From its inception, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognized the importance of strong national statistics. This is why building statistical capacity and developing measurements of progress on sustainable development are targets under Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. As the SDGs are implemented nationally understanding the national availability of SDG indicators is critical for the success of the agenda. 

To measure progress towards the 169 targets of the 17 SDGs, a global SDG indicator framework was developed in 2016. This framework includes 231 statistical indicators, many of which include multiple sub-indicators. 

Much has been achieved since the establishment of the global indicator set in 2016. While data availability is still a major concern, the situation has improved considerably. In 2016 only about 35 per cent of indicators had data available for most (but typically not all) countries, compared to 69 per cent at the end of 2024. No data at all was available for at least 36 per cent of indicators in 2016 (as they were new and had no established methodology), compared to only 2 per cent now. 

Unfortunately, this does not tell the full story about data availability. While the data on the global database is critical, the data that is available within countries is at least equally important. SDGs are implemented within countries and the purpose of statistics for SDGs is to inform the public and to enable policy-makers to make informed decisions on how best to design and implement them. Without solid data on SDG indicators within countries achieving the goals will be much more difficult. 

Interestingly, the data that is available on the global database is not necessarily available within countries and vice versa. Some countries produce indicators with small differences to the indicators in the global database, for example, because of a lack of resources to produce them according to the international methodology. Many countries, in particular in the UNECE region, have a national SDG indicator set, which includes additional indicators that are not part of the global indicator framework, but can be an important resource for the national implementation of the SDGs. 

To better understand indicator availability within countries, the UNECE Steering Group on Statistics for SDGs produced a suite of products. A tool primarily intended for national statistical offices to self-assess the availability of their indicators, which can also serve as a project management tool for coordination of SDG statistics, and a new publication Guidance on Assessing and Conceptualizing SDG indicator availability. The publication guides countries and international organizations in how to assess what is available nationally, helps form a common language around what it means for an indicator to be available, decide what details may be important, and how to communicate the results of an assessment. To that end, it tries to answer two main questions: 

• When is an SDG indicator considered available and what context is needed to make information on indicator availability fit for purpose? 

• What are realistic and cost-effective ways to assess availability for different purposes? 

The guidance is published as an addendum to the 2nd edition of the CES Road Map on Statistics for Sustainable Development Goals, which guides countries in how to navigate the complex task of measuring the achievement of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda. The Road Map is used widely by national statistical offices in the UNECE region and globally. 

The self-assessment tool, which was published in the first half of 2024, was tested by Germany, Sweden, and Poland, and was widely recognized as a very valuable tool during an exercise on its use in the 2024 UNECE Workshop on Statistics for SDGs.