Facts and figures from the SDG special report launched 10 July 2023
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals


📚Net ODA flows in 2022 were $206 billion, up 15.3% in real terms. This is the highest growth rate in record, but ODA as a percentage of GNI remains below the 0.7% target, reaching 0.37% in 2022. The increase was primarily due to domestic spending on refugees and aid for Ukraine. Net bilateral ODA to Africa in 2022 was $34 billion,
down 7.4% in real terms.
📚Official sustainable development grants reached $118 billion in 2021, up from $100 billion in 2020. Official concessional loans increased by 37% to $55 billion, while official non-concessional loans increased by 51% to $107 billion.
📚Low- and middle-income countries saw a 5.6% rise in external debt to $9 trillion in 2021, mainly due to an increase in short-term debt.
📚By November 2022, 37 out of 69 of the world's poorest nations were at high risk or already in debt distress, and one in four middle- income countries faced a high risk of fiscal crisis.
📚In 2022, an estimated 66% of the world’s population (5.3 billion) used the Internet, compared with 40% (3 billion) in 2015. Globally, 259 million more men than women used the Internet in 2022. Fixed-broadband subscriptions continue to grow steadily, at an average annual growth rate of 6.7% over the last 10 years, reaching 18 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2022 globally, up from 11 subscriptions in 2015.
📚The total trade of tracked Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) in 2020 was $2,364 billion, an increase of 5% since 2015.
📚The worldwide weighted tariff average was about 2% in 2020, a decline from 2.6% in 2015. The latest figures shows that agriculture and clothing products continue to face the highest tariff rates at about 6%, followed by textiles at 4% and industrial products at 1.4%.
📚The share of exports from LDCs in global merchandise trade was merely 1.1% in 2022. The target of doubling the share of LDCs’ exports by 2020, from its value of 1.02% in 2011, has therefore not been met.
📚In 2022, a total of 147 countries and territories reported having statistical legislation compliant with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. Furthermore, 156 countries and territories reported that 100 of their plans were fully funded compared to 17 in 2016 from 81 countries.
📚International funding for data and statistics amounted to only $541 million in 2020, a decrease of more than $100 million and $138 million from funding levels in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Between 2018 and2020, ODA funding for data dropped by more than 20%.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition provides a powerful call to action, presenting a candid assessment of the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. While highlighting the existing gaps and urging the world to redouble its efforts, the report also emphasizes the immense potential for success through strong political will and the utilization of available technologies, resources, and knowledge. Together, the global community can reignite progress towards achieving the SDGs and create a brighter future for all.

According to the report, the impacts of the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine, a weak global economy, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed weaknesses and hindered progress towards the Goals. The report further warns that while lack of progress is universal, it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst effects of these unprecedented global challenges. It also points out areas that need urgent action to rescue the SDGs and deliver meaningful progress for people and the planet by 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition is the only UN official report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Using the latest available data and estimates, the report provides a comprehensive midpoint assessment of the 2030 Agenda, highlighting not only impacts of multiple crises affecting people's lives and livelihoods, but also areas of progress where acceleration is needed. This annual SDG Report is prepared by UN DESA, in collaboration with the entire UN Statistical System, consisting of more than 50 international and regional agencies, based on data from over 200 countries and territories.

Alarming trends in land degradation call for urgent action to restore the Earth

Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year, affecting food and water security globally. The loss is equivalent to twice the size of Greenland, impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people, who are estimated to be directly exposed to land degradation. Human activities like urban expansion, deforestation and grassland conversion, coupled with climate change are direct drivers of land degradation worldwide.
Demographic and economic trends, governance challenges, and technology and investment gaps also contribute indirectly. Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Southern Asia experienced land degradation at rates faster than the global average. If current trends continue, restoring 1.5 billion hectares of land
by 2030 will be necessary to achieve a land-degradation-neutral world.

Alternatively, halting any new land degradation and accelerating existing commitments to restore 1 billion hectares can surpass the neutrality target. Land and ecosystem restoration offer cost-effective solutions to address climate change, biodiversity loss, food and water security, and disaster impacts. To this end, governments, businesses and communities
must collaborate to conserve natural areas, scale up nature-positive food production and develop green urban areas, infrastructure and supply chains.