Sustainable Development Goal Progress Report 2024
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, released on 28 June 2024 by the United Nations, provides the ninth annual global review of progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report offers a detailed assessment of both achievements and setbacks in advancing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using the latest available data and estimates from over 200 countries and territories. It documents areas of tangible progress such as reductions in global child mortality, prevention of HIV infections, and improved access to electricity, renewable energy, and mobile broadband connectivity. These gains highlight the positive impact of international cooperation, national policies, and technological innovations since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015.
However, the report also delivers a stark warning that with only six years remaining until the 2030 deadline, progress remains far too slow to achieve the agreed targets. Persistent challenges—including climate change, escalating conflicts, geopolitical instability, inequalities within and between countries, and the growing burden of debt—are identified as critical obstacles undermining sustainable development efforts. The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with climate-related disasters, biodiversity loss, and rising food insecurity, have further set back progress. The report underscores that unless urgent action is taken, the world risks falling short of its shared global promise to “leave no one behind.”
To address these setbacks, the 2024 SDG Report calls for massive investments, stronger multilateral cooperation, and urgent acceleration in six priority areas: climate action, peace and security, food systems, education, energy access, and social protection. It highlights that these areas are not only interlinked but also critical to unlocking wider progress across the 2030 Agenda. The report stresses that transforming commitments into action will require coordinated financing, partnerships, and policies that prioritize equity, sustainability, and resilience, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
Prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in collaboration with the UN Statistical System—which includes more than 50 international and regional agencies—the SDG Report remains the only official UN publication that monitors progress toward the 2030 Agenda. Drawing on reliable statistical data, it provides governments, civil society, and international organizations with a foundation for evidence-based policy development and long-term planning. By focusing on data transparency and accountability, the 2024 edition emphasizes that credible statistics are crucial for tracking progress, identifying gaps, and guiding resource allocation.
The findings of the report were officially presented at a press conference by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, together with Li Junhua, Stefan Schweinfest, and Yongyi Min of DESA. In his remarks, Guterres reiterated the urgency of lifting the commitments of the SDG Summit political declaration “off the page” and turning them into large-scale, transformative action. He framed the SDGs as both a rescue plan for people and planet and as a roadmap out of today’s interconnected global crises. The report concludes by stressing that the success of the SDGs depends not only on governments but also on the active involvement of civil society, the private sector, academia, and local communities working together to create a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable world.