The Global Sustainable Development Report 2025 is out!

The latest Global Sustainable Development Report 2025 shows that on average, East and South Asia have shown the fastest progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2015, driven notably by rapid progress on the socioeconomic targets. The report also emphasizes that, for many developing countries, a lack of fiscal space remains a major obstacle to progress on the SDGs. Approximately half of the world’s population lives in countries that are unable to invest adequately in sustainable development due to heavy debt burdens and limited access to affordable, long-term financing.

In the country rankings, Sri Lanka remains at the same position as last year, at 93rd place out of 167 countries. The country's score has slightly improved from 67.4 in 2024 to 67.9 in 2025, but remains below the regional average of 69.5. While most other SDG goals have achievement rates above 50%, SDG Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure falls below the 50% performance mark.

The report reveals that quality education targets (SDG 04) which were on track in 2024, are stagnating as per the 2025 assessment. In contrast, climate action-related targets (SDG 13) have progressed well.

On the positive side, the Maternal Mortality Ratio decreased from 28.8 per 100,000 live births in 2020 to 18.3 in 2023. The percentage of surviving infants who received two WHO-recommended vaccines increased from 98% in 2022 to 99% in 2023. These have contributed to overall positive trends on SDG 03 (Good Health and Well-being).

In SDG 05 on Gender Equality, a progressive trend is the increase in the proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament, which rose from 5.3% in 2024 to 9.8% in 2025, though it remains at a relatively low level.

In SDG 07 on Affordable and Clean Energy, the share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption also increased from 28.4% in 2020 to 29.3% in 2021.

In the new reporting period, the unemployment rate under Goal 08: Decent Work and Economic Growth decreased from 6.6% in 2024 to 4.9% in 2025. Under Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, the Times Higher Education University Rankings: the average score of the top three universities increased from 25.7 in 2024 to 26.1 in 2025. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions embodied in imports (tCO₂ per capita), an indicator under Goal 13: Climate Action, also declined from 1.1 in 2021 to 0.7 in 2024. Meanwhile, permanent deforestation, an indicator under Goal 15: Life on Land, reached 0% in 2023.

However, there are critical areas highlighted in the Report that require urgent attention to ensure the development process is both inclusive and sustainable. "Emerging challenges under SDG Goal 04: Quality Education include a decline in the participation rate in organized pre-primary learning and a drop in the net primary enrollment rate, both of which were also identified as areas of concern in the 2024 report. The participation rate in pre-primary organized learning has decreased from 49.4% in 2018 to 48.6% in 2023. Furthermore, under Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, the electronic waste that is not recollected increased from 6.3 kg per capita in 2019 to 8 kg per capita in 2022.

Sustainable development remains a long-term investment challenge, and reforming the global financial architecture is more urgent than ever. The private sector must play a key role in driving sustainable development, particularly by leading technological transformations in energy, agriculture, climate resilience, and the digital economy.

The Global Sustainable Development Report is compiled by an independent group of experts led by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs and published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Dublin University Press.