The SDGs in 2026: Progress, Gaps, and the Road to 2030

Eleven years after being adopted by all 193 UN member states, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, have reached a critical crossroads. With only four years remaining until the 2030 deadline, the latest data indicate that most targets are unlikely to be achieved on time.

The SDGs are a global sustainability framework consisting of 17 goals and 169 targets, covering issues ranging from poverty eradication, food security, and access to education to gender equality, clean energy, and climate action. The framework, formally known as the 2030 Agenda, was designed as a shared roadmap for all countries, both developed and developing, to achieve by 2030. The framework touches on nearly every dimension of sustainable development, from green economy transitions and circular economy principles to inclusive growth, sustainable innovation, and the role of impact investing and social enterprises in financing development.

How Far Have the SDGs Progressed So Far?

According to The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in July 2025, only 35% of SDG targets with available data are either on track or showing moderate progress. Meanwhile, nearly half are advancing too slowly, and 18% have regressed compared to their 2015 baseline levels.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025

The most severe setbacks have occurred under SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), where four of the seven monitored targets have moved backward. According to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 (SOFI 2025), published by the FAO and four other UN agencies in July 2025, approximately 673 million people, or 8.2% of the global population, experienced hunger in 2024, while around 2.3 billion people faced moderate to severe food insecurity. Projections suggest that 512 million people will still suffer from chronic hunger by 2030, with nearly 60% of them living in Africa.

Other goals are also struggling. SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) have seen between 50% and 57% of their measurable targets either stagnate or deteriorate. Meanwhile, SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) are not performing much better, with 40% to 42% of their measurable targets remaining off track.

Despite these challenges, we have achieved some notable progress in several areas:

The prevalence of stunting among children under five declined from 26.4% in 2012 to 23.2% in 2024, while the maternal mortality ratio fell from 228 to 197 deaths per 100,000 live births between 2015 and 2023.
The under-five mortality rate decreased by 16%, from 44 to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023.
By the end of 2024, 54 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease.
In the area of gender equality, 99 legal reforms were implemented between 2019 and 2024 to remove discriminatory regulations.
As of January 2025, women held 27.2% of seats in national parliaments, an increase of 4.9 percentage points compared to 2015.
Fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks now cover 51% of the world’s population.

The SDGs Face a Growing Funding Gap

One of the biggest obstacles to achieving the SDGs is the financing gap. According to UNCTAD, developing countries face an annual financing shortfall of USD 4.3 trillion to meet the SDGs.

The situation has been further aggravated by a 7.1% decline in official development assistance (ODA) in 2024, following five consecutive years of growth, according to The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025. At the same time, debt service payments by low- and middle-income countries reached a record high of USD 1.4 trillion in 2023, further constraining the fiscal space available for sustainable development investments.

In response, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held in Seville, Spain, from June to July 2025, resulted in the adoption of the Sevilla Commitment, a global agreement establishing a new financing framework centered on three strategic pillars: scaling up investment, addressing debt challenges, and reforming the international financial architecture.

The Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2026: Implementing the Sevilla Commitment (FSDR 2026), published in April 2026, assessed the agreement’s initial implementation and warned that growing geopolitical fragmentation is further intensifying financing pressures on developing economies. The world’s poorest countries face a convergence of challenges: high capital costs, heavy debt burdens, declining ODA flows, and increasingly severe climate change impacts.

The report identifies five key priorities:

Closing the USD 4 trillion financing gap by significantly scaling up financing and investment.
Maximizing sustainable development outcomes in line with each country’s national priorities.
Increasing investments in resilience to protect development gains from increasingly frequent shocks.
Strengthening multilateral institutions and international cooperation.
Sustaining support and investment for a stronger multilateral system.

Asia-Pacific Outlook: Development Under Pressure

At the regional level, the Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2026, published by UN ESCAP in February 2026, provides a more detailed assessment. Concurrently, at the current pace, the Asia-Pacific region is likely to miss 103 of the 117 measurable SDG targets by 2030.

The report also highlights significant data gaps, with 52 targets lacking sufficient data to effectively monitor progress and support evidence-based policymaking. Of the targets that can be assessed, the region is currently on track to achieve only 14 by 2030, while seven SDGs have no targets that are progressing at the pace required for achievement.

The report describes what it calls “a stark contradiction.” The Asia-Pacific region has made substantial progress in reducing poverty, expanding access to electricity, and lowering maternal and child mortality rates. However, these achievements are increasingly threatened by severe environmental deterioration and widening inequalities.

SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land) have experienced slowing progress and, in some cases, outright regression. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, challenges in fisheries management and coastal conservation persist, and biodiversity loss and land degradation remain ongoing concerns.

As noted by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP:

“Continuing on the current path will not deliver the transformation we need. What is required is a fundamental shift, one that integrates climate action, environmental protection, and resource efficiency into the very heart of development planning.”

Indonesia’s Position in the Global SDG Agenda

Amid growing global pressure to rescue the SDGs before 2030, Indonesia has begun positioning itself within the next phase of the global development architecture. During a Beyond SDGs focus group discussion organized by the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that, based on the country’s four Voluntary National Review (VNR) submissions, 62.7% of Indonesia’s SDG indicators are currently on track.

The government is also exploring the establishment of thematic coalitions focused on the blue economy and innovative financing mechanisms, including blended finance models as well as green and blue bonds.

Indonesia enters this discussion with considerable strategic assets. The country is home to approximately 30% of the world’s mangrove reserves and is recognized as one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth. However, much of this natural wealth is located in rural areas that remain inadequately monitored and insufficiently protected. As a result, Indonesia has yet to fully capitalize on its potential role in global carbon capture initiatives and the growing blue economy narrative.

Indonesia is also viewed as a potential bridge builder in global negotiations, drawing on the principles of universality and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) as the foundation of its position.

Nevertheless, Indonesia continues to face significant domestic challenges. Furthermore, persistent development disparities, limited civic space, and weak policy coordination across ministries remain unresolved issues. For the private sector, the challenge is no longer solely about profitability. Questions of credibility, human rights, and supply chain responsibility are becoming equally important, making SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) the two goals most relevant to ESG-conscious Indonesian businesses today.

What’s Next for Global Development After 2030?

With it becoming increasingly unlikely that the SDGs will be fully achieved by 2030, the international community has started laying the groundwork for the next global development agenda. A key milestone in this transition is the Pact for the Future, adopted at the Summit of the Future on 22 September 2024.

The Pact outlines 56 actions across five priority areas: sustainable development and financing, international peace and security, science and technology, future generations, and global governance.

One of its mandates, Action 12.b, designates the annual UN review forum for the SDGs, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) under the UN General Assembly, as the primary venue for discussions on how sustainable development efforts should be pursued through 2030 and beyond. These discussions are scheduled to become a central priority at the 2027 SDG Summit in September 2027.

The September 2027 HLPF meeting will also serve as the final SDG Summit before the 2030 deadline. Based on the timeline established in the Pact, the international community will have approximately two years for formal negotiations to reach a new global agreement that would take effect on 1 January 2031.

At the same time, the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2027 will be released, providing a scientific assessment of the state of global sustainable development, emerging challenges, and policy recommendations for governments and other stakeholders.

To prepare the report, the United Nations Secretary-General established an independent scientific panel of 14 scientists in September 2025. The panel will be supported by a UN task team comprising six organizations, such as the UN Secretariat led by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), as well as UNESCO, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Bank.

References: