This week the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) published the first country-level index of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These Goals combine a set of ambitious objectives adopted by the United Nations member countries to improve the lives of all people and build a more sustainable, inclusive and prosperous world over the next 15 years.
Measuring progress in pursuit of the SDGs will be critical to make this ambitious plan a practical reality. The index highlights considerable gaps in data are yet to be filled for many of the goals and the corresponding targets, such as measures of decent work and quality of education, underscoring the need for greater investment in statistical capacity and data collection.
The index is launched on the occasion of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a platform for the review and follow-up for the SDGs currently held in New York. As the forum is taking place for the first time since the SDGs were adopted last year, countries need to take stock of where they stand in regard to the global goals.
As the official statistical indicators against which countries can measure progress are yet to be finalised by the UN Statistical Commission, the SDG Index may help countries set priorities for early action. Drawing on available data, the index ranks countries by overall performance on the SDGs and provides them with a score on each of the 17 goals.
Though the index is based on only a portion of data that will be included in the official list of indicators, it provides an early insight into where most progress will be needed and allows countries to benchmark themselves against peers in the region. This may help uncover reasons for differing performance and devise better strategies to meet economic, environmental and social objectives in time.
[Graph: UNSDSN]
The index highlights the tendency of low-income countries to be near the bottom of the index. Some countries such as Kuwait defy this trend, exhibiting a high GDP per capita but a comparatively low index score.
The majority of poor countries however, in particular many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, face challenges across the full breadth of the SDGs. The causes for this are fairly well-understood. Out of more than 700 million people living in extreme poverty today, 70% live in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Lack of resources and capacity makes it difficult for these nations to invest in education, healthcare and basic infrastructure.
In light of this disparity, one cannot overstate the importance of global cooperation. Major commitments, made in the Finance for Sustainable Development Summit in Addis Ababa and the Paris Climate Agreement for example, were the first steps in this direction.
At the other end of the spectrum are the high-income economies, in particular the Nordic countries – Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland that are closest to achieving the goals.
[Graph: UNSDSN]
None of this means that fulfilling the SDGs will be easy for wealthier countries. The index shows that the sustainable development challenges, from inequality to loss of biodiversity, are present across continents and income levels.
Overall, member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of mostly high income economies, still fare poorly on roughly one third of the goals.
The United States, despite its economic prowess, ranks 25th on the index, as the country falls behind on addressing environmental challenges and tackling income inequality. OECD countries have a long way to go in meeting their climate commitments, protecting ecosystems and promoting sustainable consumption and production.
In order to meet the Goal 13 (climate change) the top performers need to radically transform their economies and energy systems to shift away from reliance on fossil fuels.
[Graph: UNSDSN]
At the same time, several countries with comparatively modest income levels have demonstrated considerable environmental and social progress. Namibia, Nicaragua, and South Africa, for example, are among the countries that made biggest advances on Goal 5 (gender equality).
Uruguay and Brazil, home to robust growth of clean energy, are ahead of many of its wealthier peers on Goal 7 and Goal 12 (sustainable cities and communities).
[Graph: UNSDSN]
As pointed out by Christian Kroll of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, “in terms of sustainable development, all countries are now developing countries”. This rings true in the context of insights provided by the new SDG Index.
While the need to help countries who are most behind is self-evident no matter how one looks at the data, the index painted a more nuanced, and perhaps, a more humble view of development – one where all of us have plenty of homework to do.
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