal, and economic challenges. Efficiently developing the public sector is crucial. This involves applying technology advancements, managing information effectively, coordinating with stakeholders, seeking international collaborations, and adopting global best practices. It aims to determine how sustainable development indicators, specifically in Indonesia, impact economic growth indicators such as gross domestic product. Time series analysis is utilized to depict the relationship between variables. The ARDL model research shows a long-term equilibrium relationship between different measures of sustainable development and economic growth in Indonesia. Indicators of sustainable development have been seen to influence economic growth in Iraq. The analysis demonstrates that sustainable development has fueled economic growth in Indonesia from 2014 to 2024.

Upgrading informal areas through sustainable urban development principles

Informal areas are considered one of the biggest urban problems worldwide; it was estimated in 2018 that 29% of the world’s urban population lived in informal areas (The world bank, Population living in slums, 2022). This research aimed to identify a set of criteria and principles that are the basis for sustainable development in informal areas to achieve a better quality of life for the community. After conducting a literature review of the sustainable development principles, indices, and sustainable development interventions within informal areas, the research links them to set informal areas’ sustainable development principles. Then, by relying on the experts’ questionnaires and their analysis through SPSS, the researchers utilized the experts’ input to define each principle’s relative weight. Additionally, the research applied the extracted principles to the Boulaq El Dakrour case study to assess the sustainability of previous developments undertaken in the area with community participation.

Analysis on the impact of smart city construction on urban greenness in China's megacities

Urban greenness serves as a key indicator of sustainable urban development, with smart city construction emerging as a primary strategy for its enhancement. However, there is little empirical evidence considering multi-dimension between urban greenness and smart city construction on the city level. This study focuses on the impact on urban greenness of smart city construction in megacities, using the difference-in-differences regression model to evaluate the impact based on urban development conditions in various aspects from 2010 to 2021 in 10 megacities in China. The results of panel data of different indicator samples show unique conclusions. First, smart city pilot policy in megacities has significant impact on urban greenness, primarily due to demographic and economic developments. Second, the impact is different between the megacity and national level, and different factors of urban greenness have different effects on smart city construction. Third, the effects are time-lagged and lasted for years, and regional heterogeneity divided by building climate zones is existed, where the effect is more obvious in city agglomeration. These findings of smart city construction reveal the unique influences on megacity greenness, and can be generalized to cities with similar characteristics accordingly.

Household fuel and direct carbon emission disparity in rural China

Universal access to clean fuels in household use is one explicit indicator of sustainable development while currently still billions of people rely on solid fuels for daily cooking. Despite of the recognized clean transition trend in general, disparities in household energy mix in different activities (e.g. cooking and heating) and historical trends remain to be elucidated. In this study, we revealed the historical changing trend of the disparity in household cooking and heating activities and associated carbon emissions in rural China. The study found that the poor had higher total direct energy consumption but used less modern energy, especially in cooking activities, in which the poor consumed 60 % more energy than the rich. The disparity in modern household energy use decreased over time, but conversely the disparity in total residential energy consumption increased due to the different energy elasticities as income increases. Though per-capita household CO2 and Black Carbon (BC) emissions were decreasing under switching to modern energies, the disparity in household CO2 and BC deepened over time, and the low-income groups emitted ∼ 10 kg CO2 more compared to the high-income population. Relying solely on spontaneous clean cooking transition had limited impacts in reducing disparities in household energy and carbon emissions, whereas improving access to modern energy had substantial potential to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions and its disparity. Differentiated energy-related policies to promote high-efficiency modern heating energies affordable for the low-income population should be developed to reduce the disparity, and consequently benefit human health and climate change equally.

