World 2025

Ten years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) Report 2025 provides a comprehensive assessment of global progress towards achieving the 17 SDGs. The report highlights notable achievements over the past decade while emphasising the urgent need to accelerate implementation to meet the 2030 targets.

Since 2015, significant progress has been made across several areas of sustainable development. More than half of the world's population now benefits from some form of social protection, representing an increase of 10 percentage points over the past decade. Child marriage and maternal and child mortality rates have declined, more young people, particularly girls, are completing school, women's representation in national parliaments has increased from 22% to 27%, access to electricity and clean cooking has expanded, and Internet connectivity has increased by 70% (UNSD, 2025a; UNSD, 2025b).

Despite these achievements, global progress remains insufficient. The report finds that only 35% of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are progressing too slowly and 18% are moving in reverse. More than 800 million people continue to live in extreme poverty, carbon dioxide concentrations are at their highest levels in over two million years, 2024 was the hottest year on record, more than 120 million people have been forcibly displaced, and debt servicing costs in low- and middle-income countries reached a record US$1.4 trillion. These findings underscore the need for accelerated action, strengthened partnerships and increased investment to achieve the SDGsby 2030 (UNSD, 2025a; UNSD, 2025b).

Recommendations 

1. Accelerate implementation of the six critical SDG transitions identified in the UNSDGs 2025: food systems, energy, digital connectivity, education, jobs and social protection, and climate and biodiversity.
2. Increase investment and mobilise sustainable financing to accelerate progress across all SDGs.
3. Strengthen social protection systems, reduce poverty and inequality, and ensure that no one is left behind.
4. Expand access to quality education, healthcare, clean energy and digital technologies through inclusive public policies.
5. Strengthen climate action, biodiversity conservation and environmental resilience to address accelerating global climate risks.
6. Promote gender equality by removing barriers to women's participation in education, employment, leadership and public life, and by eliminating gender-based violence.
7. Enhance international partnerships, policy coherence and national statistical capacity to improve implementation, monitoring and accountability for the 2030 Agenda.

Conclusion

The UNSDGs Report 2025 demonstrates that, although important progress has been achieved since 2015, global implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains insufficient. The report finds that only 35% of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are progressing too slowly and 18% are moving in reverse. More than 800 million people continue to live in extreme poverty, 2024 was the hottest year on record, more than 120 million people have been forcibly displaced, and debt servicing costs in low- and middle-income countries reached a record US$1.4 trillion. At the same time, notable progress has been made, including a 10%-point increase in social protection coverage since 2015, an increase in women's parliamentary representation from 22% to 27%, and a 70% increase in Internet connectivity. These findings highlight the urgent need for accelerated implementation, strengthened international cooperation and increased investment to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

Refrences

1. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). (2025a): The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025. New York: United Nations. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/
2. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). (2025b): The Sustainable Development Goals Extended Report 2025. New York: United Nations. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/extended-report