30 August 2016
UN Statistical Division Provides Data Snapshots on SDGs
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In the inaugural Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Report, the UN Statistical Division provides data snapshots for each of the 17 SDGs.

The publication is informed by the latest available data as of May 2016, and provides an overview of the regional and global levels while highlighting critical gaps and challenges.

For each SDG, the report analyzes three indicators from the global indicator framework, chosen based on the highest data availability.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)August 2016: In the inaugural Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Report, the UN Statistical Division provides data snapshots for each of the 17 SDGs. The publication is informed by the latest available data as of May 2016, and provides an overview of the regional and global levels while highlighting critical gaps and challenges. For each SDG, the report analyzes three indicators from the global indicator framework, chosen based on the highest data availability.

The SDG global indicator framework was developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), and agreed to “as a practical starting point” at the 47th session of the UN Statistical Commission, in March 2016. The list of 231 indicators will be subject to refinements and improvements over the next 15 years, as methods and data availability improve. The indicators will inform the UN Secretary-General’s annual SDG Progress Report, which is mandated to serve as a benchmark for assessing implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The ‘Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016’ is the web-based version of the SDG Progress Report 2016, which was published in June. The web-based publication contains more details for a wider audience and uses charts and infographics to reflect the gaps and challenges.

On the data sources that comprise the basis for analysis, the authors note that: for most of the indicators presented in the report, values represent regional and/or subregional aggregates; the figures are calculated from national data collected by international agencies, based on their respective mandates and specialized expertise, from national statistical systems; and the national data provided to the international statistical system are often adjusted for international comparability or estimated where lacking.

The ‘Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016′ notes that many national statistical systems globally face major challenges in tracking progress on the SDGs, because of both the goals’ complexity and countries’ lack of statistical capacity. As a result, the authors explain, accurate and timely information about certain aspects of people’s lives remain unknown, many groups and individuals remain “invisible”, and numerous development challenges are still poorly understood. To address this lack of capacity, they stress the need for: the development of new data sources and technologies for data collection; the integration of different sources of data, including through partnerships with civil society, the private sector and academia; and the integration of geospatial information and statistical data for the production of a number of indicators. [Publication: Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016] [Website of UN Statistical Division] [IISD RS Policy Update on SDG Indicators] [IISD RS Story on Secretary-General’s SDG Progress Report 2016]

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