The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were founded in 2012 at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. The main objective of sustainable development is to set a universal goal that meets the urgent needs of environmental issues, economic development, and political challenges facing the world. The SDGs were a replacement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were started in the 2000s to tackle poverty in the world. For the implementation of more sustainability at advanced levels, in 2015, at the COP 21 Paris Climate Conference, another historic agreement was signed in 2015 as the Sustainable Development Goal, in which 17 goals have been assigned and have to be achieved by 2030.
Source: dashboards.sdgindex.org
Recently, in 2025, the UN has released the Sustainable Development Reports to track and rank all the performance of all UN member states on SDGs.
The recently released 2025 Sustainable Development Report (SDR) paints a sobering picture: not a single one of the 17 global goals is on course for full realisation. In fact, only 17% of the targets are showing satisfactory progress.
While some positive steps have been made—particularly in areas like access to essential services and basic infrastructure—many challenges persist. The report highlights worrying reversals in several domains: rising obesity, declining press freedom, a worsening global corruption perception, and increasing concerns around sustainable nitrogen use, a key aspect of SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).
SDG Progress in 2025
Source: unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2025
Source: unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2025
Top 10 Countries in UN SDG Index 2025
| Rank | Country | Score |
| 1 | Finland | 87.02 |
| 2 | Sweden | 85.74 |
| 3 | Denmark | 85.26 |
| 4 | Germany | 83.67 |
| 5 | France | 83.14 |
| 6 | Austria | 83.01 |
| 7 | Norway | 82.72 |
| 8 | Croatia | 82.39 |
| 9 | Poland | 82.08 |
| 10 | Czechia | 81.94 |
Data Source: SDG Reports Ranking 2025
Bottom 10 Countries in UN SDG Index 2025
| Rank | Country | Score |
| 167 | South Sudan | 41.55 |
| 166 | Central African Republic | 45.21 |
| 165 | Chad | 46.04 |
| 164 | Somalia | 46.08 |
| 163 | Yemen | 47.74 |
| 162 | DR Congo | 48.24 |
| 161 | Sudan | 49.06 |
| 160 | Afghanistan | 49.10 |
| 159 | Niger | 50.33 |
| 158 | Madagascar | 51.05 |
What is India’s position in the Sustainable Development Report 2025?
India has reached a key milestone in 2025 by breaking into the top 100 for the first time in the index’s history. Ranked 99th with a score of 67.0, this marks a steady improvement over the past few years—from 109th in 2024, 112th in 2023, 121st in 2022, and 120th in 2021.
Despite this progress, India continues to trail behind some of its regional peers. Bhutan ranks 74th (70.5), Nepal 85th (68.6), and Sri Lanka 93rd. However, India outpaces Bangladesh (114th) and Pakistan (140th) in this year’s rankings.
Globally, China holds the 49th position with 74.4, while the United States stands at 44th with 75.2.
Conclusion
The UN Sustainable Development Report 2025 reveals that the world is far from achieving the 2030 Agenda, with only 17% of SDG targets on track. Despite this, some progress has been made in areas like access to basic services and infrastructure. Notably, India has made a historic leap by entering the top 100 for the first time, ranking 99th with a score of 67.0, reflecting steady year-on-year improvement. However, significant challenges remain globally—ranging from environmental issues to press freedom and corruption—demanding urgent, coordinated international efforts to realign with the SDGs before the 2030 deadline.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation