The Sustainable Development Goals Report

2018
United Nations

Contents
3

Foreword

4

Overview

16

A data revolution in motion

18

Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation

22

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy

24

Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

26

Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

28

Goal 15: Life on land

30

Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals

34

Note to the reader

35

Regional groupings

The Sustainable
Development
Goals Report
2018

United Nations
New York, 2018

Foreword
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a global
blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet,
now and in the future. Three years into the implementation of theAgenda, countries are translating this shared vision into national
development plans and strategies.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 highlights progress
being made in many areas of the 2030 Agenda. Since the turn ofthe century, the maternal mortality ratio in sub-Saharan Africa has
declined by 35 per cent and the under-five mortality rate has dropped
by 50 per cent. In South Asia, a girl’s risk of marrying in childhood
has declined by over 40 per cent. And, in the least developed
countries, the proportion of the people with access to electricity
has more than doubled. Globally, labour productivity has increased
and unemployment rate decreased. More than 100 countries havesustainable consumption and production policies and initiatives.
However, the report also shows that, in some areas, progress isinsufficient to meet the Agenda’s goals and targets by 2030. This isespecially true for the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups.
Youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults.
Less than half of all children and adolescents meet minimum
standards in reading and mathematics. In 2015, 2.3 billion people
still lacked even a basic level of sanitation service and 892 million
people continued to practise open defecation. Close to 1 billion
mostly rural people still lack electricity. In sub-Saharan Africa, theHIV incidence among women of reproductive age is 10 times theglobal average. Nine out of 10 people living in cities breathe polluted
air. And, while some forms of discrimination against women and girls
are declining, gender inequality continues to hold women back anddeprives them of basic rights and opportunities.

Conflict, climate change and growing inequalities add additional
challenges. After a prolonged decline, the number of undernourishedpeople rose from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, mainly
due to conflicts and drought and disasters linked to climate change.
In 2017, the North Atlantic hurricane season was the most costly ever,and the past five-year average global temperature is the highest on
record.
Without evidence of where we stand now we cannot confidently chart
our path forward in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.
To that end, this report also reflects on the challenges faced in thecollection, processing, analysis and dissemination of reliable, timely,accessible and sufficiently disaggregated data, and calls for better
evidence-based policymaking. Today’s technology makes it possible
to collate the data we need to keep the promise to leave no one
behind. But, we need political leadership, resources and commitment
to use the tools now available.
With just 12 years left to the 2030 deadline, we must inject a senseof urgency. Achieving the 2030 Agenda requires immediate andaccelerated actions by countries along with collaborative partnerships
among governments and stakeholders at all levels. This ambitious
Agenda necessitates profound change that goes beyond businessas usual. In doing its part, the United Nations has launched reform
initiatives to reposition the United Nations development system todeliver on the 2030 Agenda. The objective is to be more effective,cohesive and accountable. We stand ready to work with all Member
States to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality foreveryone, everywhere.

António GUTERRES
Secretary-General, United Nations

3

Overview
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 reviews progressin the third year of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. This overview presents highlights ofprogress and remaining gaps for all 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), based on the latest available data, and examinessome of the interconnections across Goals and targets. Subsequent
chapters focus in more depth on the six Goals under review at thehigh-level political forum on sustainable development in July 2018.

While people overall are living better lives than they were a decadeago, progress to ensure that no one is left behind has not been
rapid enough to meet the targets of the 2030 Agenda. Indeed, therate of global progress is not keeping pace with the ambitions of
the Agenda, necessitating immediate and accelerated action bycountries and stakeholders at all levels.

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Only 45 per cent of the world’s population
are covered by at least one social
protection cash benefit

While extreme poverty has eased considerably since 1990, pockets of the worst formsof poverty persist. Ending poverty requires universal social protection systems aimed at
safeguarding all individuals throughout the life cycle. It also requires targeted measures
to reduce vulnerability to disasters and to address specific underserved geographic areas
within each country.
fThefrate of extreme poverty has fallen rapidly: in 2013 it was a third of the 1990
value. The latest global estimate suggests that 11 per cent of the world population, or
783 million people, lived below the extreme poverty threshold in 2013.

Economic losses attributed to disasters
were over $300 billion in 2017fThe
fproportion of the world’s workers living with their families on less than $1.90 perperson a day declined significantly over the past two decades, falling from 26.9 per centin 2000 to 9.2 per cent in 2017.
fBasedf
on 2016 estimates, only 45 per cent of the world’s population were effectively
covered by at least one social protection cash benefit.
fIn
f 2017, economic losses attributed to disasters were estimated at over $300 billion.
This is among the highest losses in recent years, owing to three major hurricanes
affecting the United States of America and several countries across the Caribbean.

Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promotesustainable agriculture
World hunger is on the rise again:
815 million people were undernourishedin 2016, up from 777 million in 2015

After a prolonged decline, world hunger appears to be on the rise again. Conflict, droughtand disasters linked to climate change are among the key factors causing this reversal inprogress.
fThe
fproportion of undernourished people worldwide increased from 10.6 per cent in2015 to 11.0 per cent in 2016. This translates to 815 million people worldwide in 2016,
up from 777 million in 2015.

2000

2015

2016

Stunting, wasting and overweight
still affected millions of children
under age 5 in 2017

fAid
f to agriculture in developing countries totalled $12.5 billion in 2016, falling to
6 per cent of all donors’ sector-allocable aid from nearly 20 per cent in the mid-1980s.
fProgressf
has been made in reducing market-distorting agricultural subsidies, which weremore than halved in five years—from $491 million in 2010 to less than $200 million in
2015.

151
million51
million38
million
Stunting Wasting Overweight4

fIn
f 2017, 151 million children under age 5 suffered from stunting (low height for their age),
51 million suffered from wasting (low weight for height), and 38 million were overweight.

fIn
f 2016, 26 countries experienced high or moderately high levels of general food prices,which may have negatively affected food security.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018Goal 3:

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Many more people today are living healthier lives than in the past decade. Nevertheless,people are still suffering needlessly from preventable diseases, and too many are dying
prematurely. Overcoming disease and ill health will require concerted and sustained
efforts, focusing on population groups and regions that have been neglected.

Births attended by skilled healthpersonnel increased globally
2000-2005

2012-2017

62%

80%

Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child healthfThefmaternal mortality ratio has declined by 37 per cent since 2000. Nevertheless, in
2015, 303,000 women around the world died due to complications during pregnancy
or childbirth. Over the period 2012–2017, almost 80 per cent of live births worldwide
occurred with the assistance of skilled health personnel, up from 62 per cent in
2000–2005.
fGlobally,ffrom 2000 to 2016, the under-5 mortality rate dropped by 47 per cent, and theneonatal mortality rate fell by 39 per cent. Over the same period, the total number ofunder-5 deaths dropped from 9.9 million to 5.6 million.
fEven
fin the region facing the greatest health challenges, progress has been impressive.
Since 2000, the maternal mortality ratio in sub‑Saharan Africa has been reduced by
35 per cent, and the under-5 mortality rate has dropped by 50 per cent.
fInf 2018, the global adolescent birth rate is 44 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19,
compared to 56 in 2000. The highest rate (101) is found in sub‑Saharan Africa.

Under-5 deaths fell
between 2000 and 2016
2000
9.9
mill
2016
5.6
mill

Infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases
fGlobally,f
the incidence of HIV declined from 0.40 to 0.26 per 1,000 uninfected people
between 2005 and 2016. For women of reproductive age in sub‑Saharan Africa,
however, the rate is much higher, at 2.58 per 1,000 uninfected people.
fIn
f 2016, 216 million cases of malaria were reported versus 210 million cases in 2013.
There were 140 new cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people in 2016 compared to 173
cases per 100,000 in 2000. Hepatitis B prevalence declined among children under 5—
from 4.7 per cent in the pre-vaccine era to 1.3 per cent in 2015.
fIn
f 2016, 1.5 billion people were reported to require mass or individual treatment and carefor neglected tropical diseases, down from 1.6 billion in 2015 and 2 billion in 2010.
fUnsafefdrinking water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene continue to be major
contributors to global mortality, resulting in about 870,000 deaths in 2016. These
deaths were mainly caused by diarrhoeal diseases, but also from malnutrition andintestinal nematode infections.
fGlobally,f
32 million people died in 2016 due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes
or chronic respiratory disease. The probability of dying from these causes was about
18 per cent in 2016 for people between 30 and 70 years of age.

HIV incidence rate for women of
reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa
is 10 times higher than the global average
HIV incidence per
1,000 uninfected
people

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

0.26

2.58

fIn
f 2016, household and outdoor air pollution led to some 7 million deaths worldwide.
Health systems and funding
fGlobally,falmost 12 per cent of the world’s population (over 800 million people) spentat least one tenth of their household budgets to pay for health services in 2010, up from
9.7 per cent in 2000.
fOfficialfdevelopment assistance (ODA) for basic health from all donors increased by
41 per cent in real terms since 2010, reaching $9.4 billion in 2016.
fAvailablefdata from 2005 to 2016 indicate that close to 45 per cent of all countries and90 per cent of least developed countries (LDCs) have less than one physician per 1,000
people, and over 60 per cent have fewer than three nurses or midwives per 1,000 people.

The world is not on track to
end malaria by 2030

216 million cases ofmalaria in 2016
210 million cases ofmalaria in 2013

Overview

5Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all
More than halfof children andadolescents are
not achieving
minimum
proficiency
in reading andmathematics

58%

More trained teachers are neededfor quality education
Percentage of trainedteachers in primary education
100
85%
80
71%
61%
60

20
World

fAt
f the global level, the participation rate in early childhood and primary education
was 70 per cent in 2016, up from 63 per cent in 2010. The lowest rates are found in
sub‑Saharan Africa (41 per cent) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (52 per cent).
fAn
f estimated 617 million children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary
school age worldwide—58 per cent of that age group—are not achieving minimum
proficiency in reading and mathematics.
fIn
f 2016, an estimated 85 per cent of primary school teachers worldwide were trained;
the proportion was only 71 per cent for Southern Asia and 61 per cent for sub-SaharanAfrica.

400More than half of children and adolescents worldwide are not meeting minimum
proficiency standards in reading and mathematics. Refocused efforts are needed to
improve the quality of education. Disparities in education along the lines of gender,
urban-rural location and other dimensions still run deep, and more investments in
education infrastructure are required, particularly in LDCs.

Southern Sub-Saharan
Asia
AfricafIn
f 2016, only 34 per cent of primary schools in LDCs had electricity and less than
40 per cent were equipped with basic handwashing facilities.

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Child marriage in Southern Asia
decreased by over 40 per centbetween 2000 and 201740%

While some forms of discrimination against women and girls are diminishing, genderinequality continues to hold women back and deprives them of basic rights andopportunities. Empowering women requires addressing structural issues such as unfair
social norms and attitudes as well as developing progressive legal frameworks that
promote equality between women and men.
fBasedf
on 2005–2016 data from 56 countries, 20 per cent of adolescent girls aged 15
to 19 who have ever been in a sexual relationship experienced physical and/or sexual
violence by an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey.

2000

2017

3x
Women spend
about three times
as many hours
in unpaid domestic
and care work
as menfGlobally,faround 2017, an estimated 21 per cent of women between 20 and 24 years ofage reported that they were married or in an informal union before age 18. This meansthat an estimated 650 million girls and women today were married in childhood. Rates ofchild marriage have continued to decline around the world. In Southern Asia, a girl’s riskof marrying in childhood has dropped by over 40 per cent since around 2000.
fAroundf
2017, one in three girls aged 15 to 19 had been subjected to female genital
mutilation in the 30 countries where the practice is concentrated, compared to nearly
one in two around 2000.
fBasedfon data between 2000 and 2016 from about 90 countries, women spend roughly
three times as many hours in unpaid domestic and care work as men.
fGlobally,f
the percentage of women in single or lower houses of national parliament has
increased from 19 per cent in 2010 to around 23 per cent in 2018.

6

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Too many people still lack access to safely managed water supplies and sanitation
facilities. Water scarcity, flooding and lack of proper wastewater management also
hinder social and economic development. Increasing water efficiency and improving water
management are critical to balancing the competing and growing water demands fromvarious sectors and users.
fIn
f 2015, 29 per cent of the global population lacked safely managed drinking watersupplies, and 61 per cent were without safely managed sanitation services. In 2015,
892 million people continued to practise open defecation.

3 in 10 people lack access tosafely managed drinking water services

6 in 10 people lack accessto safely managed sanitation facilities

fIn
f 2015, only 27 per cent of the population in LDCs had basic handwashing facilities.
fPreliminaryfestimates from household data of 79 mostly high- and high-middle-income
countries (excluding much of Africa and Asia) suggest that 59 per cent of all domestic
wastewater is safely treated.
fIn
f 22 countries, mostly in the Northern Africa and Western Asia region and in theCentral and Southern Asia region, the water stress level is above 70 per cent, indicating
the strong probability of future water scarcity.
fIn
f 2017–2018, 157 countries reported average implementation of integrated water
resources management of 48 per cent.

