Article Title: For the first time, India breaks into top 100 in global SDG rankings
25-06-2025
Environment & Ecology Current Affairs Analysis
Context
• India has, for the first time, secured a position among the top 100 countries in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index, ranking 99th out of 167 nations in the 2025 edition of the Sustainable Development Report (SDR), released on Tuesday by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
• The latest report places India with a score of 67 on the SDG Index, a significant improvement from its 109th rank in 2024. China is ranked 49th with a score of 74.4, while the United States stands at 44th with 75.2 points.
• The index measures overall progress toward achieving the 17 SDGs adopted by United Nations member states in 2015, with a score of 100 indicating full achievement of all goals.
• Among India’s neighbours, Bhutan ranks 74th (70.5), Nepal 85th (68.6), Bangladesh 114th (63.9), and Pakistan 140th (57). Maritime neighbours Maldives and Sri Lanka stand at 53rd and 93rd places respectively.
• The report noted that since the adoption of the SDGs, India has steadily improved its standing: it ranked 112th in 2023, 121st in 2022, and 120th in 2021.
• Despite India’s gains, the report flagged that global progress on the SDGs has largely stalled. “Only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030,” it stated, attributing this to “conflicts, structural vulnerabilities, and limited fiscal space” in many regions.
• The SDR, authored by a team led by economist Jeffrey Sachs, pointed to continued dominance by European nations on the index. Finland, Sweden and Denmark hold the top three positions, with 19 of the top 20 countries located in Europe.
• However, even these nations are facing challenges related to climate change and biodiversity due to unsustainable consumption patterns.
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