THE IMPACT OF INNOVATION SUPPORT ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTERPRISES

Today, the problems of devaluation of the environment, depletion of natural resources, and social and economic crises are increasingly deepening. The issue of sustainable development at the enterprise level is becoming a necessity, not just a regulatory requirement. The critical role in this process is played by innovative support capable of reforming the existing approaches to the problems mentioned above. The study aims to determine the relationship and mutual influence between the indicators of innovation support and sustainable development of enterprises and to form recommendations based on the results using the methods of correlation analysis, multivariate regression, and case study. The study revealed a close correlation between the indicators of innovation support, which are represented in the study by the Global Innovation Index with its sub-indices, and such Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators as the “Logistics Performance Index: Quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure” and “Electronic waste (kg/capita)”. It has been determined that the first indicator is most strongly influenced by institutions and infrastructure, and the second is influenced by institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, and market structure. The recommendations formed because of the analysis include using electronic systems and resource cycles. The results obtained can be of practical importance and used by both enterprise management and government agencies to optimise the enterprise's logistics system and waste management.

Evaluation of the Impact of Informal Settlements on the Physical and Mental Health of Residents—Case Study Santa Marta—Bogotá, Colombia

The growth of the informal city in Latin America has caused its own dynamics related to urban unsustainability due to the disorderly occupation of the territory. The precarious characteristics of informal neighborhoods have increased the mortality processes in their inhabitants, increasing the poverty and marginality indexes in Latin American urban settlements. This work was developed within the international research project “Modeling informality in Latin America based on indicators of sustainable urban development. Case study Yomasa, Bogotá-Colombia”. This work was developed under the mixed research approach which allowed focusing on a nested concurrent design of dominant model (DIAC), which was carried out in the Santa Marta sector of the locality of Ciudad Bolivar, in Bogotá Colombia, with the participation of 20 people from the studied community and supported by 16 students of Civil Engineering of the Catholic University of Colombia. The work resulted in a total of 31 indicators related to neighborhood informality, 17 impacts on the territory, and 8 pathologies, establishing the intrinsic relationship between informality, poverty, and public health of the inhabitant at the urban level.

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Coupling Coordination Analysis of Multiscale Social–Economic–Ecological Effects in Ecologically Vulnerable Areas Based on Multi-Source Data: A Case Study of the Tuha Region, Xinjiang Province

Ecologically fragile areas are confronted with the contradiction between economic development and ecological protection, especially in the Tuha region (Turpan and Hami), where the extremely vulnerable ecological environment limits local sustainable development. To address this, this study utilizes POI (Point of Interest) data, land use, and socioeconomic statistical data to achieve spatial quantification of indicators on a kilometer grid scale, constructing a multi-factor, multi-dimensional evaluation system for the socioeconomic and ecological effects of sustainable development based on SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The entropy method, comprehensive evaluation method, coupling coordination degree model, and geographical detector method are used to analyze the coupling relationships between systems at different scales and the factors influencing the system’s coupling coordination degree. The results indicate that from 2010 to 2020, the economic, social, and ecological systems of the Tuha region, as well as their comprehensive scores, exhibited spatial similarity. The economic system showed an upward trend, the social system displayed an inverted U-shaped trend of rising then declining, while the ecological system presented a U-shaped trend of declining then increasing. At the county scale, the coupling coordination degree closely approximates the trend of the comprehensive coordination index, showing a continuous upward trajectory. Compared with Turpan city, Hami city, especially Yizhou district, exhibits the best development in coupling coordination degree, while the growth in coupling coordination degree is most significant in Gaochang district. The main factors influencing the degree of coupling coordination are grain production and GDP (gross domestic product). This study provides a new perspective on the quantification of sustainable development indicators, which is of great significance for balancing economic and social development with ecological protection and promoting the coupled and coordinated development of society, economy, and ecology in ecologically fragile areas.

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE DOWNTOWN STREETS OF THE UKRAINE CITIES

Annotation text. Setting the problem is a transition from the analysis of the street from the point of view of exclusively technical design or scenario, to the street as an element of the urban ecosystem. This will give impetus to the formulation of new indicators of sustainable development. Publications related to the transformation of the central streets of historical cities mainly cover individual components of sustainable development systems or are limited to purely theoretical issues regarding the design of the urban environment. At the same time, most consider the issue of the street as a transport artery, not a public space. The aim of this publication is to define and justify the principles of transformation of the downtown streets of cities with the further development of the appropriate methodology, which should combine all three directions of sustainable development - ecological, economic and social. The novelty of the publication consists in tracking the types of transformation of the downtown streets and formulating the principles of transformation of the streets in city centre. Methodical approaches and methods of transformation of downtown streets depending on various components of sustainable development - ecological, economic and social - have been revealed. It was found that the implementation of the above-mentioned principles can be achieved by changing the functional and planning organization of the street, as well as by transforming the subject environment with the help of landscaping elements - stationary, non-capital and landscaping elements. The transformations should ensure the sustainable and prospective development of the street, comfortable conditions for work, transit and recreation of people, optimal parameters of the street for transit and temporary preservation of transport. In further research, the authors intend to analyze the compliance of the tasks of sustainable development in the restoration of urban ecosystems with the identified principles of transformation of central streets and to formulate new indicators of sustainable development.

Analysis of environmental health and sustainability of Brazilian municipalities in the Baixo Pardo/Grande River Basin

Population growth, the lack of urban planning and poor sanitation infrastructure have persisted in the management of urban space when the core issue is environmental health and the sustainability of municipalities. This paper aimed to evaluate the environmental health and sustainability of the 12 Brazilian municipalities in the Baixo Pardo/Grande (SP) river basin. The exploratory approach and the case study guided the comparative analysis of sustainability through the Sustainable Cities Development Index (100 indicators) and the Brazilian Environmental Health Index (18 indicators) to obtain an integrated classification of these indices on a municipal scale. The analyses highlighted that 100% of studied municipalities reached medium level (score: 51-75) out for health and sustainability, especially to Altair and Orlândia results Bebedouro, Viradouro and Colina require careful monitoring of the following indicators sanitary sewage and vector control, water and socioeconomic resources, and water and socioeconomic resources, respectively. The basic sanitation, health diseases and infant mortality pillars relating to these indices identified seven similar indicators, that is, they measure the same aspects of the analyzes. Then, they were excluded to avoid duplication of data. The least promising results of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were Gender equality (SDG 5), Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), Protect life on Earth (SDG 15) and Partnerships and means of implementation (SDG 17). Finally, the great challenges of the Baixo Pardo Grande River Basin pointed out social, technological and connectivity issues between interinstitutional sectors from a regional perspective.

RURAL SUSTAINABILITY IN BULGARIA: MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS

Sustainable development is essential for long-term evolution of the society as a whole, considering the future generation as well. It is a key concept of the 21st century reflecting the present and the future of humanity. Within the European Union, it is of primary interest and a fundamental goal. Currently, the European Green Deal serves as a strategic framework for the transition and policy development to accomplish this goal. It recognizes rural areas as important to contribute in terms of land use, biodiversity conservation, economic activity, and prosperity of society. Rural areas are important as a main source of supplies and resources for the society and as a space for living and working. The current challenges, such as economic crises, depopulation, and climate change, may limit their sustainable development. The active rural development policy and its growing role within the European policies supports the processes of adaptation and transformation towards the sustainability goals. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach as achieving sustainability requires considering the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of rural development. It means to consider a range of social, economic, and environmental factors and their interrelationships in order to identify and prioritize sustainable development options for rural areas. Therefore, the multiple criteria analysis of the various aspects of rural development, taking into account different sustainability indicators is a required precondition. This paper assesses rural areas sustainability in Bulgaria based on the multi-criteria analysis exploring the time-related changes of the available Sustainable Development Indicators and comparing them to the observed indicators at the European level. The findings indicate progress in some aspects (ecological based on the analysis of greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from agriculture). The study also identified serious barriers in economic and social dimensions analysing the performance of rural economy, the developments in business structures, employment and unemployment rates, and the rural demography (population, migrations and at-risk-of-poverty rate). The paper concludes with recommendations for promoting sustainable development that enhance economic opportunities and improve social demography. Keywords: sustainable development, environmental sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability, sustainable development indicators JEL code: Q01, R51, O18