Data from79 countries show
59 per cent of all
wastewater issafely treatedfBasedfon data from 62 out of 153 countries sharing transboundary waters, the average
percentage of national transboundary basins covered by an operational arrangement
was only 59 per cent in 2017.

Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all has come one step
closer due to recent progress in electrification, particularly in LDCs, and improvements inindustrial energy efficiency. However, national priorities and policy ambitions still need to
be strengthened to put the world on track to meet the energy targets for 2030.

55 per cent of renewable energy
was derived from modern forms in 2015

fFrom
f2000 to 2016, the proportion of the global population with access to electricity
increased from 78 per cent to 87 per cent, with the absolute number of people living
without electricity dipping to just below 1 billion.
fIn
f the least developed countries, the proportion of the people with access to electricity
more than doubled between 2000 and 2016.
fIn
f 2016, 3 billion people (41 per cent of the world’s population) were still cooking with
polluting fuel and stove combinations.

4 in 10 people still lack accessto clean cooking fuels and technologies

fThefshare of renewables in final energy consumption increased modestly, from
17.3 per cent in 2014 to 17.5 per cent in 2015. Yet only 55 per cent of the renewable share
was derived from modern forms of renewable energy.
fGlobalfenergy intensity decreased by 2.8 per cent from 2014 to 2015, double the rate of
improvement seen between 1990 and 2010.

Overview

7

Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, fulland productive employment and decent work for all
Earning inequalities are still pervasive:men earned 12.5 per cent more than
women in 40 out of 45 countries with data

Globally, labour productivity has increased and the unemployment rate has decreased.
However, more progress is needed to increase employment opportunities, especially foryoung people, reduce informal employment and labour market inequality (particularly
in terms of the gender pay gap), promote safe and secure working environments, andimprove access to financial services to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth.
fIn
f 2016, real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita grew at 1.3 per cent globally, lessthan the 1.7 per cent average growth rate recorded in 2010–2016. For LDCs, the rate fell
sharply from 5.7 per cent in 2005–2009 to 2.3 per cent in 2010–2016.

Youth were three times more likely
to be unemployed than adults in 2017

AdultsfGlobally,f
61 per cent of all workers were engaged in informal employment in 2016.
Excluding the agricultural sector, 51 per cent of all workers fell into this employment
category.
fDataffrom 45 countries suggest that gender inequality in earnings is still pervasive: in
89 per cent of these countries, the hourly wages of men are, on average, higher thanthose of women, with a median pay gap of 12.5 per cent.

4.3%

Youth

fLabourf
productivity at the global level, measured as output produced per employedperson in constant 2005 US dollars, grew by 2.1 per cent in 2017. This is the fastest
growth registered since 2010.

13%

fThe
f
global unemployment rate in 2017 was 5.6 per cent, down from 6.4 per cent in2000. The decline has slowed since 2009, when it hit 5.9 per cent. Youth are threetimes more likely to be unemployed than adults, with the global youth unemployment
rate at 13 per cent in 2017.
fIn
f high-income countries, almost every adult has an account at a bank or other financial
institution, compared to only 35 per cent of adults in low-income countries. Across all
regions, women lag behind men in this regard.

Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainableindustrialization and foster innovation
CO2 emissions intensity (kg CO2/USD)

0.50

0.38
0.35

0.20

Global carbon
intensity decreasedby 19 per centbetween 2000
and 2015

fThe
fglobal share of manufacturing value added in GDP increased from 15.2 per cent in2005 to 16.3 per cent in 2017, driven by the fast growth of manufacturing in Asia.

0.31

2000

fGlobally,f
the carbon intensity decreased by 19 per cent from 2000 to 2015—
from 0.38 to 0.31 kilograms of carbon dioxide per dollar of value added.

2015

Proportion of population covered by
a 3G mobile broadband network was
lower in the LDCs in 20168

Steady progress has been made in the manufacturing industry. To achieve inclusive
and sustainable industrialization, competitive economic forces need to be unleashed togenerate employment and income, facilitate international trade and enable the efficientuse of resources.

LDCs

Globally

61%

84%

fIn
f 2015, medium-high- and high-technology sectors accounted for 44.7 per cent of
total manufacturing value added globally. The value added reached 34.6 per cent indeveloping economies, up from 21.5 per cent in 2005.
fBy
f 2016, the proportion of the population covered by a third generation (3G) mobile
broadband network stood at 61 per cent in the LDCs and 84 per cent globally.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Efforts have been made in some countries to reduce income inequality, increase zero-tariff
access for exports from LDCs and developing countries, and provide additional assistanceto LDCs and small island developing States (SIDS). However, progress will need toaccelerate to reduce growing disparities within and among countries.

Products exported by SIDS facing
zero tarrifs increased by 20 per centbetween 2010 and 2016

fBetweenf2010 and 2016, in 60 out of 94 countries with data, the incomes of the poorest
40 per cent of the population grew faster than those of the entire population.
fIn
f 2016, over 64.4 per cent of products exported by LDCs to world markets and64.1 per cent of those from SIDS faced zero tariffs, an increase of 20 per cent since2010. Developing countries overall had duty-free market access for about 50 per cent of
all products exported in 2016.
fIn
f 2016, receipts by developing countries from member countries of the Development
Assistance Committee of the OECD, multilateral agencies and other key providers
totalled $315 billion; of this amount, $158 billion was ODA. In 2016, total ODA to LDCs
and SIDS from all donors totalled $43.1 billion and $6.2 billion, respectively.
fBasedfon provisional data, among the $613 billion in total remittances recorded in 2017,$466 billion went to low- and middle-income countries. While the global average cost ofsending money has gradually declined in recent years, it was estimated at 7.2 per cent in2017, more than double the target transaction cost of 3 per cent.

Remittances to low- and middle-income
countries represented over 75 per centof total global remittances in 2017$466 billion

Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Many cities around the world are facing acute challenges in managing rapid urbanization—from ensuring adequate housing and infrastructure to support growing populations,
to confronting the environmental impact of urban sprawl, to reducing vulnerability todisasters.

In 2016, 4.2 million people died fromambient air pollution

fBetweenf2000 and 2014, the proportion of the global urban population living in slums
dropped from 28.4 per cent to 22.8 per cent. However, the actual number of people
living in slums increased from 807 million to 883 million.
fBasedfon data collected for 214 cities/municipalities, about three quarters of municipal
solid waste generated is collected.
fIn
f 2016, 91 per cent of the urban population worldwide were breathing air that did notmeet the World Health Organization air quality guidelines value for particulate matter(PM 2.5); more than half were exposed to air pollution levels at least 2.5 times higher
than that safety standard. In 2016, an estimated 4.2 million people died as a result ofhigh levels of ambient air pollution.

Damage to housing due to natural disasters
showed a statistically significant rise
between 1990 and 2013fFrom
f1990 to 2013, almost 90 per cent of deaths attributed to internationally reported
disasters occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Reported damage to housing
attributed to disasters shows a statistically significant rise from 1990 onwards.

Overview

9Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Globally by 2018,
108 countries
had national
policies onsustainableconsumption
and production

93 per cent of theworld’s 250 largest
companies are now
reportingon sustainability

Decoupling economic growth from resource use is one of the most critical and complex
challenges facing humanity today. Doing so effectively will require policies that create a
conducive environment for such change, social and physical infrastructure and markets,and a profound transformation of business practices along global value chains.
fThef
per capita “material footprint” of developing countries grew from 5 metric tons in2000 to 9 metric tons in 2017, representing a significant improvement in the material
standard of living. Most of the increase is attributed to a rise in the use of non-metallic
minerals, pointing to growth in the areas of infrastructure and construction.
fFor
f all types of materials, developed countries have at least double the per capita
footprint of developing countries. In particular, the material footprint for fossil fuels is
more than four times higher for developed than developing countries.
fBy
f 2018, a total of 108 countries had national policies and initiatives relevant
to sustainable consumption and production.
fAccordingfto a recent report from KPMG, 93 per cent of the world’s 250 largest
companies (in terms of revenue) are now reporting on sustainability, as are threequarters of the top 100 companies in 49 countries.

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
2017 was the most costly North Atlantic
hurricane season on record

The majority of countries have ratified theParis Agreement and provided nationallydetermined contributions (NDCs)
175

168

The year 2017 was one of the three warmest on record and was 1.1 degrees Celsius above
the pre-industrial period. An analysis by the World Meteorological Organization showsthat the five-year average global temperature from 2013 to 2017 was also the highest on
record. The world continues to experience rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions(the North Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest ever recorded) and increasing
concentrations of greenhouse gases. This calls for urgent and accelerated action bycountries as they implement their commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate
Change.
fAs
f of 9 April 2018, 175 Parties had ratified the Paris Agreement and 168 Parties(167 countries plus the European Commission) had communicated their first nationallydetermined contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change Secretariat.
fIn
f addition, as of 9 April 2018, 10 developing countries had successfully completed andsubmitted the first iteration of their national adaptation plans for responding to climatechange.
fDevelopedfcountry Parties continue to make progress towards the goal of jointly
mobilizing $100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries
in the context of meaningful mitigation actions.

Ratified Paris
Agreement

10

NDCs

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
for sustainable development
Advancing the sustainable use and conservation of the oceans continues to require
effective strategies and management to combat the adverse effects of overfishing, growing
ocean acidification and worsening coastal eutrophication. The expansion of protectedareas for marine biodiversity, intensification of research capacity and increases in ocean
science funding remain critically important to preserve marine resources.

Mean coverage of marine KBAs
under protection increased
between 2000 and 2018
50

30%

fThe
f
global share of marine fish stocks that are within biologically sustainable levels
declined from 90 per cent in 1974 to 69 per cent in 2013.

25

fStudiesfat open ocean and coastal sites around the world show that current levels ofmarine acidity have increased by about 26 per cent on average since the start of theIndustrial Revolution. Moreover, marine life is being exposed to conditions outside
previously experienced natural variability.

0

fGlobalftrends point to continued deterioration of coastal waters due to pollution andeutrophication. Without concerted efforts, coastal eutrophication is expected toincrease in 20 per cent of large marine ecosystems by 2050.

44%

2018

2000

Open ocean sites show current levelsof acidity have increased by 26 per centsince the start of the Industrial Revolution
CO2
CO2

fAs
f of January 2018, 16 per cent (or over 22 million square kilometres) of marine
waters under national jurisdiction—that is, 0 to 200 nautical miles from shore—were
covered by protected areas. This is more than double the 2010 coverage level. The
mean coverage of marine key biodiversity areas (KBAs) that are protected has also
increased—from 30 per cent in 2000 to 44 per cent in 2018.

CO2
CO2

Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse
land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Protection of forest and terrestrial ecosystems is on the rise, and forest loss has slowed.
That said, other facets of terrestrial conservation continue to demand accelerated action toprotect biodiversity, land productivity and genetic resources and to curtail the loss of species.

Land degradation threatens the security
and development of all countries

fThe
fEarth’s forest areas continue to shrink, down from 4.1 billion hectares in 2000 (or31.2 per cent of total land area) to about 4 billion hectares (30.7 per cent of total land area)in 2015. However, the rate of forest loss has been cut by 25 per cent since 2000–2005.

fIllicitfpoaching and trafficking of wildlife continues to thwart conservation efforts,
with nearly 7,000 species of animals and plants reported in illegal trade involving
120 countries.
fIn
f 2016, bilateral ODA in support of biodiversity totalled $7 billion, a decrease of
21 per cent in real terms from 2015.

1.0
0.9
betterfSincef
1993, the global Red List Index of threatened species has fallen from 0.82 to
0.74, indicating an alarming trend in the decline of mammals, birds, amphibians, corals
and cycads. The primary drivers of this assault on biodiversity are habitat loss fromunsustainable agriculture, deforestation, unsustainable harvest and trade, and invasive
alien species.

The Red List Index shows alarming
trend in biodiversity decline for mammals,
birds, amphibians, corals and cycads

worse

fAboutf
one fifth of the Earth’s land surface covered by vegetation showed persistentand declining trends in productivity from 1999 to 2013, threatening the livelihoodsof over one billion people. Up to 24 million square kilometres of land were affected,
including 19 per cent of cropland, 16 per cent of forest land, 19 per cent of grassland and28 per cent of rangeland.

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
1980

1992

2004

Overview

201611Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,
provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive
institutions at all levels
More than 570 different trafficking
in persons flows were detected between
2012 and 2014

Many regions of the world continue to suffer untold horrors as a result of armed conflictor other forms of violence that occur within societies and at the domestic level. Advancesin promoting the rule of law and access to justice are uneven. However, progress isbeing made in regulations to promote public access to information, albeit slowly, and instrengthening institutions upholding human rights at the national level.
fNearlyf
8 in 10 children aged 1 to 14 years were subjected to some form of psychologicalaggression and/or physical punishment on a regular basis at home in 81 countries(primarily developing), according to available data from 2005 to 2017. In all but seven ofthese countries, more than half of children experienced violent forms of discipline.

