Publication of the ‘Pulse of Progress’ Report
Christoph Gössmann and partners published a report on SDG data during the UN General Assembly.
In September 2015, all 193 UN Member States agreed on an action plan for planet and people. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to stimulate action in areas of critical importance. In a large effort involving more than 50 stakeholders, Christoph Gössmann from ETH Zurich’s Law, Economics, and Data Science Group (Prof. Elliott Ash) collaborated with chief statisticians from the UN system, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, and national partners to report on the state of global SDG data and map opportunities for progress. In September 2023, the resulting report ‘Pulse of Progress: The State of Global SDG Data in 2023’ was published at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda and presented at the UN General Assembly.
Key Takeaways
- More data on priorities such as Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Climate Action (SDG 13), and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16) are needed.
- Developing countries, especially from South America, are among the top performers for data availability. Switzerland is among the Top 30.
- In 2020, the world reached a consensus on how to measure progress on the 2030 Agenda and global coverage is expanding.
- The timeliness of data reporting has increased but remains limited. Developing specific use cases for SDG data at country level is instrumental for improving data delivery.
