January 2018: The US has updated its website for reporting national statistics for the SDGs. Of the 246 indicators that the platform identifies, it reports that data for 82 indicators are included online, measures are being improved for 84 indicators, and data are being explored for another 80 indicators.

The website was launched in early 2017, at which time further enhancements to improve the platform’s utility were anticipated. The platform now includes sections on reporting status, US statistics, training materials and FAQs.

The statistics can be explored by SDG, with each of the 246 indicators identified according to whether: the platform reports the data, if the data are being explored, or the measures are being improved.

Training materials include guides and other information for how the US national reporting platform could be used by other countries (the platform is open source and free to copy). Additional sections offer resources regarding: conducting a data needs assessment; training data providers; road maps for reporting SDG statistics; and collaborations in which the US national reporting platform has already engaged. [US National Statistics for the UN Sustainable Development Goals]

In related news, the UN Statistics Division (UNStats) in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is organizing an expert group meeting, from 22-24 January 2018, to develop recommendations and guidelines for basic requisites of national data platforms suitable to SDG follow-up and reporting. [National Platforms for SDG Reporting]

The EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, issued a monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. The analysis is based on a set of 100 indicators developed by the EU for this process and selected in accordance with the quality criteria of the European Statistics Code of Practice, the report notes. The EU SDG indicator set “has been aligned as far as appropriate with the UN list of global indicators,” but does not intend to cover all aspects of the SDGs or all of the UN’s global indicators, instead focusing on “indicators relevant to the EU” in order to monitor the SDGs “in the context of long-term EU Policies.” The report notes that the indicator set will undergo regular reviews to reflect future policy developments and newly available indicators. [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Eurostat Report]