32%

2003–2005

Proportion ofprisoners heldin detention
without
31% sentencing
has remained
almost constantin the last decade
2014–2016

fMore
fthan 570 different flows involving trafficking in persons were detected between
2012 and 2014, affecting all regions; many involved movement from lower-income tohigher-income countries.
fIn
f 2014, the majority of detected trafficking victims were women and girls (71 per cent),
and about 28 per cent were children (20 per cent girls and 8 per cent boys). Over90 per cent of victims detected were trafficked for sexual exploitation or forced labour.
fThefproportion of prisoners held in detention without being sentenced for a crime
remained almost constant in the last decade: from 32 per cent in 2003–2005 to
31 per cent in 2014–2016.
fAlmostf
one in five firms worldwide report receiving at least one bribery payment request
when engaged in regulatory or utility transactions.

Globally,
73 per centof children
under 5 have
had their births
registered

fGlobally,f
73 per cent of children under 5 have had their births registered; the proportionis less than half (46 per cent) in sub‑Saharan Africa.
fAt
f least 1,019 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists have been killed in
61 countries since 2015. This is equivalent to one person killed every day while working
to inform the public and build a world free from fear and want.
fFreedom-of-informationflaws and policies have been adopted by 116 countries, with atleast 25 countries doing so over the last five years. However, implementation remains achallenge.
fSincef
1998, more than half of countries (116 of 197) have established a national humanrights institution that has been peer reviewed for compliance with internationally agreed
standards (the Paris Principles). However, only 75 of these countries have institutions
that are fully compliant.

12

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnershipfor Sustainable Development
Goal 17 seeks to strengthen global partnerships to support and achieve the ambitious
targets of the 2030 Agenda, bringing together national governments, the international
community, civil society, the private sector and other actors. Despite advances in certain
areas, more needs to be done to accelerate progress. All stakeholders will have to refocus
and intensify their efforts on areas where progress has been slow.
fIn
f 2017, net ODA totalled $146.6 billion in 2017, a decrease of 0.6 per cent from 2016
in real terms. ODA as a share of donors’ gross national income (GNI) remained low, at
0.31 per cent.
fInf 2016, remittances to low- and lower-middle-income countries were more than threetimes the amount of ODA they received.
fIn
f LDCs, debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services increased for fiveconsecutive years—from a low of 3.5 per cent in 2011 to 8.6 per cent in 2016.
fIn
f 2016, high-speed fixed-broadband reached 6 per cent of the population in developing
countries, compared to 24 per cent in developed countries.
fTotalf
ODA for capacity-building and national planning amounted to $20.4 billion in2016, representing 18 per cent of total aid allocable by sector, a proportion that has beenstable since 2010.
fThe
fdeveloping regions’ share of world merchandise exports declined for two
consecutive years: from 45.4 per cent in 2014 to 44.2 per cent in 2016, a sharp contrast
to an average annual 1.2 percentage point increase between 2001 and 2012. For LDCs,
the share of world merchandise exports decreased from 1.1 per cent to 0.9 per centbetween 2013 and 2016, compared to the rise from 0.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent between
2000 and 2013.
fIn
f 2017, 102 countries or areas were implementing national statistical plans.
Sub‑Saharan Africa remained in the lead, with 31 countries implementing such plans;
however, only three of them were fully funded.

ODA for capacitybuilding and national
planning was$20.4 billion in 2016,
which has beenstable since 2010

LDCs’ share of world merchandise
exports fell between 2013 and 2016,
after a long period of increase
1.5
1.1
0.9
0.75
0.6

0

2000

2013 2016

In 2015, developing countries received
only 0.3 per cent of total ODA
to support all areas of statistics
0.3%

ODA

fIn
f 2015, developing countries received $541 million in financial support from multilateraland bilateral donors for all areas of statistics. This amount represented only 0.3 per centof total ODA, short of what is needed to ensure that countries in developing regions are
better equipped to implement and monitor their development agendas.
fDuringf
the decade from 2008 to 2017, 89 per cent of countries or areas conducted atleast one population and housing census.

Overview

13Interlinked nature of the Sustainable Development Goals

Three years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, countries
are taking bold actions to achieve the ambitious vision of thistransformative plan. As they do so, they face daunting problems: achanging climate, conflict, inequality, persistent pockets of poverty
and hunger, rapid urbanization and environmental degradation.
Policymakers in every country need to reflect on how societies can bemade more resilient while confronting these challenges. A good place
to start is by establishing robust water and sanitation infrastructure,ensuring access to clean and affordable energy, building safe andecologically friendly cities, protecting ecosystems, and instituting
sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Transitioning towards more sustainable and resilient societies
also requires an integrated approach that recognizes that thesechallenges—and their solutions—are interrelated. This section
provides a perspective on the interlinked nature of the SDGs in thecontext of the Goals and themes under review at the July 2018 highlevel political forum on sustainable development.

Transitioning towards sustainable and resilient
societies hinges on responsible managementof finite natural resources
Land- and water-based ecosystems and the rich biodiversity they
support provide food, clean water and air, and raw materials that fueleconomic growth. They provide natural sites for human settlements
and mitigate climate change. However, population growth,
agricultural intensification, urbanization and industrial production are
creating competition for natural resources, including land and water.
Overuse is contributing to their rapid depletion and consequentenvironmental degradation.
More than 2 billion people are affected by water stress, which will
only increase with population growth and the effects of climatechange. Agriculture accounts for almost 70 per cent of global water
withdrawal, which is projected to increase significantly to meet foodneeds.
This poses a fundamental challenge to sustainable development.
Effective implementation of integrated water resources management(IWRM) at all levels is critical to reversing this situation. In 2017,
157 countries reported average IWRM implementation of less than
50 per cent, highlighting the need for accelerated action andincreased financing for water resources management.
Forests cover 31 per cent of the world’s land area, and forested
watersheds and wetlands supply almost 75 per cent of the world’s
fresh water. Forests also play a central role in building and maintaining
soil fertility, slowing land degradation, halting landslides inmountainous areas and protecting against certain natural disasters.
Studies show that, in 2011, the economic value of forests globally wasan estimated $16.2 trillion. Deforestation and forest degradation are
still a concern, pointing to the need to fully implement sustainable
forest and land management practices.
14

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Biodiversity loss is escalating. About one fifth of the Earth’s land
surface covered by vegetation showed persistent and declining trends
in productivity between 1999 and 2013. Urgent actions are needed
to protect and restore ecosystems and the biodiversity they support.
These efforts can help mitigate climate change and provide increased
resilience in the face of growing human pressures and mounting
natural disasters.
Sustainable and resilient societies will also require the establishmentof strong national frameworks for sustainable consumption andproduction, environmentally sensitive business practices andconsumer behaviour, and adherence to international norms on the
management of hazardous chemicals and wastes. By 2018, a totalof 108 countries had national policies and initiatives relevant tosustainable consumption and production.

Access to basic services is not only a fundamental
human right, but also a stepping stone to sustainable
development
Every citizen has the right to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation,
electricity or other forms of energy, safe transport, waste collection,
education and health care. Provision of these basic services goes
hand-in-hand with economic growth, social inclusion, poverty
reduction and equality. For example, reliable road and transport
networks connect farmers in poor and remote communities to major
agricultural markets, and make health and education services moreaccessible.
Globally, significant strides have been made in improving the qualityof and access to basic services, while making them more inclusive.
However, in many countries, the poor and most vulnerable have beenleft behind. In 2015, 4.5 billion people (61 per cent of the world’s
population) still lacked access to safely managed sanitation services,and 892 million people—mostly in rural areas of Southern Asia andsub‑Saharan Africa—practised open defecation.
That same year, about 2.1 billion people (29 per cent of the world’s
population) lacked access to safely managed drinking water supplies.
In situations where water must be collected outside the home,
women bear primary responsibility. A study of 25 sub‑Saharancountries found that each day women spend a combined totalof at least 16 million hours collecting drinking water, men spend
6 million hours on this task, and children spend 4 million hours.
This burden leaves women less time to engage in other activities,
such as attending school or participating in the labour market. The
situation is much worse in areas affected by conflict, where walking
long distances to gather water or fuelwood often puts women andchildren in harm’s way.
One billion people (13 per cent of the global population) are currently
living without electricity. Rural residents make up 87 per cent of the
global deficit in access to electricity, which is strongly associatedwith poverty. Access rates are four times higher in the wealthiest

20 per cent of households compared to the bottom quintile in the
20 countries with the largest access deficits. Three billion people,
mostly women and children, are still cooking with polluting fuel andinefficient stoves, adversely affecting their health and well-being.
Improving the lives of the poor and most vulnerable requires
significant investments in quality basic services.

Social protection systems provide a safety net
for the vulnerable
Challenges to sustainability and resilience manifest themselvesdifferently for different population groups. Social protection systems
can have a levelling effect. They help prevent and reduce poverty andinequality at every stage of people’s lives and make societies more
inclusive and stable. Despite significant progress in many parts of theworld in extending social protection, the human right to social security
is not yet a reality for most people. Based on 2016 estimates, only 45
per cent of the world’s population were effectively covered by at least
one social protection cash benefit, leaving 4 billion people behind.
In 2016, only 22 per cent of the unemployed received unemployment
cash benefits, 28 per cent of persons with severe disabilities collecteddisability cash benefits, 35 per cent of children were covered bysome form of social protection, and 41 per cent of women giving birth
received maternity cash benefits. Although 68 per cent of people
above retirement age received a pension, the benefits were often notenough to lift older people out of poverty. Major work lies ahead toensure social protection for all who need it.

The path to resilient cities must address growing
social, economic and environmental challenges
Since 2008, more than half the world’s population has lived in urban
areas, a proportion that is expected to rise to 60 per cent by 2030.
Cities and metropolises are engines of growth, generating nearly
80 per cent of global GDP. But they also face mounting problems:
increasing air pollution, unplanned land use, growing populations
living in slums and lack of basic services.
In addition, climate change has increased the frequency and severityof natural disasters. With their dense populations and growing
concentration of economic activities, cities are becoming more
vulnerable to such disasters. By 2050, an estimated 680 million
people will be exposed to cyclones and 870 million to earthquakes—
an increase from 310 million and 370 million, respectively, in 2000.
Urban habitats in small island developing States are the fragile areas
where urbanization, vulnerability to natural disasters, and climatechange intersect, with often dire consequences. In the Caribbean for
instance, more than half the population live within 1.5 kilometres ofthe sea. This resulted in record economic losses in 2017’s catastrophic
North Atlantic hurricane season.
With sound urban planning and management, cities can become
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable as well as dynamic hubs ofinnovation and enterprise. Globally, 152 countries have national urban
policies in place to promote more coordinated and interconnectedurban development that sets the stage for sustainable urbanization.
More work is still needed to ensure effective implementation of suchpolicies.

A resilient society can deflect the threat of conflict
Over the last decade, the number of violent conflicts has increased
significantly, leading to the forced displacement of millions of people(the number in 2017 reached another record high of 68.5 million).
According to recent analyses, one of the effects of conflict is arise in hunger and food insecurity. And for the first time in morethan a decade, the number of people who are undernourished has
increased—from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016.
Conflict is one of the main drivers of food insecurity in 18 countries,
where 74 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Forced displacement as a result of conflict also influences
urbanization patterns, particularly slum formation. In countries
around the world, from Asia to Africa, people displaced fromconflict are finding their way to slums, where even basic water andsanitation facilities are scarce, and where thousands of people live in
uninhabitable conditions.
While the causes of conflict vary widely, the effects of climate change
only exacerbate them. Climate-related events such as drought
threaten food and water supplies, increase competition for these andother natural resources and create civil unrest, potentially adding fuelto the already-disastrous consequences of conflict.
Investing in good governance, improving the living conditions ofpeople, reducing inequality and strengthening the capacities ofcommunities can help build resilience to the threat of conflict andmaintain peace in the event of a violent shock or long-term stressor.

Migration can work for all in building more inclusive
and sustainable societies
Globally, the number of international migrants reached an estimated258 million in 2017, up from 173 million in 2000. Migration
contributes to inclusive and sustainable economic growth anddevelopment, in both countries of origin and destination. In 2017,
remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached$466 billion, more than three times the amount of ODA theyreceived that year. Remittances constitute a significant sourceof household income, improving the situation of families andcommunities through investments in education, health, sanitation,
housing and infrastructure. Countries of destination also benefit, sincemigrants often fill critical labour gaps, create jobs as entrepreneurs,
and pay taxes and social security contributions. Rising above
adversity, many migrants become the most dynamic members ofsociety, contributing to the development of science and technology
and enriching their host communities by adding to cultural diversity.
Nevertheless, many migrants remain highly vulnerable, andinvestments in sustainable and resilient societies will benefit themas well. Improving living conditions in countries of origin will help
minimize the adverse drivers that compel people to leave their homes.
In countries of destination, providing universal access to basic services
such as education, health care and social protection ensures that thehuman rights of migrants will also be respected, empowering them tobecome productive members of society. A win-win situation for all.

