A decade of SDGs: An urgent balance between achievements and the need to accelerate action
- Javier Trespalacios
- 16 hours ago
- 5 min read
On September 25, 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a historic commitment by 193 countries to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. This Agenda, centered on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), represented a shared vision to transform the world within a decade.
The colors of the Sustainable Development Goals at a pedestrian crossing (United Nations, 2025)
Today, ten years later, the UN's official assessment shows that the world is not on track to fulfill the 2030 Agenda. As António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, pointed out: "The world is very behind. Only 17% of SDG targets are progressing as expected." This message underscores the urgency of intensifying efforts (United Nations, 2025, pp. 3, 8).
The Global Panorama (2015–2025)
The SDGs remain the compass for advancing toward a future where prosperity, peace, and sustainability are rights for all.
Outstanding Achievements
The SDGs have driven significant advances that reflect concrete transformations at the global level:
Sustained reduction in child mortality.
Expansion of access to electricity (84% in 2015 vs. 92% in 2023).
Growth in Internet access (40% in 2015 vs. 68% in 2024).
Record expansion of renewable energy, which in 2025 will surpass coal as the main source of electricity (United Nations, 2025, p. 12).
Persistent Challenges
Despite the advances, major challenges persist that put at risk the fulfillment of the SDGs within the expected timeframes:
More than 800 million people still live in extreme poverty.
1 in 11 people suffer from hunger.
Developing countries do not have sufficient money to achieve the SDGs: each year there is a funding gap of 4 trillion dollars (Sachs, Lafortune, Fuller & Iablonovski, 2025).
Inequality worsens: in 2025, 93.8% of women in less resourced countries work in informal jobs, compared to 57.8% of the global average (United Nations, 2025, pp. 9, 18).
Roadmap and Urgency of Action
With only five years remaining to fulfill the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations identifies six essential transformations (United Nations, 2025):
Sustainable food systems.
Clean and accessible energy.
Inclusive education.
Decent work and social protection.
Digitalization.
Climate action with biodiversity protection.
State of the SDGs on Their Tenth Anniversary
The current pace is insufficient to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030:
SDG 1: No Poverty
After decades of reduction, extreme poverty has increased due to multiple crises, affecting 9.9% of the world population (808 million people) in 2025. Assessment: Insufficient progress (World Bank, as cited in United Nations, 2025).
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
Hunger and food insecurity affect millions of people. Conflicts and climate change pressure food systems. Assessment: Insufficient progress (FAO, as cited in United Nations, 2025).
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Despite the elimination of tropical diseases in 54 countries, child and maternal mortality persist in vulnerable regions. Assessment: Insufficient progress (WHO, as cited in United Nations, 2025).
SDG 4: Quality Education
Millions of children continue without access to school, and differences in learning and educational opportunities between different population groups persist. Assessment: Insufficient progress (UNESCO, as cited in United Nations, 2025).
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
In 2025, 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, while water scarcity and contamination increase. Assessment: Insufficient progress (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
In 2025, 92% of the population has access to electricity, and renewable energies continue growing, but affordability challenges persist especially in developing regions. Assessment: On track (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Decent employment faces challenges due to geopolitical tensions and high rates of labor informality. Assessment: Insufficient progress (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Internet connectivity increased to 68%, boosting innovation, although regional disparities persist. Assessment: Moderate progress (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Despite some improvements in income inequality in certain countries, geopolitical tensions continue to widen differences in access to services and social protection. Assessment: Has regressed (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
1.12 billion people live in informal settlements, and one billion inhabit areas with high disaster risk. Assessment: Has regressed (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Fossil fuel subsidies persist along with inadequate waste management, with high rates of food and electronic waste. Assessment: Has regressed (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 13: Climate Action
2024 recorded the hottest year in history. Global greenhouse gas emissions reached 57.1 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent in 2023, a level that continues to increase and evidences insufficient climate action. Assessment: Has regressed (UNEP, as cited in United Nations, 2025).
SDG 14: Life Below Water
In 2025, only 8.4% of oceans are under legal protection to conserve marine ecosystems and species. Meanwhile, ocean health continues to deteriorate, and overfishing remains a problem. Assessment: Insufficient progress (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 15: Life on Land
Approximately one-sixth of the planet's land surface (15.5%) suffers degradation, and forest loss continues despite conservation efforts. Assessment: Has regressed (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
More than 120 million forcibly displaced people are registered, along with a high rate of violence, eroding peace and justice. Assessment: Has regressed (United Nations, 2025).
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Cooperation suffers from declining official development aid and data gaps that limit effective partnerships. Assessment: Insufficient progress (United Nations, 2025).
Comments from Secretary-General António Guterres
In his statement on the tenth anniversary, he declared:
The SDGs remain the most viable compass for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future. The international community must intensify cooperation, accelerate action and transform commitments into tangible results. This is the time to move forward together, with urgency and hope...
Appendix
The SDG Index 2025 measures the progress of the UN's 193 countries toward the 17 SDGs, using 102 global indicators and 24 additional ones for OECD countries, normalized on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 indicates complete achievement. Countries with more than 20% missing data are excluded (Sustainable Development Report, 2025; Sachs, Lafortune, Fuller & Iablonovski, 2025).
The top 10 countries in the SDG Index 2025 (Sustainable Development Report, 2025)
These countries lead due to their advanced social systems, diversified economies, good governance, and political commitment to the SDGs (Sachs, Lafortune, Fuller & Iablonovski, 2025).
In 2025, the SDG Index evaluated 167 of 193 countries; the bottom five positions were Yemen (47.74), Somalia (46.08), Chad (46.04), Central African Republic (45.21) and South Sudan (41.55), while Haiti, Myanmar and the United States were excluded for exceeding 20% missing data, due to incomplete reports or difficulties in validating their SDG information (Sachs, Lafortune, Fuller & Iablonovski, 2025).
References
World Bank. (2025). Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2025: Ending Extreme Poverty. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/poverty-and-shared-prosperity
FAO. (2025). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025. https://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/2025/en/
United Nations. (2025). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/
United Nations. (2025). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 [PDF]. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2025.pdf
WHO. (2025). World Health Statistics 2025. https://www.who.int/data/gho/publications/world-health-statistics
UNEP. (2025). Emissions Gap Report 2025. https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2025
Sachs, J. D., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G., & Iablonovski, G. (2025). Financing the SDGs by 2030 and Mid-Century. Sustainable Development Report 2025. Paris: SDSN; Dublin: Dublin University Press. https://doi.org/10.25546/111909
UNESCO. (2025). SDG 4 Data Digest 2025. http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-sdg-data
United Nations Development Programme. (2023). New UN global framework for accelerating SDG progress. https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/new-un-global-framework-accelerating-sdg-progress
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