Three main dimensions reflected by national SDG performance

Unraveling the complexity of the 17 interacting sustainable development goals (SDGs) is crucial for their achievement. Empirically revealing the dimensions of the SDGs helps generalize the dominant features of SDGs and better understand their drivers. Here, using a database of 166 countries' progress toward achieving each individual SDG, we found that about 70% of the variability of national SDG performance can be captured by three dimensions: socioeconomic development at the expense of resource and climate, the environment, and development at the expense of equality. Moreover, these dimensions are mainly affected by the economy; as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increases, the first dimension increases monotonically, the environment dimension decreases and then increases, and the inequality dimension increases and then decreases. Our findings indicate a dim prospect of eventually achieving all SDGs because of the conflicts between economic growth and resource and climate goals under the current development paradigm, highlighting the importance of sustainable transformation.

Automated summary

Unraveling the complexity of the 17 sustainable development goals is crucial for their achievement. A study on 166 countries' progress towards each SDG revealed that three dimensions - socioeconomic development at the expense of resource and climate, the environment, and development at the expense of equality - capture 70% of the variability in national SDG performance. These dimensions are mainly influenced by the economy, with GDP per capita affecting their trends. The findings highlight the conflicts between economic growth and resource and climate goals, emphasizing the importance of sustainable transformation.