Global SDG progress ‘off track’ as 2025 UN report warns of development emergency

With only five years remaining to meet the ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new UN report paints a bleak picture of global progress.

The 2025 SDG Report reveals that the world is significantly off course in achieving the targets set under the 2030 Agenda.

“Of the 169 SDG targets, 139 could be assessed using global trend data from the 2015 baseline to the most recent year, supplemented by custodian agency analyses. Among these, only 35 per cent show adequate progress,” the report reads.

It adds that 18 per cent are on track and 17 per cent are making moderate progress.

“In contrast, 48 per cent of targets show insufficient progress, including 31 per cent with only marginal gains and 17 per cent with no progress at all.”

Most alarmingly, 18 per cent of the targets have fallen below their 2015 baseline levels, indicating a troubling reversal in progress.

This stagnation persists despite increasing global awareness of the interconnected crises the SDGs aim to address — including climate change, poverty, inequality, and gaps in education and healthcare.

In its analysis, the UN underscores the urgent need for accelerated action to bring the goals back on course.

Still attainable

UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledges the severity of the development emergency but maintains that the 2030 targets are still attainable with swift, united, and determined efforts.

“This report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals are still within reach. But only if we act with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve,” Guterres said.

Despite warnings of slow progress, the report highlights several notable global achievements.

New HIV infections have declined by nearly 40 per cent since 2010, while malaria prevention efforts have averted 2.2 billion cases and saved 12.7 million lives since 2000. Access to social protection has expanded significantly, now covering more than half the world’s population—an impressive increase compared to a decade ago.

Education has also improved, with 110 million more children and youth enrolled in school since 2015. This progress has contributed to a decline in child marriage and greater representation of women in parliaments.

Environmental protection

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Infrastructure and environmental protection have seen gains as well.

In 2023, 92 per cent of the global population reportedly had access to electricity. Internet use has also surged, reaching 68 per cent in 2024—up from just 40 per cent in 2015.

However, the report also emphasises the persistent challenges impeding progress towards sustainable development. Over 800 million people still live in extreme poverty, and billions lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

The climate crisis remains a major threat, with 2024 recorded as the hottest year on record, averaging 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. Armed conflicts continue to fuel global instability, causing nearly 50,000 deaths and displacing more than 120 million people by the end of 2024.

Economic pressures are also mounting.

In 2023 alone, low- and middle-income countries faced a staggering $1.4 trillion in debt servicing costs—resources the UN warns could otherwise support education, healthcare, and climate resilience.

To get progress back on track, the UN calls for intensified action in six key areas: food systems, energy access, digital transformation, education, jobs and social protection, and climate and biodiversity action.

It also urges governments and development partners to implement the Medellín Framework for Action, adopted at the 2024 UN World Data Forum, to strengthen national data systems and support evidence-based policymaking.