LIU Zhenmin
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Overview

15

A data revolution in motion

On 6 July 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted
a global indicator framework to monitor the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development as a voluntary and country-led endeavour.
The 232 global indicators are complemented by indicators at theregional and national levels developed by United Nations Member
States. Data from national statistical and data systems are the basis
for the compilation of global indicators.
Such systems around the world have been the source of many
important initiatives to develop new tools and frameworks tointegrate new data sources, with the aim of fully harnessing the powerof the data revolution and achieving the Goals and targets of the2030 Agenda. These efforts are especially important in identifying
those left furthest behind, since data are increasingly disaggregatedby income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability,
geographic location and other characteristics. This type of detailed
information is the basis upon which effective policies are shaped.

Assessments of countries’ statistical capacities reveal
enormous challenges
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in September 2015,
developing countries have begun a process to mainstream the SDGs
into their national development plans and monitoring and evaluation
frameworks. Countries have also developed indicator frameworks
to review progress towards the Goals. In many national statisticalsystems, the data requirements for the SDG indicators are being
added to existing work programmes and to national strategies forthe development of statistics. The aim is to organize data producers,
identify sources, draw attention to data gaps and launch necessary
capacity development activities.

Implementing a national monitoring framework
in Bangladesh
Since 2016, the Government of Bangladesh has actively
implemented the SDG national monitoring framework. A
principal coordinator position was created within the Officeof the Prime Minister to spearhead the process and forge
coordination. Many parts of the government, including theGeneral Economics Division of the Planning Commission and
the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics have published reports
to identify and map data gaps and integrate the global SDG
indicators into the Seventh Five-Year Plan (2016–2020).
The data gap analysis found that data on 70 indicators areavailable, and 108 can be generated by modifying existing
censuses and surveys (for disaggregation). An additional
63 indicators will require new surveys or censuses to generate
information for measuring performance in reaching SDG targets.

16

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

The first step in developing these plans or strategies for SDG
indicators is an assessment of a country’s statistical capacity throughconsultations with all members of the national statistical system.
The United Nations Statistics Division in the Department of Economic
and Social Affairs carried out such an assessment as part of a pilot
project in six countries—three in Africa and three in Asia. It revealed
that, on average, data for only 40 of the applicable global SDG
indicators (20 per cent) are currently available; another 47 global
indicators (23 per cent) are considered easily feasible, meaning thatthe data source is, in principle, available. Moreover, existing capacity
is heavily reliant on external assistance. Additional resources are
required to monitor additional indicators.

Standards for SDG data and metadata exchange will
improve transparency and efficiency
Working with data for the full implementation and review of theSDGs entails exchange and sharing of a large amount of data stored
in different databases maintained by the various producers. A
standard known as Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX)
provides a common language and vocabulary for data sharing andconsumption. Since October 2016, a group of experts from countries
and international agencies responsible for the development of theindicators have worked to develop an SDMX-based standard for SDG
data exchange.
The first draft data structure for the SDG indicators became available
in early 2018. The national statistical offices of Cambodia and theUnited Republic of Tanzania are currently piloting its use. Once
finalized, the SDMX standard is expected to be adopted by countries
and international agencies to improve data exchange, disseminationand transparency in the global and national reporting of the SDG
indicators. The standard for data will be complemented by a standard
for metadata.

National reporting and dissemination platforms are
key instruments for SDG implementation and review
Tools to gather, present and disseminate SDG data are key toensuring their extensive and effective use by policymakers. National
reporting and dissemination platforms for SDGs are indispensable topolicymakers and, indeed, to all stakeholders for understanding where
progress is being made and informing future interventions. They also
serve a critical function in national data compilation, since they bring
together data and metadata from across the entire statistical system.
This helps ensure data quality and improve coordination of thenational statistical system.
In the past, initiatives to set up online national reporting anddissemination platforms have delivered mixed results for users. A
conference in early 2018 brought together more than 60 experts fromnational statistical offices, international and regional organizations

that support reporting and dissemination platforms in countries, aswell as donors and other solution-providers. The conference focusedon users’ needs, reviewed best practices and showcased solutions andpossible ways forward for countries. The meeting produced principles
and guidelines for the development and implementation of national
reporting and dissemination platforms to guide countries in theestablishment of their national platforms.

Providing access to geospatial and statistical data
through an SDG data hub
In November 2017, Ireland launched its national Hub for
Sustainable Development Goals, an online platform thatprovides access to over 100 layers of geo-statistical data, datavisualization tools and web applications relating to specific SDG
targets. The hub is part of a broader collaboration initiated in
September 2016 between the Central Statistics Office of Irelandand Ordnance Survey Ireland. The hub provides open andtransparent access to integrated geospatial and statistical datain support of the government’s agenda for public-sector reform.

Designing a free, reusable and customizablenational reporting platform for the SDGs
In 2016, the United States General Services Administration
collaborated with the Office of Management and Budget todevelop and launch an online national reporting platform for
the SDGs. The innovation behind the initiative is the adaptationof an existing product with an established open-source
community, offering a solution that is country-led, free for any
country or organization to replicate and fully customizable. The
Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom further
developed the tool and established it as its own national
reporting platform for the SDGs. New enhancements include
the ability to display disaggregated data for indicators—afeature that helps identify and prioritize those furthest behind.
Both online platforms are works in progress. The USA-UK
collaboration continues to support other countries in adopting
their platforms and developing additional features, such asenhanced data visualization. For more information, see: https://
sdg.data.gov/ and https://sustainabledevelopment-uk.github.io.

Using geospatial data can ensure that no one
is left behindAmong the different categories of disaggregation called for in the2030 Agenda, “place”, or geographic location, is critical for ensuringthat no one is left behind. Geographic location is needed to know
where a situation is present or where an event has occurred, and toallow decision makers to respond. Since 2011, the United Nations
has made great strides in strengthening the global data ecosystemby establishing the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global
Geospatial Information Management. The geospatial community,
working closely with the statistical community, has investigated how
geospatial information can be used for improving the production ofmany SDG indicators.
The integration of geospatial information with data and statistics for
SDGs is also instrumental in enabling data inter-operability acrossdata ecosystems and linking data sets within and across countries.
National statistical offices and national geospatial agencies are now
collaborating to establish a Federated Information System for the
SDGs. This hub will be a repository for national SDG information andwill also transmit this information to a global data hub.

This collaboration is clearly a boon to all stakeholders, enablingsynergies across national authorities responsible for the
production and dissemination of geospatial and statistical data.
At the same time, it demonstrates the value of visualizing SDG
statistical data within a geospatial context and re-purposing
existing systems and architectures to combine text, graphs andmaps to tell data stories. This tool is helping galvanize action for
the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at local and national
levels. For more information, see: http://irelandsdg.geohive.ie/.

The United Nations World Data Forum is bringing
data communities together
Bringing together different data communities of producers and users,
and harnessing the power of technology and other innovative tools
are essential to fulfilling the data demands of the 2030 Agenda. The
United Nations World Data Forum provides a space in which all data
producers can come together as a community, have a productive
dialogue with users and policymakers, and identify ways to mobilize
the necessary resources for data development. The forum wasestablished by the United Nations Statistical Commission—anintergovernmental body comprising national statistical authorities
from around the world—to allow all data producers, including thoseoutside the traditional statistical systems, to present innovative
approaches for data compilation, processing and communication.
Capacity development and resource mobilization for data are central
to the activities of the United Nations World Data Forum. Capacity
development is guided by the Cape Town Global Action Plan,
launched at the first forum in 2017. The results of a joint survey—
undertaken by the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the
21st Century and the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination
and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development—are a powerful reminder of the capacity
needs of developing countries. Countries report that at the top of theirlist of most urgent needs are improved use of administrative data,
better disaggregation by disability, among other dimensions, andstatistics related to income, poverty and the environment.
The second United Nations World Data Forum will take place in
October 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will build on the
success of the first forum, focusing on the following thematic areas:
ff
ff
ff
ff
ff
ff

New approaches to capacity development for better dataInnovations and synergies across data ecosystems
Leaving no one behind
Understanding the world through data
Building trust in data and statistics
How far have we come?

A data revolution in motion

17

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM GOALS IN FOCUS
Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation
for all
Safe drinking water and sanitation are basic human rights.
Access to fresh water, in sufficient quantity and quality, is alsoa prerequisite to achieving many dimensions of sustainable
development, including health, food security and poverty
reduction. Water-related ecosystems are essential to life andhave always provided natural sites for human settlements,
bringing benefits such as transportation, natural purification,
irrigation, flood protection and habitats for biodiversity. However,
population growth, agricultural intensification, urbanization andindustrial production are beginning to overwhelm and undermine
nature’s ability to fulfil key functions and provide key services. The
challenges of meeting future water needs in a sustainable mannerare daunting, but they can be overcome. The implementation of
integrated water resources management at all levels (including
the transboundary level) and mainstreaming water and sanitation
into the policies and plans of other sectors are critical.

A majority of the world's population still lack safe sanitation, and 3 in 10 lack safe drinking water
Based on estimates from 84 countries in 2015, 39 per cent of the
global population used safely managed sanitation services—basic
facilities that safely dispose of human waste. An additional
29 per cent of the global population used a basic sanitation service—an improved facility that is not shared. That year, 2.3 billion people
lacked even a basic level of service, and 892 million people continued
to practise open defecation. Only 27 per cent of the population inleast developed countries had basic handwashing facilities.

In 2015, 5.2 billion people (71 per cent of the global population) usedsafely managed drinking water services—that is, an improved water
source located on premises, available when needed and free fromcontamination. An additional 1.3 billion people (17 per cent of the
population) used a basic drinking water service—an improved water
source not more than 30 minutes away. This means that 844 million
people still lacked even a basic level of service.

Proportion of the population using safely managed and basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, 2015 (percentage)
Drinking water
Australia and New Zealand •Central and Southern Asia
Eastern and South-Eastern Asia •Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe and Northern America
Oceania* •Sub-Saharan Africa
Northern Africa and Western Asia •Least developed countries
Landlocked developing countries
Small island developing States •

31

57

94

•

36

•

28
33

33

29

33

29

•
•

82

40

80

15
53

100

0

76
27

40

32
68

56
29

39

17
60

•

32

•

71
20

•
•

19

78

34
91

Safely managed drinking water services
Basic drinking water services• Insufficient data to estimate safely managed

20

40

•
60

80

100

Safely managed sanitation services
Basic sanitation services• Insufficient data to estimate safely managed

Note: Oceania* refers to Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand, throughout the publication.

18

63

5

52

•
•
•

22

55
22

31

65

24

Hygiene
32

50

•

94

World
0

Sanitation
68

100

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

0

20

40

60

80

100

Basic handwashing facility• Insufficient data on basic handwashing facility

Conflict, violence and instability are curtailingprogress on water and sanitation

Proportion of the population using basic water and basic sanitation services
in fragile and non-fragile states, 2015 (percentage)

Conflict, violence and instability can derail progress towards universal
access to basic water and sanitation services. Using the World Bank’s
harmonized classification of fragile states, an estimated 484 million
people worldwide lived in fragile situations in 2015. Of these, 284
million people lacked basic sanitation services and 183 million lacked
basic drinking water services. Globally, people living in fragile states
are twice as likely to lack basic sanitation and about four times as
likely to lack basic drinking water services as populations in non-fragile
situations, with significant differences observed across all regions.

Use of basic water

Use of basic sanitation

Northern Africa and Western Asia

77

96

68

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

68

95

65

Latin America and the Caribbean

64

97

31

Central and Southern Asia

63

89

39

Sub-Saharan Africa

53

Oceania*

100

21

96

62
0

100

89
70

41

90
100

100

0

FragileAccelerated progress is needed in more than
40 countries to end open defecation by 2030

87
50

22 30

59

40

World

93
77

Non-fragile

Between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of the global population
practising open defecation declined from 20 per cent to 12 per cent.
However, faster progress will be needed to end the practice by 2030.
Among the 62 countries where at least 5 per cent of the population
practised open defecation in 2015, 18 countries are currently on track
to meet the 2030 target. In another 36 countries, the current rateof progress is too slow to reach the target. For the remaining eight
countries, open defecation rates have actually increased since 2000.

Annual rate of reduction (percentage-point change
per year) in practice of open defecation
2000–2015

Proportion of the population practising open defecation in 2015 and annual rateof reduction in the practice of open defecation, 2000–2015 (percentage)
4

3

2

1

0

-1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Proportion of the population practising open defecation (%) in 2015
On track for elimination by 2030

Progress but not fast enoughOpen defecation increasing

Untreated household wastewater poses a risk to both public health and the environment
Untreated wastewater from households degrades overall water
quality, posing a risk to public health. It can contaminate drinking water
sources and limit opportunities for safe and productive reuse of water.
Preliminary estimates from household data in 79 mostly high- andhigh-middle-income countries (excluding much of Africa and Asia)

show that, in 22 countries, less than 50 per cent of all household
wastewater flows are safely treated. Of the 59 per cent of wastewaterflows that are treated, 76 per cent are households with a sewer
connection, and 18 per cent are treated through an on-site facility,
such as a septic tank.

