The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published its eighth SDG progress report for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It finds that efforts to achieve the SDGs must be tied to structural transformations that can be steered through “a comprehensive approach that prioritizes effective governance, strengthens institutional capacity and enables the active and meaningful participation of all development stakeholders.”

Titled, ‘Latin America and the Caribbean in the Final Five Years of the 2030 Agenda: Steering Transformations to Accelerate Progress,’ the report estimates that in LAC, only 23% of the SDG targets will be achieved by 2030, with 41% advancing at an insufficient pace and 36% having stalled or regressed compared to 2015 levels. It also reveals uneven progress among subregions. South America, and Central America and Mexico are on track to achieve the highest proportion of targets, at 23% and 24%, respectively. This is at least ten percentage points more than the Caribbean (13%).

Launching the report at the dialogues on regional action during the 2025 ECLAC Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD), ECLAC’s Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs highlighted weak institutional capacities, the lack of prioritization of certain goals in national development plans, and limited financing and fiscal space among the challenges that have impeded progress. To invigorate the SDGs in the region, he called for strengthening institutions’ technical, operational, political, and prospective (TOPP) capabilities and reaffirmed multilateralism as “a catalyst for action and hope.”

The report details progress on the five SDGs undergoing in-depth review at the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July – SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals). It finds that while “some progress has been made in specific areas,” it needs to accelerate, calling for “a package of public policy actions,” supported through regional and international cooperation, strategic partnerships, and stakeholder participation.

The report underscores that the Summit of the Future (SoF) and its outcome documents present new opportunities to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda. In implementing the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations, strategies, policies, and actions need to align with each country’s circumstances, challenges, and priorities, with the coordinated and effective participation of civil society, the private sector, academic institutions, local governments, and the legislative branch playing a key role.

The report informed the discussions during the 2025 Latin America and the Caribbean RFSD. It was launched on 2 April 2025. [Publication: Latin America and the Caribbean in the Final Five Years of the 2030 Agenda: Steering Transformations to Accelerate Progress] [Summary Report] [Publication Landing Page] [ECLAC Press Release]