The United Nations the Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was established in 2015 through the collective agreement of all United Nations Member States, the SDGs set out a universal vision for peace, prosperity, and the protection of the planet. Comprising 17 Goals and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030, they serve as a blueprint for a more inclusive and sustainable future. Progress towards these objectives is assessed through national and global indicators, guided by the shared commitment to “leave no one behind.” To enhance the monitoring and evaluation of this global agenda, the WASD has introduced the Sustainable Development Goals Tracker (SDGT), an innovative analytical framework designed to measure and assess worldwide progress in achieving the UN’s SDGs (1–17). The SDGT offers a comprehensive, data-driven, and comparable tool that tracks each nation’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As the first organisation to establish such a system, WASD plays a pioneering role in advancing the global sustainability agenda by providing evidence-based insights, strengthening accountability, and supporting policymakers in accelerating progress towards the Goals.
Since 2016, UN Member States have been submitting Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) annually to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) to report on progress towards the SDGs. To date, 190 countries and the European Union have presented at least one VNR, with the United States remaining the only major country yet to do so. Between 2016 and 2025, a total of 412 VNRs have been presented,
reflecting growing global participation, though reporting frequency varies, with most countries submitting their first, second, or third review. The quality and depth of data also differ significantly some reports feature over 100 indicators, while others include fewer than 20. The most recent VNRs were presented at the 2024 HLPF in New York, and 35 countries are expected to participate in the 2025 cycle, marking the tenth anniversary of VNR reporting.
The SDGT is directly aligned with the 17 SDGs established by the UN in 2015. The SDGT builds on the VNRs, the official UN mechanism through which countries assess and report their progress on the SDGs. By systematically analysing the quantitative and qualitative data presented in VNRs, the SDGT monitors and evaluates each nation’s performance across all 17 SDGs, through a structured, evidence-based assessment process. Using this analysis, the SDGT applies a 0-5 performance scale to measure progress in line with the VNR assessment framework, providing a clear and comparable indication of how effectively each country is advancing towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.