In a first, India enters top 100 in SDG rankings

India has for the first time secured a place among the top 100 countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a United Nations report.

Out of 193 countries ranked for their progress in achieving the SDG, India ranks 99th on the 2025 SDG Index with a score of 67, according to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network's (SDSN) 10th and latest Sustainable Development Report (SDR).

China ranks 49th with 74.4 and the US 44th with 75.2 points.

The neighbouring countries like Bhutan takes 74th place with 70.5 points, Nepal ranks 85th with 68.6, Bangladesh 114th with 63.9 and Pakistan 140th with 57 points.

India's maritime neighbours, Maldives and Sri Lanka, stood at 53rd and 93rd places, respectively.

The report's authors said that SDG progress has stalled at the global level, with only 17 per cent of the 17 targets adopted by the UN member countries in 2015 projected to be achieved by 2030.

Professor Jeffrey D Sachs, president of the SDSN and a lead author of the report, emphasised, “Amid rising geopolitical tensions, widening global inequalities, and the escalating climate crisis, this year’s SDR underscores that the world overwhelmingly recognises the SDG as the vital pathway to peace, equity, and well-being. Many countries are making significant progress, but much more can be accomplished through stepped-up investments in education, green technologies, and digital solutions. Above all, we need peace and global cooperation to achieve the SDGs.”

The United States, which recently withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO) ranks last (193rd) for the second year in a row.

The Sustainable Development Report (SDR) reviews progress made each year on the SDGs since their adoption by all UN Member States in 2015.