Proportion of safely treated wastewater flows from households, 2015 (percentage)

76%–100%
51%–75%26%–50%25% or lessInsufficient data or not applicable

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 6 | Clean water and sanitation

19

Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater
sources, around 2014 (percentage)
Northern Africa and Western Asia

79

Central and Southern Asia

66

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

19

Europe and Northern America

11

Australia and New Zealand

4.1

Latin America and the Caribbean

3.5

Sub-Saharan Africa

3.4

Oceania*

0.1

World

13
0

20

40

60

80

Average percentage of implementation of integrated water resources management(IWRM) and the number of countries in each IWRM implementation category, 2017
Latin America and the Caribbean

35

1 1

Central and Southern Asia

37

1

Sub-Saharan Africa

39

14

3

11

Oceania*40

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

48

Northern Africa and Western Asia

54

1

Europe and Northern America

67

3

Australia and New Zealand

72

World

48

22

1

8

4

1

1

1

2

6

9

17

23

1

9

1

5

1

2
5

3

0

Average percentage

13
6

6

2

1

31
20

66
40

60

31
80

1
100

Very high (90%–100%)

High (70%–89.9%)

Medium high (50%–69.9%)

Medium low (30%–49.9%)

Low (10%–29.9%)

Very low (0%–9.9%)

Proportion of transboundary basin areas with an operational arrangement
for water cooperation, 2017 (percentage)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10

So Ce
ut n t(1 h er ral
co n A an
un si d
try a
So
)
ut
h- Ea
Ea st
s t er(1 e r n
co n A an
un si d
try a
)

an L
d at
th in
(9 e Ca Am
co rib er
un be ica
tri an
es
)
No
rth E
u
e
(2 rn ro4 A peco m aun er n dtri ica
Su
es
b)
Sa
h
(2 a
0 ran
co A
un fr
tri ica
es
)
an No
d rth
W e
(7 est rn Aco ern fr
un A ica
tri siaes)0

Global average
Note: No data available for Oceania*.

20

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Northern Africa and Western Asia are hardest hit bywater stress, indicating the strong probability of futurewater scarcity
In 22 countries (mostly in Northern Africa and Western Asia andin Central and Southern Asia), water stress—defined as the ratio offreshwater withdrawn to total renewable freshwater resources—isabove 70 per cent. This indicates a strong probability of future water
scarcity. In 15 of these countries, withdrawals totalled more than
100 per cent of the renewable freshwater resources in the country.
Such challenges are typically addressed by making use ofnon-conventional water resources, such as reused wastewater,
desalinized water, and drainage water used directly for agriculture.
Efforts in countries most affected by water stress need to focus on
increasing water use productivity and efficiency through these andother methods.

Redoubled efforts are needed in most countries
to better manage their water resources
Implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM)
supports the use of water in a way that balances the social, economicand environmental dimensions of sustainable development. In 2017,
157 countries reported average IWRM implementation of 48 per cent,with scores ranging from 10 per cent to 100 per cent. Despite regional
differences, each region contains examples of countries with relatively
high implementation, showing that the level of development is notnecessarily a barrier to implementation. A comparison of surveys
conducted in 2007 and 2011 on the implementation of IWRM indicatesthat modest progress is being made towards the target. However,based on experiences from the field, high rates of implementation
typically take at least a decade to be achieved. Most countries needto accelerate current progress to come close to the target by 2030,
particularly regarding financing for water resources management.

Cooperation among countries sharing rivers,
lakes and aquifers needs to accelerate
A total of 286 transboundary river and lake basins and592 transboundary aquifers are shared by 153 countries. Thisreliance on transboundary waters creates interdependencies among
countries on political, environmental, economic and security issues,
and makes cooperation a necessity. In 2017, based on data from62 out of 153 countries sharing transboundary waters, the average
percentage of national transboundary basin area covered by anoperational arrangement was 59 per cent. High levels of cooperation
exist across Europe and Northern America and for many majorriver and lake basins in sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, the types ofcooperative arrangements vary greatly in terms of their scope,function and form. Most arrangements cover rivers and lakes, but
are rarely dedicated to aquifers. It is encouraging that steps are being
taken to revise outdated arrangements, strengthen existing forms ofcooperation, and negotiate new cooperative agreements. However,a significant effort is needed to ensure that, where appropriate,transboundary basins across the world are covered by operationalarrangements.

Lack of abundant surface water in the poorest
countries heightens their vulnerability to climatechange and water scarcity

Proportion of land area covered by freshwater bodies, 2016 and change
in proportion of land area covered by freshwater bodies 2005–2016 (percentage)
Europe and Northern America

Water-related ecosystems are home to diverse plant and animal species,
and the source of many sustainable goods and services, including foodand water for drinking, energy, agriculture and recreation. Regional trend
data show that the extent of surface water increased in some regions
from 2001 to 2015. However, this is likely to be largely the result of newreservoir construction, flood irrigation and extreme weather events
exacerbated by climate change. Globally, slightly more than 2 per cent ofland is covered by freshwater bodies, but they are unevenly distributed
across countries. Europe and Northern America have almost 4 per centof their total land covered by freshwater bodies, while coverage in least
developed countries and small island developing States is only around
1 per cent. Although landlocked developing countries have a higher
proportion of water bodies, this share has declined over the last decade.

3.9

0.5

Central and Southern Asia

3.4

-5.8

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

1.3

Oceania*

1.2

Latin America and the Caribbean

-0.5

1.1

Sub-Saharan Africa-0.3

Northern Africa and Western Asia

-0.4

5.5
2.7

1.1
0.8
0.3

Australia and New Zealand
Least developed countries

1.1

-0.3

Landlocked developing countries

4.4

2.9

-4.7
0.9
1.1

Small island developing States
World

2.1

-0.2
-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Freshwater bodies extent in 2016
Change in freshwater bodies extent (2005–2016)

13,500912,0008

10,500

7

9,000

6

7,500

5

6,000

4

4,500

3

3,000

2

1,500

1

Percentage of total ODA

Ensuring water and sanitation for all will require financial resources
and technical capacity to support and sustain needed investments
in capital infrastructure. While total official development assistance(ODA) committed and disbursed across all sectors steadily increased
between 2012 and 2016, the share of ODA commitments to waterrelated activities declined. Such activities include drinking water supply,
sanitation and hygiene, agricultural water resources, flood protection
and hydroelectric power. Between 2012 and 2016, commitments to thewater sector decreased from a peak of $12 billion to $9 billion; however
disbursements to water-related activities increased from $7.4 billion to$9 billion. As commitments fall, disbursements may also get smaller inthe future. Furthermore, any reduction in external aid is likely to hamper
progress towards Goal 6: a 2017 survey found that over 80 per centof countries reported insufficient financing to meet national water,
sanitation and hygiene targets.

Official development assistance commitments and disbursements to the watersector, 2007–2016 (millions of constant US$ and percentage of total ODA)

Millions of constant 2016 US$

Funding commitments to the water sector dropped
by more than 25 per cent from 2012 to 201600

2007 2008 2009 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Commitments (left axis)
Disbursements (left axis)
Commitments as percentage of total ODA (right axis)
Disbursements as percentage of total ODA (right axis)

Over half of countries have policies or proceduresfor the participation of women in rural water supply
Policies and procedures for participation by local governments in the
management of water and sanitation can help ensure that communities
are informed, consulted and represented in the delivery of these vital
services. Data for 110 countries from two surveys—in 2014 and 2017—
show that 85 per cent of countries reported that they have policies orprocedures in place for the participation of local communities in the
management of rural water supply, 81 per cent have the same for rural
sanitation, and 79 per cent for urban water supply and sanitation. The
role of women’s participation is increasingly important as a measureof equity. Among the 84 countries participating in the 2017 survey, thenumber of countries that had policies specifically mentioning women’s
participation is higher for rural communities than for urban areas.

Proportion of countries with defined procedures in law or policy for participation
by service users/communities, and proportion of countries with policies
specifically mentioning women’s participation, 2014 and 2017 (percentage)
33

Urban water supply

79
37

Urban sanitation

79
43

Hygiene70
50

Rural sanitation

81
55

Rural water supply
0

10

20

30

40

50

85
60

70

80

90

Percentage with specific mention of women’s participation(2017 survey: total 84 countries)
Percentage with defined procedures for participation by local communities(2014 and 2017 surveys: total 110 countries)

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 6 | Clean water and sanitation

21

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM GOALS IN FOCUS
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Recent advances in sustainable energy are encouraging signs
for ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy
for all. Access to electricity is outpacing population growth
in many countries. In addition, energy efficiency continues toimprove, which is offsetting carbon dioxide emissions, reducing
energy demand and making energy more affordable. Althoughrenewable energy in the electricity sector has advanced rapidly,
accelerated progress is also needed in the areas of transport,
heating and cooling. Despite some steps forward, 41 per cent of
the world’s population still lack access to clean cooking fuels andtechnologies. Overall, progress on Goal 7 remains too slow to be
on track to meet the global energy targets for 2030.

Amount of individual renewable energy sources in total final energy consumption,2015 (millions of tons of oil equivalent)
Oceania
Northern Africa and Western Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Central and Southern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Eastern and South-Eastern Asia
Europe and Northern America
0

Traditional
biomass

Modernbioenergy

50

Hydropower

100

150

200

Wind

250

Solar

300

350 400

Other
renewables

Notes: Oceania includes Australia and New Zealand.
Traditional biomass is the residential use of fuelwood and charcoal in non-OECD
countries. Modern bioenergy includes all other uses of biomass. Other renewables
include geothermal and marine energy.

7
6.6
6.3

5.9

6

5.5

5

5.3

2000

2005

2010

2015

Global primary energy intensity

22

The share of renewables in final energy consumption increased
modestly, from 17.3 per cent in 2014 to 17.5 per cent in 2015. Only
55 per cent of the renewable share was derived from modern formsof renewable energy. The remainder represents traditional uses ofbiomass (such as fuelwood and charcoal), of which a significant
proportion is used by the 3 billion people still using polluting
cookstoves. In absolute terms, renewable energy consumption grewby 18 per cent from 2000 to 2015. In 2015, electricity accounted forhalf of the increase (mostly from wind and solar energy); the other half
was mostly bioenergy for heat and transport. Based on the current
trend, the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption
is projected to reach just 21 per cent by 2030, falling short of thesubstantial increase called for in the SDG target.

Low- and middle-income countries are seeing thefastest declines in energy intensity, outpacing richer
countries

Global primary energy intensity, 2000–2015 (megajoules per 2011 US$ PPP)

6.5

Faster uptake of modern forms of renewable energy isneeded to meet an ambitious SDG target

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Global energy intensity—the ratio of energy used per unit of
GDP—decreased by 2.8 per cent in 2015, faster than in any year since1990 and double the rate of improvement between 1990 and 2010.
High-income countries showed consistent declines, but at a slower
pace than low- and middle-income countries. Emerging economies
in Asia and the Pacific and in Africa have now surpassed the global
rate of improvement in energy intensity, but their intensity levels
are higher than the world average. Among end-use sectors, industry
made significant progress, reducing intensity by 4.2 per cent in 2015.
To reach the SDG target, global energy intensity needs to improve at
an annual rate of 2.7 per cent over the period 2016–2030, requiring
sustained momentum and the systematic adoption of energy
efficiency policies in countries that are falling behind.

Vast swaths of Africa and Asia are still without electricity, although progress is being madeFrom 2000 to 2016, the proportion of the global population withaccess to electricity increased by almost ten percentage points,
reaching 87 per cent. This was the first time since 1990 that theabsolute number of people living without electricity dipped below thesymbolic threshold of one billion. Substantial gains in access rates
were achieved in rural areas, in part due to slower population growth,
but also aided by an upswing in off-grid solar electricity. Still, accessrates to electricity in rural areas (at 76 per cent) are much lower thanin urban areas (97 per cent), and rural residents make up 87 per centof the global deficit in access.

The largest deficits in electricity are found in Southern Asia andsub-Saharan Africa. However, both regions have made substantial
progress. From 2000 to 2016, the electricity access rate increased
from 60 per cent to 86 per cent in Southern Asia and from 26 per centto 43 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite these promisingdevelopments, the outlook for electrification shows that the world is
not yet on track to achieve universal access by 2030. Some40 countries have met the target since 2010; another 98 countries
will need to intensify their efforts to do so.

Share of the population with access to electricity, 2016 (percentage)

100%
From 50% up to 100%
From 10% up to 50%
Under 10%20 countries with largest deficits
in electricity accessA staggering 41 per cent of the global population stilllack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies
Over the period 2000–2016, 1.4 billion people gained access to clean
cooking fuels and technologies. However, these advancements were
mostly offset by population growth during this period. In 2016,59 per cent of the population had access to clean cooking fuels andtechnologies, an increase of only 10 percentage points since 2000.
The health and well-being of some 3 billion people are adversely
impacted by the lack of clean cooking fuels. This is especially true
for women and children, who are typically the main procurers andusers of household energy. Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania* and many
parts of Asia have the largest populations using polluting fuels. In
2016, some 2.8 billion people still used solid fuels with inefficient
stoves, leading to high levels of household air pollution. If current
trends continue, 2.3 billion people will continue to use traditional
cooking methods in 2030. The solution lies in transitioning to cleaner
fuels and technologies, like gas and electricity, and improvements instove efficiency. Addressing issues of affordability, lack of consumerawareness about the benefits of clean cooking, and minimal financing
for producers of clean cooking energy technologies are key toaccelerating the rate of access to clean cooking.

