The 2018 SDG Index and Dashboards report presents a revised and updated assessment of countries’ distance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It includes detailed SDG Dashboards to help identify implementation priorities for the SDGs. The report also provides a ranking of countries by the aggregate SDG Index of overall performance.
This year’s report includes several improvements and additions in comparison to previous versions. It incorporates trend data for the first time. New indicators have been added to cover more accurately the SDGs and associated targets with a special focus on “leave no one behind” for OECD member states. We present data for all 193 UN member states and estimate absolute SDG achievement gaps to complement per capita estimates. Building on the 2017 report, we expand the analysis of international SDG spillovers and present an overall SDG spillover index.
This year, three Nordic countries, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, top the global SDG Index ranking, yet all three still face major challenges in achieving the SDGs. Due to several changes in indicators and some adjustments in the methodology, the results from the 2018 SDG Index and Dashboard are not comparable to the 2017 results. In particular, changes in country scores or rankings cannot be interpreted as SDG progress or regress since last year.
