Statistics

UNECE’s first regional report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the UNECE Region, was launched in March 2020. It comes at a key juncture in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda since its adoption in 2015, and will help to sharpen efforts as we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs.

The report describes the levels and trends of selected indicators relevant for the region, and highlights measurement challenges. In total, the report reviews 49 indicators across all 17 SDGs, touching upon each of the 2030 Agenda’s five integrating dimensions: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.

For most indicators, the report looks at change over recent years. UNECE countries are fulfilling targets or making good progress in many of the topics covered in the report. These include targets directly aimed at people, such as eradicating extreme poverty, covering the population with social protection, providing modern means for family planning, and having low levels of maternal, infant and child mortality; as well as actions geared towards preserving the planet – such as expanding forest cover, providing safely managed sanitation, lowering the energy intensity of the economy and complying with environmental agreements. On the other hand, in areas such as air pollution, protection of marine areas, development assistance, and disaster-risk reduction strategies, more needs to be done to meet the targets.