Number of people with primary reliance on clean fuels, kerosene and solid fuels,
2000, 2005, 2010 and 2016 (billions of people)
8

6

2.98

3.39

4.35

3.83

4

0.30

0.25

0.18

0.15

2.76

2.80

2.82

2.84

2000

2005

2010

2016

2

0

Solid fuels

Kerosene

Clean fuelsNote: Solid fuels include wood, coal, charcoal, dung and crop waste.

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 7 | Affordable and clean energy

23

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM GOALS IN FOCUS
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilientand sustainable
As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, many countries
face growing numbers of slum dwellers, worsening air quality
and insufficient basic urban services and infrastructure. Urban
sprawl continues, with the physical expansion of cities increasing
at a rate 1.5 times that of population growth, highlighting theneed for better urban planning and more efficient transportation
systems. To address many of these challenges, 152 countries
have developed national urban policies that support sustainableurbanization. Although progress is being made, efforts must be
redoubled to ensure that all urban inhabitants have access to safe
and adequate housing, clean air and basic services, and live inresilient and sustainable communities.
Urban population growth is outpacing improvements
in slum conditions

Number and proportion of the urban population living in slums, 2000 and 2014
(millions and percentage)
150

80

117

128
60
172

204
312
40

152

189

807

116
46 0.5

20

61

103

0.6

197
332
883

0

0.01

0.8

0.01

0.8

s
s
d
d
d
ia nia* Asia Asia fricadanantrie orl
trie
an
As
W
un
un
lia land rope erica erica bean tern Ocea stern hern ran A
o
o
a
c
c
r
a
t
s
a
st e Eu Am Am aribeding
-Ea Sou -SahWe
Au ew Z
lop
d
lop
uth
b
ern Latin the C andN
eve deve
So ral an Su
rth
d
a
d
o
c
i
d
st
N
an entAfr
Lea locke
C
ern
rn
d
he
n
ast
t
a
E
r
L
No
2000
2014

Over the last 15 years, countries have steadily improved urban slums,
managing to move millions of people out of substandard conditions
and providing them with adequate housing. As a result, between
2000 and 2014, the proportion of the world’s urban population living
in slums declined by 20 per cent (from 28.4 to 22.8 per cent).
However, the rate of new home construction lagged far behind therate of urban population growth, and the number of people living inslums actually increased from 807 million to 883 million over thisperiod. The majority of those living in slums are located in three
regions: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (332 million), Central andSouthern Asia (197 million) and sub-Saharan Africa (189 million).

Notes: The size of the bubbles represents the number (in millions) of people living in slums;
the location of the bubbles on the vertical axis represents the proportion of the population
living in slums. For the first time, data this year include developed as well as developing
countries. For this reason, values may be slightly different than those presented inprevious reports.

Managing solid waste remains a major environmental
challenge in cities in several regions

Proportion of the municipal solid waste generated that is collected, 2001–2015(data from 214 cities/municipalities in 103 countries) (percentage)
Sub-Saharan Africa

43

Central and Southern Asia

67

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

72

Northern Africa and Western Asia

74

Latin America and the Caribbean

80

Europe and Northern America

90

Australia and New Zealand

94

World

74
0

20

40

60

80

100

Notes: Oceania* only has data for one city and therefore does not appear in the chart. Global
and regional averages are calculated based on available city data and may change infuture reports as more comprehensive city data become available.

24

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

The safe collection, removal, treatment and disposal of solid waste
are among the most critical services in the urban environment. As
urban populations grow, income levels rise and economies become
more consumer oriented, the volume of solid waste generated will
only get larger. Data from 214 cities or municipalities in 103 countries
show that about three quarters of municipal solid waste generated iscollected. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than half of all municipal solid
waste generated is collected, with adverse effects on the health ofresidents. Moreover, even when waste is collected, it is often nottreated and disposed of in a sustainable and environmentally soundmanner. Managing such waste continues to be a major challenge
facing urban areas in several regions.

Ninety per cent of urban dwellers worldwide arebreathing unsafe air, resulting in millions of deaths
Air pollution threatens the health of most city dwellers. In 2016,
in all regions except Australia and New Zealand, the annual meanlevels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exceeded the World HealthOrganization air quality guidelines of 10 micrograms or less per cubic
metre. In the Central and Southern Asia, and the Northern Africa andWestern Asia regions, the mean level was more than five times theguideline value. This means that 9 out of 10 people living in urban areas
lacked clean air, and more than half of these people were exposed toair pollution levels at least 2.5 times higher than the safe thresholdof particulate matter concentration. In 2016, an estimated 4.2
million people died as a result of high levels of ambient air pollution.
Air pollution does not recognize borders, and improving air quality
demands sustained and coordinated government action at all levels.

Annual exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in urban areas,
population weighted (micrograms per cubic metre)
Australia and New Zealand

7

Oceania*11

Europe and Northern America

12

Latin America and the Caribbean

17

Sub-Saharan Africa

35

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

40

Northern Africa and Western Asia

51

Central and Southern Asia

63

World

39
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Note: The vertical line represents the World Health Organization air quality guidelines value forparticulate matter (PM 2.5) of 10 micrograms or less per cubic metre.

More than half of the built-up areas in cities worldwide
are public open spaces

Share of built-up area that is urbanized open space, 2014 (data from 231 cities)(percentage)

Public open spaces in the world’s cities—parks, boulevards, gardens,
playgrounds, streets—play a vital role in social and economic life
by providing a place where people can interact. The added benefitsof such spaces often include cleaner air and increased walkability,
which contribute to physical and mental health. Land use planners
recommend that 15 to 20 per cent of urban land be allocated to
public spaces (excluding streets) and between 30 and 35 per cent tostreets. Data from 231 cities show that 59 per cent of their built-up
land consists of urbanized open spaces (approximately half of which is
occupied by streets). Latin America and the Caribbean and
sub-Saharan Africa are the only regions where this proportion is
below 50 per cent for the sample of cities included.

80

68

60

66
61

57

56

59
52

48

40

43

20

0

Latin Sub-SaharanEastern Australia Northern Central Europe and Oceania*
America
AfricaandNorthern
Africa andandandand theWestern Southern America
South-Eastern New
Caribbean
Asia
Asia
Zealand
Asia

World

Note: Global and regional averages are calculated based on available city data and may change
in future reports as more comprehensive city data become available.

Disaster risk reduction measures are urgently needed
to strengthen the resilience of the world’s cities

Total number of housing units damaged by disasters annually, 1990–2013(data from 90 countries) (thousands)

Reported damage to housing attributed to disasters shows astatistically significant rise from 1990 onwards (even when taking
into account the observed high degree of year-to-year variance).
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from small- to medium-scaledisasters has also demonstrated an upward trend over the same
period. Low-income households and small businesses are affected
more frequently than middle- and high-income households. Thisis a result of high exposure to hazards, vulnerable conditions andlower coping capacity. To save lives, prevent and reduce losses,
and strengthen the resilience of cities, it is essential to promote
public and private investments that take disaster risk reduction into
consideration. Many countries have developed measures to reduce
disaster risk in vulnerable urban areas, including investments indrainage infrastructure in flood-prone areas, risk-informed urban
and land use planning, and appropriate building codes and otherregulations.

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

1990

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

Housing units damaged by disasters

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 11 | Sustainable cities and communities

2013

Linear trendline

25

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM GOALS IN FOCUS
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
How societies use and manage their natural resources
fundamentally shapes their quality of life. One of the core
objectives of the 2030 Agenda is to decouple economic
growth from resource use and environmental degradation,
notably through improved resource efficiency, while improving
people’s well-being. This can occur through a shift towards
more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Sucha shift requires national public policies that create conducive
environments, social and physical infrastructure and markets, anda transformation of business practices along global value chains.

The material footprint of developing countries has grown, but is still far smaller than that of developed countries
The “material footprint” of an economy refers to the total amount of
raw materials extracted globally—across the entire supply chain—to
meet that economy’s final consumption demand. People rely on suchmaterials to meet basic needs—for food, clothing, water, shelter,
infrastructure and many other aspects of life. Across much of thedeveloping world, an increase in the material footprint is required toenhance the living standards of growing populations. At the sametime, it is important to decrease reliance on raw materials andincrease their recycling to reduce environmental pressure and impact.

The per-capita material footprint of developing countries grew fromfive metric tons in 2000 to nine metric tons in 2017, representing asignificant improvement in material standard of living. Most of theincrease is attributed to a rise in the use of non-metallic minerals,
pointing to growth in the areas of infrastructure and construction.
For all types of materials, developed countries have at least double theper-capita footprint of developing countries. In particular, the material
footprint for fossil fuels is more than four times higher for developed
than developing countries. Because fossil fuels directly impact theenvironment in various ways, the need to decouple their use from
economic growth is key to achieving sustainable consumption andproduction.

Material footprint per capita by type of raw material, 2000–2017 (metric tons per capita)
Developed countries

Developing countries

25

25

20

20

15

15

10

10

5

5

0

0

2000

2005

2010

2017

2000

2005
Biomass

26

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

2010
Fossil fuels

Metal ores

2017
Non-metallic minerals

Extraction of raw materials in the developing world is
supporting the consumption patterns of richer nations

Domestic material consumption and material footprint, 2000–2017(billion metric tons)

Domestic material consumption (DMC) refers to materials extracted
within a country for use in production processes. Material footprint,
on the other hand, takes into account resources found within a country
or imported, and is calculated on the basis of final demand. If the
DMC is higher than the material footprint, it indicates that a country
is exporting materials, usually minerals or biomass. Conversely, if the
DMC is lower, it suggests that materials are being imported.

80

Over the last two decades, DMC has risen rapidly in developing
countries to meet the material needs of a growing population andto support improved standards of living. The data also show that alarge gap exists between the DMC and the material footprint of bothdeveloped and developing countries, but in opposite directions. Thisimplies that at least some of the materials extracted from developing
countries are being used to satisfy the consumption habits ofdeveloped countries. Although developed countries have not increased
either their total material footprint or their DMC, they have not beenable to close the gap between their DMC and material footprint.

In part prompted by the SDGs, more and morecountries are developing policies to promotesustainable consumption and production

60

40

20

0

2000

2005

2010

2015

2017

Domestic material consumption developed countries

Material footprint developed countries

Domestic material consumption developing countries

Material footprint developing countries

Countries with national policies and initiatives relevant to sustainable consumption
and production, 2015–2018

Sustainable consumption and production policies are a key
mechanism for improving living standards without compromising theresource needs of future generations. Such policies aim to decouple
economic growth from environmental degradation, increase resource
efficiency and promote more sustainable lifestyles.
The development of such instruments has intensified through the
adoption of Agenda 2030. In 2018, 71 countries plus the European
Union reported on macroeconomic policies or other regulatory,
voluntary or economic instruments that supported the shift towards
sustainable consumption and production patterns across theireconomies or specific sectors. Taking into account informationcollected from previous surveys, a total of 108 countries have or had
national policies and initiatives relevant to this shift. Europe has taken
the lead in that movement, having initiated nearly half of the policy
instruments identified, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean
and sub-Saharan Africa.

More multinationals and other large companies are reporting on sustainability, but the practice needs to expand
to smaller enterprises
A sustainability report by a company provides
information on the economic, environmental
and social impacts of its activities. Sustainability
reporting is an important tool for corporatetransparency and accountability, one that plays
a key role in attaining the Goals of the 2030
Agenda. While still relatively new, sustainability
reporting is gaining momentum, driven by new
private sector partnerships to achieve the SDGs along with growinginterest from companies (especially large companies), regulators,
investors and other stakeholders. According to a recent report from
KPMG, 93 per cent of the world’s 250 largest companies (in terms ofrevenue) are now reporting on sustainability, as are three quarters of
the top 100 companies in 49 countries.

That said, more methodological work is required to develop a set ofcore corporate sustainability indicators and align these with overall
SDG monitoring. The main challenges are to integrate environmental,social and governance reporting into existing company financial
and non-financial reporting models; facilitate harmonization ofsustainability reporting requirements and practices; and assure thecomparability and reliability of information and data provided bycompanies on non-financial issues. Another challenge is the lack ofexpertise and resources for reporting by small and medium-sizedenterprises, which play a key role in some economies, especially indeveloping countries.

