The Nordic countries continue to top the SDG Index, shows the latest Sustainable Development Report published this year. Finland ranks first this year and 19 of the top 20 countries are in Europe. The Nordic countries are in positions 1, 2, 3, 7 and 15.
In this year’s SDG Index, China (#49) and India (#99) have entered the top 50 and top 100 performers respectively. The report assesses the progress of all 193 UN Member States on the SDGs.
As in previous editions particularly the Nordic countries, top the 2025 SDG Index. Finland ranks first, followed by Sweden and Denmark. Finland also holds the top spot on the World Happiness Report rankings. However, even these countries face substantial challenges in achieving several SDGs, notably SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), partly driven by unsustainable consumption patterns and negative international spillover effects.
Ten years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress remains alarmingly off-track, with less than 20% of targets projected to be achieved by 2030. Yet, global averages mask stark disparities across regions and countries in SDG progress. Despite these challenges, commitment remains high among the majority of UN Member States, revealed this 10th edition of the report, released 24th of June by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
The SDR includes the SDG Index and Dashboards, which rank all UN Member States on their performance across the 17 Goals, and this year’s report features a new Index (SDGi), which focuses on 17 headline indicators to track overall SDG progress over time.
List of rankings:
- Finland
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Germany
- France
- Austria
- Norway
- Croatia
- Poland
- Czechia
- United Kingdom
- Slovenia
- Latvia
- Spain
- Iceland
