UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025

Key Highlights:

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

• 713–757 million people affected by hunger (9.1% of global population in 2023)
• 2.33 billion experienced moderate/severe food insecurity
• Regions most affected:
  • Sub-Saharan Africa: 23.2% hunger prevalence
  • Southern Asia: 281 million facing hunger

SDG 4: Quality Education

• 57% of targets show no progress or are regressing
• Persistent gaps in:
  • School completion rates
  • Foundational literacy
  • Gender parity in education

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• 2.2 billion lack safely managed drinking water
• 3.4 billion without sanitation access
• 1.7 billion lack hygiene services

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• 50% of targets stagnating or regressing
• 57.8% of workers globally in informal employment
• Youth unemployment (2024): 12.9%, nearly 3× adult rate (3.7%)

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• Rising global inequality in:
  • Income distribution
  • Vaccine access
  • Climate vulnerability
  • Digital divide
• Post-COVID-19: Little progress in redistributive mechanisms

SDG 14: Life Below Water

• 40% of marine targets are regressing
• Escalating threats:
  • Ocean acidification
  • Overfishing
  • Marine pollution
• Least funded SDG, as reiterated at UN Ocean Conference 2025

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• Stagnation in:
  • Maternal mortality reduction
  • Universal health coverage
• Post-pandemic challenges:
  • Weakened health systems
  • Chronic underinvestment

SDG 12, 15, 16: Responsible Consumption, Life on Land, Peace & Justice

• 40–42% of targets off-track
• Ongoing issues:
  • Forest degradation
  • Biodiversity loss
  • Institutional weakening and governance gaps

Negative Trends Undermining SDG Progress

• Climate Crisis:
  • 2024 was the hottest year on record
  • WMO: 80% likelihood of continued temperature rise threatening food, water, and health security
• Extreme Poverty:
  • Over 800 million remain in extreme poverty
  • SDG 1 off-track: Projected 8.9% may still live in poverty by 2030
• Funding Shortfalls:
  • 7.1% decline in official development aid (2024)
  • $4 trillion annual financing gap in developing countries due to limited affordable capital access

Positive Developments Noted in the SDG Report 2025

• HIV/AIDS:
  • Global HIV infections dropped 40% since 2010
• Malaria:
  • 2.2 billion malaria cases averted
  • 12.7 million lives saved since 2000
• Social Protection:
  • Now covers over 50% of the global population, boosting inclusive development