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 12 | Responsible consumption and production

27

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM GOALS IN FOCUS
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse landdegradation and halt biodiversity loss
Implementation of Goal 15 is showing some encouraging signs.
Forest loss has slowed. A growing number of forest areas arebeing sustainably managed, integrating policies and practices
that protect forest ecosystems and address drivers ofdegradation. All regions continue to make progress on conferring
official protection status to areas critical to global biodiversity.
However, land degradation is increasing due to competingpressures for food, energy and shelter. Biodiversity loss isoccurring at an alarming rate. In addition, invasive species, theillicit poaching and trafficking of wildlife, and falling trends in
ODA in support of biodiversity continue to thwart efforts toprotect and restore vital ecosystems and species. Accelerated
action is urgently needed to preserve and promote thesustainable use of ecosystems on which all life depends.

Full implementation of sustainable forest management plans is needed to halt deforestation
The Earth’s forest areas continue to shrink, down from 4.1 billion
hectares in 2000 (31.2 per cent of total land area) to about
4 billion hectares (30.7 per cent of total land area) in 2015. The lossof forests has been uneven across regions, with the most dramatic
declines occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, South-Eastern Asia andLatin America. This is primarily due to the conversion of forest to
agricultural land, which is responsible for an estimated 73 per cent offorest loss in tropical and subtropical regions. Despite the decline inforest area, the rate of forest loss has dropped by 25 per cent since
the period 2000–2005.

Sustainable forest management has demonstrated positive resultsin combating the continued loss of forests. Encouragingly, moreland has been designated as permanent forest areas, coupled withplanning, monitoring and stakeholder engagement and adoption oflegal frameworks for sustainable forest management. Globally, theproportion of protected forest areas and forests under long-term
management plans is increasing. Moreover, 2017 data show a positive
global trend in forest areas that have been independently certified
as sustainably managed, with increases in most regions. However,
deforestation and forest degradation are still concerns in someregions, particularly tropical regions, pointing to the need to fully
implement sustainable forest- and land-management practices.

Progress toward sustainable forest management dashboard
Forest area annual net
change rate, change from2005–2010 to 2010–2015

RegionAbove-groundbiomass stock in forest,change from 2010 to 2015

Proportion of forest area
within legally establishedprotected areas,change from 2010 to 2015

Proportion of forest area
under a long-term
forest management plan,change from 2005 to 2010

Forest area certified,change from 2015 to 2017

Central and Southern Asia
Eastern and South-Eastern Asia
Northern Africa and Western Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Europe and Northern America
Latin America and the Caribbean
Oceania*World
Positive change
Note: The forest area annual net change rate is calculated using a compound annual change formula.

28

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

No/small change

Negative change

More areas critical to global biodiversity are being
protected

Average proportion of each freshwater, terrestrial and mountain KBA
that is covered by protected areas, 2000–2018 (percentage)

Areas critical to global biological diversity are known as key biodiversity
areas (KBAs). The proportion of KBAs covered by protected areas
continues to increase in freshwater, terrestrial and mountain ecosystems.
On average, for all three types of ecosystems, the proportion of KBAs
covered by protected areas increased by more than 10 percentage
points from 2000 to 2018. Europe and Northern America has
the highest average coverage of protected freshwater, terrestrial
and mountain KBAs (at 55 per cent, 63 per cent and 68 per cent,respectively). This region also has the highest annual average growth
rates for terrestrial and freshwater KBAs that are protected. Oceania
has the fastest annual average growth rate for mountain KBAs coveredby protected areas (at 1 per cent annually) and has seen the largest
overall increase since 2000 (19 per cent). The protection of KBAs
safeguards critical natural capital and ecosystem functions that support
human well-being and enhance the resiliency of communities.

60

47.9 48

42

40

38

30

20

10

0

2018

2015

2010

2005

2000
2018

2015

2010

2005

2000
2018

2015

Invasive alien species, including plants, animals, fungi andmicroorganisms, are recognized as one of the most serious causesof biodiversity loss and decline, after habitat loss. The impact is most
severe for small island developing States. In response, the numberof countries that have enacted national legislation to prevent andmanage the spread of such species has increased by 19 per centsince 2010. Moreover, three quarters of countries that are party
to the Convention on Biological Diversity have included relevanttargets in their national biodiversity strategies. Over 88 per centof 81 countries surveyed have a government department or national
agency responsible for managing invasive species. However, overa third of these countries have no allocated budget for this effort
and have not accessed any global mechanism to seek funding. To
compound the problem, the overall rate of biological invasions showsno sign of slowing down, with growth in both the number of invasive
species and their spread due to increased trade and transport.

46

34

2010

Action to combat invasive species is intensifying,
though they remain a major contributor to biodiversity
loss

46 47

32

2005

The degradation of soil and land continues due to heightenedcompetition for land use, undermining the security and developmentof all countries. From 1999 to 2013, approximately one fifth of
the Earth’s land surface covered by vegetation showed persistentand declining trends in productivity, primarily due to land and water
use and management. Up to 24 million square kilometres of land are
affected (an area the size of China, India and the United States ofAmerica combined), including 19 per cent cropland, 16 per cent forest
land, 19 per cent grassland and 28 per cent rangeland. For grasslands
and rangelands, the global extent of areas experiencing declining
productivity exceeds those showing increases. South Americaand Africa are most affected by diminished productivity: in somedryland areas, advanced stages of land degradation are leading todesertification. Reversing these worrying trends through sustainable
land management is key to improving the livelihoods and resilienceof over 1 billion people inhabiting degraded lands.

424443.4 43.5

38

2000

Land degradation threatens the livelihoods of over
one billion people

50

40

Mountain

Terrestrial

Freshwater

Global map of land productivity, 1999–2013

Declining

Moderate decline

Stressed

StableIncreasing

No dataNote: The map shows five classes of persistent land productivity trajectories over the period
1999–2013. Land productivity is an essential variable for detecting and monitoring
active land transformations typically associated with land degradation processes.
It can be expressed as an equivalent of terrestrial net primary productivity per unitof area and time, and reflects the overall capacity of land to support biodiversity andprovide ecosystem services.

Cumulative number of countries reporting to the Convention on Biological
Diversity on national legislation relevant to the prevention or control of invasive
alien species (1990–2016)
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

1990

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 15 | Life on land2014 2016

29

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM GOALS IN FOCUS
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global
Partnership for Sustainable Development
While primary responsibility for achieving the ambitious Goals
and targets of the 2030 Agenda rests with individual countries,
international support and partnerships are critical, especially forthe poorest countries and for countries facing special challenges
due to their geographic location. Goal 17 seeks to strengthen global
partnerships to achieve the Agenda’s goals, bringing together
national governments, the international community, civil society,the private sector and other actors.

Net official development assistance from OECD-DAC countries, 2000–2017(billions of constant 2016 US$)

Official development assistance dropped slightly in
2017, due to lower costs for refugee assistance160

In 2017, net official development assistance (ODA) from member
countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of theOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
totalled $146.6 billion. This represents a slight drop (of 0.6 per cent)in real terms from the 2016 level. The decline is mainly attributed
to lower spending on refugees inside donor countries: in 2017, DAC
countries reportedly spent $14.2 billion, or 9.7 per cent of total ODA, tohost refugees in their countries; this represents a drop of 13.6 per centin real terms compared to 2016. Bilateral ODA from DAC countries to
LDCs increased by 4.0 per cent in real terms since 2016.

140
120
100
80
60
40
20

Other ODA

Bilateral ODA to LDCs

2016

2017

2015

2013

2014

2011

2012

2010

2009

2008

2007

2005

2006

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

0

Refugee costs in donor countries

Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in developing and developed
countries, by type of speed, 2015 and 2016
Developing countries

30
20
10
0

0.9

0.9

Breakdownby speed information
not available

0.6

0.6

>= 256 kbit/s
to <2 Mbit/s

2.0

1.2

>= 2 to < 10 Mbit/s

4.1

6.1

>= 10 Mbit/s

Developed countries

30
20

21.4

24.0

10
0.9
0

30

1.7

Breakdownby speed information
not available

0.8

0.5

>= 256 kbit/s
to <2 Mbit/s

6.0

4.5

>= 2 to < 10 Mbit/s>= 10 Mbit/s

2015

2016

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

The United Nations has set a benchmark for ODA contributions of atleast 0.7 per cent of a country’s gross national income (GNI). However,
only five DAC countries—Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden andthe United Kingdom—met this target. Overall, ODA remained at
0.31 per cent of GNI in 2017. Humanitarian aid totalled $15.5 billion
in 2017, an increase of 6.1 per cent in real terms compared to 2016.

High-speed fixed broadband Internet connection
remains largely inaccessible across the developing world
Despite a global rise in subscriptions for high-speed fixed broadband,
access to this type of Internet connection remains largely unavailable
for residents across the developing world. In 2016, only 6 per centof the population in these countries had access to high-speed fixed
broadband Internet, compared to 24 per cent in the developed regions.
Such access can enhance international cooperation, improve access toscience, technology and innovation, and facilitate knowledge-sharing.
Conversely, limitations in the capacity and speed of fixed-broadband
connections affect the quality and functionality of this development
tool, widening existing inequalities.

Remittances are a lifeline for families and communities in low- and lower-middle-income countries
Together, the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI), ODA andremittances by international migrants to low-income countries grewfrom $41.2 billion in 2007 to $71.4 billion in 2013, then dropped
slightly to $68.5 billion in 2016. Most of the increase is attributed
to the steady rise of remittance inflows, from $6.8 billion in 2007 to$19.9 billion in 2016. ODA remained the largest source of externalfinancing for low-income countries, while in lower-middle-income
countries, remittances accounted for most (61 per cent) of theexternal financial flows. Flows to lower-middle-income countries grewfrom $287.9 billion in 2007 to $452.9 billion in 2015, then dropped
slightly to $422.1 billion in 2016.

Despite the upward trend in volume over the last decade, the growthof ODA and FDI has stagnated over the last several years. Comparedto the two other types of external finance, personal remittances
tend to be a more reliable, less volatile, source of income. In 2016,
remittances to low- and lower-middle-income countries were morethan three times the amount of ODA and were greater than ODA andFDI combined. Along with FDI and ODA, remittances can ease thecredit constraints of poor households, facilitate asset accumulation
and business investments, and reduce poverty.

Volume of foreign direct investment (FDI), ODA and personal remittances flows, 2007–2016 (billions of current US$)
Low-income countries

Lower-middle-income countries

40

300
250

30
200
20

150
100

10
50
0

2007

2010

2013

0

2016

2007

2010
FDI inflows

2013

2016

Personal remittances received

ODA

Market shares of developing regions and LDCs
have declined

Share of global merchandise and service exports from least developed countries,
2001–2016 (percentage)

Stagnation in global trade since 2011 has been accompanied by a breakin the expansion of world market shares among developing regionsand LDCs. Among developing regions, the share of global merchandise
exports declined for two consecutive years: from 45.4 per cent in2014 to 44.2 per cent in 2016, a sharp contrast to an average annual
increase of 1.2 percentage points between 2001 and 2012. Among
LDCs, the share of global merchandise exports decreased from
1.1 per cent in 2013 to 0.9 per cent in 2016, compared to a rise from
0.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent between 2000 and 2013. A similar trend
was seen for service exports: the LDC share of such exports stood at
0.74 per cent in 2016, a slight drop from the 2013 level. Much of thedecline in their share of global exports can be attributed to a drop incommodity prices, since exports from many LDCs are concentrated inprimary commodities such as minerals, ores and fuels.

1.2

1.06

0.92

0.91

1.0
0.8
0.6

1.12

0.65
0.58

0.76

0.74

2013

2016

0.62
0.4

0.48

0.45

0.48

2004

2007

0.2
0.0

2001

2010
Service exports

Merchandise exports

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 17 | Partnerships for the Goals

31

Tariffs on imports continue to fall for developed
and developing countries alike

Trade-weighted average of import tariffs applied under preferential and mostfavoured nation agreements, 2005–2016 (percentage)
Preferential tariffs

12

For all groups of countries, tariffs on imports levied under preferential
trade agreements, which include bilateral and regional free-trade
agreements, have been declining over time. In 2016, the tradeweighted average preferential tariff rate applied to imports from LDCs
was 7.9 per cent, a 2 percentage-point drop from 2005. For developing
regions, the average preferential tariff rate in 2016 was 3.9 per cent,a drop of 1.2 percentage points over the same period. Most favoured
nation tariff rates, which member countries of the World Trade
Organization apply to one another unless they are part of a preferential
trade agreement, have also declined for all groups of countries.

10
8
6
4
2
0

2005

2010

2015

2016

Most favoured nation tariffs

12
10
8
6
4
2
0

2005

2010

2015

2016

Developing countries

Developed countries

Least developed countries

Extent of use of country-owned results frameworks and planning tools by providersof development cooperation in fragile and non-fragile countries, 2016 (percentage)
100
88

80

82
65

60
58

56
48

40

20

0

Alignment of objectives
with national priorities

Alignment with country
results frameworks

Use of government dataand systems inmonitoring results

Fragile countries

Non-fragile countries

1

Sub-Saharan Africa

2

3

Central and Southern Asia

9

19

3

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

27

Latin America and the Caribbean
Northern Africa and Western Asia

1

4
2

7
26

Australia and New Zealand

2

World

56
0

20

Not fully funded

1

18
40

1
2

Europe and Northern America

Fully funded

2

8

60

28
80

100

Funding information not available

Note: Data labels represent the number of countries implementing national statistical plans.
The horizontal axis and the length of the bar describes the proportion of countries
implementing such plans.

