The first goal focuses on ending poverty in all its forms. Between 1990 and 2015, the number of people living in extreme poverty fell by more than half. Yet around 696 million people still survive on less than $1.90 a day, leaving many without access to essentials such as food and clean drinking water.
In the past two decades, the number of undernourished people has almost halved. Yet, as of 2017, around 821 million people still suffer from chronic undernourishment, and extreme hunger and malnutrition remain major obstacles to development in many countries.
This goal is about encouraging healthy living and ensuring access to modern, effective healthcare for everyone. Around the world, preventable illnesses are still far too common, and at least 400 million people lack even the most basic healthcare.
Since 2000, the world has made huge progress in access to education. By 2015, when the Sustainable Development Goals were set, primary school enrolment in developing regions had reached 91 percent. The number of out-of-school children had been cut in half, and more girls were in classrooms than ever before. The challenge now is to raise the quality of education.
Building a world where women and men stand on equal ground is essential. Studies show that empowering women and girls drives economic growth. This Sustainable Development Goal focuses on tackling unequal labour rights, sexual violence and exploitation, the unfair burden of unpaid domestic work, and discrimination in leadership and public office.
Water scarcity already affects over 40% of the world’s population, and the number is rising as global temperatures climb. Every continent is feeling the impact, with drought and desertification making the situation worse. By 2050, more than 5 billion people are expected to face regular water shortages.
This SDG focuses on ensuring universal access to electricity — something still unavailable to 10% of the world’s population. At the same time, it calls for a shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources. A key priority is improving infrastructure in developing countries, with international support playing a vital role in building a truly efficient and sustainable global energy system.
This Sustainable Development Goal seeks to ensure full employment and decent work for all women and men by 2030. It promotes sustainable economic growth by encouraging entrepreneurship, job creation, and policies that support technological innovation. Countries are also urged to expand access to banking and financial services, helping to create fairer opportunities for everyone to benefit from business and innovation.
To achieve this SDG by 2030, countries need to collaborate to support sustainable industries and invest in scientific research. A key part of SDG 9 is expanding Internet access in developing regions, where nearly 4 billion people are still offline. Closing this digital gap is essential, as it gives these countries the foundation to innovate, access information, and grow.
Over the past forty years, income inequality has grown sharply, driven by global deregulation and the large transfer of public wealth into private hands in nearly every country. By 2016, the top one percent of earners received 22 percent of the world’s income, while the bottom 50 percent shared just 10 percent.
By 2050, around two-thirds of the world’s population — roughly 6.5 billion people — are expected to live in cities. For the health of the planet and the success of our interconnected world, it is essential that these urban areas operate more sustainably than they do today. Although cities cover just three percent of the Earth’s land, they are responsible for an astonishing 70 percent of energy use and carbon emissions.
This SDG is essentially about reducing our ecological footprint. It means using fewer resources overall and making smarter choices with the resources we do use — wasting less and ensuring a fairer share for everyone. Agriculture plays the biggest role, consuming nearly 70% of all freshwater used by humans. Yet despite this massive demand, around 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted each year, while almost 2 billion people suffer from hunger or undernourishment.
This Sustainable Development Goal is arguably the most far-reaching, affecting people across the entire world and carrying serious consequences if ignored. Every corner of the Earth is already feeling the severe impacts of climate change. Annual economic losses from climate-related disasters now total hundreds of billions of dollars, and climate-related events claimed 1.3 million lives between 1998 and 2017. A key focus of this goal is to provide financial support to developing countries, enabling them to invest in low-carbon development and sustainable management of their natural resources.
Healthy ocean ecosystems are vital for our survival and play a key role in countering climate change. Over three billion people rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods, yet current trends show that 90% of the world’s fish stocks are being overexploited.
The next Sustainable Development Goal focuses on ecosystems on land, which are just as crucial to our survival as those in the oceans. Many of its targets concern forests, which cover 30% of the Earth’s surface, support the livelihoods of around 1.6 billion people, and play a vital role in fighting climate change by providing clean air and water.
With only 4% of the planet’s mammalian biomass still wild, protecting natural habitats and reversing the rapid loss of biodiversity has never been more urgent.
Achieving the Global Goals by 2030 is impossible without stability, peace, and equal human rights. Yet many parts of the world remain trapped in cycles of conflict and violence, challenges that require urgent international attention.
Without strong cooperation and consistent enforcement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved. From a financial perspective, the UN estimates that meeting the SDGs will require $5–7 trillion in investment each year. Fortunately, the world is more connected than ever, and improving access to technology will be essential for building successful global partnerships.