32

Development partners need to do more to align their support withgovernments' national development strategies and results frameworks,
particularly in fragile countries, respecting the country’s policy spaceand leadership in establishing its own path towards sustainable
development. Forty fragile countries participated in a global exercise
in 2016 to monitor the alignment of development projects tonational frameworks and priorities. It found that 82 per cent of new
development projects had objectives aligned with national priorities.
However, when defining the expected results of these projects, only
58 per cent of results indicators were drawn from country-led results
frameworks. More than half of the projects relied on parallel systems
and data to monitor progress and development results, instead ofintegrating these monitoring efforts into existing government systems.

Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have national
statistical plans, but few of them are fully funded

Number and proportion of countries implementing national statistical plans,
by funding status, 2017 (number and percentage)
Oceania*

Greater effort is needed to align development
cooperation with country-defined development
priorities and results, particularly in fragile countries

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

In 2017, 102 countries or areas were implementing national statisticalplans. Sub-Saharan Africa led this effort among developing regions,with plans in 31 countries under way. However, among 56 countries
worldwide with fully funded plans, 26 were in Europe and Northern
America, and only three were in sub-Saharan Africa. Establishingstrong, coherent and feasible national statistical plans that havepolitical support has proven effective in building capacity across entire
national statistical systems. This allows countries to respond to thegrowing demand for data while also providing a framework throughwhich to mobilize both national and international resources.
In 2017, 71 out of 98 countries for which information was available
had national statistical legislation that was compliant with theFundamental Principles of Official Statistics. Out of these 71 countries,
34 were in Europe and Northern America. More developing countries
will need to put in place solid and politically backed statisticallegislation that allows the national statistical system to operate in atransparent and independent manner.

The share of ODA for statistical capacity-building
remains low, despite growing demands

Total official development assistance† dedicated to statistical capacity-building
activities, 2010 and 2015 (millions of current US$)3
Oceania 0.4

In 2015, developing countries received $541 million in financial support
from multilateral and bilateral donors for all areas of statistics. Support
for statistics in LDCs amounted to $177 million in 2015, compared to$106 million in 2010. Despite growing awareness of the importance ofstatistics, prompted largely by the SDGs, the share of ODA dedicatedto statistics has hovered at around 0.3 per cent since 2010. Continued
and increased technical and financial support is needed to ensurethat countries in developing regions have the necessary data to fully
implement and monitor their national development agendas.

148

Central and Southern Asia 18
25
Europe and Northern America 19

Latin America and the Caribbean

115

21

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 1623
Northern Africa and Western Asia 17

62
79

Sub-Saharan Africa

281
106

Least developed countries
Landlocked developing countries

177

81

36
9
7

Small island developing States
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2010
†

Censuses and vital statistics are still not universal
Population and housing censuses provide basic information on thesize, growth, distribution, location and characteristics of a country’s
population. They result in a wide range of statistical information,
allowing detailed disaggregation of data needed to formulate,
implement and monitor development policies and programmes.
During the decade from 2008 to 2017, 89 per cent of countries orareas around the world conducted at least one population and housing
census.
On the other hand, coverage of birth and death registration and thecompleteness of vital statistics remains a challenge, even among
countries that have functioning civil registration systems. Over theperiod 2012-2016, 143 countries or areas had birth registration datathat were at least 90 per cent complete; in sub-Saharan Africa, only
8 out of 53 countries met this standard. Over the same period,
148 countries or areas had death registration data that were at least
75 per cent complete; in sub-Saharan Africa, this was the case in only
9 out of 53 countries.

2015

Country-specific commitments only. Unallocated commitments to multiple countries/
regions (valued at $186 million) are excluded.

Proportion of countries that conducted at least one population and housing census,
2008–2017; proportion of countries with death registration data that are at least
75 per cent complete and proportion of countries with birth registration data thatare at least 90 per cent complete, 2012–2016 (percentage)
Northern Africa and Western Asia

68
64

Sub-Saharan Africa

76

80

15
17

Central and Southern Asia

86

43

57

Latin America and the Caribbean

69

90
73
96
98
98

Europe and Northern America
Oceania*48
48

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

50

Australia and New Zealand

50
50

World

100

100
56
100

89

58
60
0

20

40

60

80

100

At least one population and housing census in 2008-2017
Birth registration data that are at least 90 per cent complete
Death registration data that are at least 75 per cent complete

HLPF GOALS IN FOCUS | Goal 17 | Partnerships for the Goals

33

Note to the reader

Global indicator framework for the follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goals
The information presented in this report is based on the latest
available data as of May 2018 on selected indicators of the global
SDG framework. The indicators presented are those for which
sufficient data are available to provide an overview at the regional andglobal levels. The global indicator framework1 was developed by theInter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) andadopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017 in resolution 71/313.
This set of indicators is intended for the review of progress at the

global level. The selection of indicators in this report is not intended torepresent a selection based on their importance, as all Goals, targets
and indicators are equally important.
The composition of regions and subregions in this report is basedon United Nations geographic divisions with some modifications
necessary to create, to the extent possible, groups of countries forwhich a meaningful analysis could be carried out. 2

Data sources and the basis for this analysis
For most of the indicators presented in this report, values represent
regional and/or subregional aggregates. In general, the figures areweighted averages of country data, using the population of reference
as a weight. They are calculated from national data collected byinternational agencies, based on their respective mandates andspecialized expertise, from national statistical systems. The national
data provided to the international statistical system are often adjusted
for international comparability and, where lacking, are estimated.
As decided by the Statistical Commission and in accordance with
Economic and Social Council resolution 2006/6, estimates used
for the compilation of global indicators are to be produced in fullconsultation with national statistical authorities.

A database of available global, regional and country data andmetadata for the SDG indicators accompanying this report is being
maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division and is available athttps://unstats.un.org/sdgs.
Although the aggregate figures presented are a convenient way to
track progress, the situation of individual countries within a given
region may vary significantly from regional averages. Presenting
aggregate figures for all regions also obscures another reality: thelack, in many parts of the world, of adequate data to assess national
trends and to inform and monitor the implementation of development
policies.

Investing in data for the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
Quality data are vital for governments, international organizations,civil society, the private sector and the general public to makeinformed decisions and to ensure an accurate review of theimplementation of the 2030 Agenda. That said, tracking progresson the SDGs requires the collection, processing, analysis anddissemination of an unprecedented amount of data and statistics
at subnational, national, regional and global levels, including thosederived from official statistical systems and from new and innovative
data sources.
Many national statistical systems across the globe face serious
challenges in this regard. As a result, accurate and timely information
about certain aspects of people’s lives are unknown, numerous
groups and individuals remain “invisible”, and many development
challenges are still poorly understood. In General Assembly resolution
70/1, Member States recognized the crucial role of strengthened
data collection and capacity-building and committed to addressing
the data gap (paragraph 57). The Cape Town Global Action Planfor Sustainable Development Data, adopted at the 48th Sessionof the Statistical Commission in 2017, provides a roadmap for themodernization and strengthening of statistical systems.

Where possible, global monitoring should be based on comparable andstandardized national data obtained through well-established reporting
mechanisms from countries to the international statistical system. The
collaboration between national statistical systems and regional andinternational organizations is essential for ensuring an effective flow ofinternational comparable data. Such mechanisms can be improved bystrengthening the coordination function of national statistical offices in
the national statistical systems.
Producing data for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda
requires strong political commitment and increased resources tosupport global and national efforts to strengthen statistical systems.
In addition, new data sources and technologies for data collection
and for the integration of different sources of data will need to be
explored, including through partnerships with civil society, the private
sector and academia. The integration of geospatial information andstatistical data will be particularly important for the production of anumber of indicators.

1

The complete list of indicators is available at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list.

2

The composition of these subregions is shown in the next section, “Regional groupings”.
34

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Regional groupings

Sub-Saharan Africa

Northern Africa and Western Asia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Central and Southern Asia

Australia and New Zealand

Oceania*

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia
Europe and Northern America

Notes: • Oceania* refers to Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand, throughout the publication.
• The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

This report presents data on progress made towards achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals worldwide and by various groups.
The country groupings are based on the geographic regions defined
under the Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (known
as M49)3 of the United Nations Statistics Division. The geographic
regions are shown on the map above. For the purpose of presentation,some of the M49 regions have been combined.
The use of geographic regions as the basis for country groupings isa major change from The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016
and the progress reports on the Millennium Development Goals.
Previously, data were presented for countries in “developed” regions
and countries in “developing” regions, which were further broken
down into geographic subregions. Although there is no establishedconvention for the designation of “developed” and “developing”
countries or areas in the United Nations system, data for someindicators in this report are still being presented for developed anddeveloping regions and countries for the purpose of statistical analysis
only, and are based on the practice employed by the international
agencies that provided the data. 4
In addition, the text and figures present, to the extent possible, data
for least developed countries, landlocked developing countries andsmall island developing States, which are country groups requiring
special attention.
A complete list of countries included in each region and subregion andcountry group is available at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/regional-groups.
The designations employed and the presentation of the material inthis publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoeveron the part of the United Nations Secretariat concerning the legal
status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, orconcerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

3

Full details of the M49 standard can be found on the United Nations Statistics Division website at https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49.

4

A discussion note, “Update of the regional groupings for the SDG report and database”, of 31 October 2016 describes the details of thischange and is available at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/regional-groups.
Regional groupings

35

Photo credits:
Cover

© FAO

Page 2© UNICEF/Harandane Dicko

Page 18© UNICEF/Olivier Asselin

Page 22© UNDP Picture This/Kailash

Page 24© The World Bank/Dominic Chavez

Page 26© UNDP Picture This/Joydeep Mukherjee

Page 28© Nermesh Singh

Page 30© UNICEF/Giacomo Pirozzi

Map credits: Map on page 12 included in the icons is from the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016.
Map on page 19 is from WHO-UNHABITAT 2018.
Map on page 23 is from the 2018 Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report (a joint report of the International Energy Agency,
International Renewable Energy Agency, United Nations Statistics Division, World Bank and World Health Organization).
Map on page 27 is from the United Nations Statistics Division. Mapping data is provided by the United Nations Geospatial
Information Section.
Map on page 29 is from the World Atlas of Desertification, 3rd edition, 2018 (Joint Research Centre of the European
Commission) and also available in the Global Land Outlook, 1st Edition.
Infographic icons credit: Infographic icons on pages 4 to 13 and 27 are from thenounproject.com under a NounPro license.
Design: Graphic Design Unit/Department of Public Information
Additional report design, graphics design, typesetting and copy-editing: Copy Preparation and Proofreading Section/DGACM
Editor: Lois Jensen

Copyright © 2018 United Nations
All rights reserved worldwide
Requests to reproduce excerpts or to photocopy should be addressed to the Copyright Clearance Centerat http://www.copyright.com.
All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to:United Nations Publications, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10017, United States of America.
Email: publications@un.org; website: www.un.org/publications
United Nations publication issued by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs
ISBN: 978-92-1-101390-0
e-ISBN: 978-92-1-363317-5
ISSN: 2518-3958
Sales No. E.18.I.6
36

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

The report is based on a master set of data prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat with inputs
from a large number of international and regional organizations in response to General Assembly resolution 70/1 (para. 83) to provide an annual
assessment of progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The international and regional organizations that contributed to thereport are listed below. A number of national statisticians, experts from civil society and academia also contributed.
ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATESASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANKDEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRSECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFICECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR WESTERN ASIA
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONSINTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATIONINTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATIONINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDINTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY
INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNIONINTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNIONJOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS
OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEESORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENTPARTNERSHIP IN STATISTICS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY (PARIS21)
SECRETARIAT OF THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYSUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL
UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENTUNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATIONUNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMEUNITED NATIONS DIVISION FOR OCEAN AFFAIRS AND THE LAW OF THE SEA
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONUNITED NATIONS ENTITY FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN (UN-WOMEN)UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMMEUNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMMEUNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONUNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION
UNITED NATIONS MINE ACTION SERVICEUNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF RULE OF LAW AND SECURITY INSTITUTIONSUNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES,LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATESUNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S ENVOY ON YOUTH
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIMEUNITED NATIONS PEACEBUILDING SUPPORT OFFICEUNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND
UN-ENERGY
UN-OCEAN
UN-WATERWORLD BANK GROUP
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONWORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATIONWORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATIONWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

For more information, visit the United Nations Statistics Division Sustainable Development Goals website at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs.

… Narrow the gaps. Bridge thedivides. Rebuild trust by bringing
people together around common
goals. Unity is our path.
Our future depends on it.
— António GUTERRES,
Secretary-General of the United Nations

18-03826

ISBN 978-92-1-101390-0