SDG 17: Revitalize Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

The 2025 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July will conduct in-depth reviews of progress towards five SDGs. SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals) is one of these Goals and the only SDG to undergo review annually. This brief provides an overview of the status of SDG 17 and highlights its interlinkages with other Goals.

When UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs in 2015, they committed to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development – a precondition for achieving any and all of the Goals. Over the past decade, global progress on SDG 17 has been mixed.

According to the UN Secretary-General’s SDG progress report, financial flows to developing countries have increased, but so did debt servicing costs, hitting a record high in 2023. The annual investment gap for the SDGs is estimated at USD 4 trillion.

While access to information and communications technology (ICT) has steadily increased over the years, digital divides persist in lower-income regions. Data systems and national statistical capacities have improved, but many countries still lack the necessary funding to ensure comprehensive tracking and implementation of the Goals. The Secretary-General’s report underscores the need for “strengthened support and renewed global cooperation to bridge these divides and accelerate Goal progress.”

So where do we stand on SDG 17?

Finance: Based on 2023 data for around 130 countries, globally, government revenue (SDG target 17.1) accounted for one-third of gross domestic product (GDP). Revenue from taxes was 25% of GDP for advanced economies and 18% of GDP for emerging market and developing economies. These numbers are both similar to 2015 levels.

In 2024, official development assistance (ODA) (SDG target 14.2) from countries that are members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) dropped 7.1% in real terms to USD 212.1 billion, marking the first drop in five years. Lower contributions to international organizations, reduced aid for Ukraine and humanitarian support, and less spending on hosting refugees accounted for the decrease, according to the report. At the same time, total ODA was 23% higher than in 2019.

Progress is reported on additional financial resource mobilization (SDG target 14.3), with an increase observed for all forms of finance since 2019. Concessional loans show the largest increase of 77%. However, the number of Goal-related investments saw a drop of 11% in 2024. Gains have occurred in renewable energy, health, and education, but infrastructure, agrifood systems, and water and sanitation “are now receiving less international financing than in 2015,” according to the report. Global remittance flows in 2023 reached USD 861 billion – a 3% increase from 2022.

In 2023, debt servicing costs (SDG target 17.4) for all low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs) reached a record high of USD 1.4 trillion, putting an enormous strain on developing economies.

ICT: While fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (SDG target 17.6) grew at the rate of 6.3% per year from 2015 to 2024, only 20 subscriptions per 100 are reported for 2024, with even lower coverage in LICs. Internet usage (SDG target 17.8) grew three percentage points between 2023 and 2024, reaching 68% of the global population. This means universal access is “distant,” according to the report.

Data, monitoring, and accountability: Improvements are reported in economic and environmental SDG data collection (SDG target 17.18), yet social and demographic data lag behind. Statistical performance has improved, with more countries having national statistical legislation in place and implementing a national statistical plan. In 2022, developing countries received USD 875 million to strengthen statistical capacity (SDG target 17.19) – a 2% increase from 2021 and a nearly 50% increase since 2015.

Procedural progress is also being made on SDG target 17.19’s call for building initiatives that complement gross domestic product (GDP). The outcome from the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) reaffirmed the call in the Pact for the Future “to urgently develop a framework of measures of progress on sustainable development that complement or go beyond gross domestic product.” The Secretary-General has appointed the independent high-level expert group that the Pact called on to “develop recommendations for a limited number of country-owned and universally applicable indicators of sustainable development that complement and go beyond gross domestic product.” Based on these recommendations, the Pact for the Future and FfD4 outcome indicate that a subsequent UN-led intergovernmental process will convene.

During the HLPF, discussions on the other four Goals under review – SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), and SDG 14 (life below water) – will all address the question of how to strengthen the means of implementation to achieve each of these SDGs.

HLPF 2025 will also feature a dedicated session on unlocking means of implementation, with discussions focusing on mobilizing financing and science, technology, and innovation (STI) to accelerate the SDGs. Outcomes of the recently concluded Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development will feed into these deliberations, including commitments to:

Increase investment to achieve universal, meaningful, and affordable digital connectivity and close the digital divides through enhanced collaboration between governments, development finance institutions, multilateral development banks (MDBs), international organizations, and the private sector;
Scale up public development bank lending for STI infrastructure investment;
Address barriers to private investment in developing countries through innovative financial instruments like blended finance to de-risk investment; and
Reduce the cost of capital for developing countries, including through providing systematized liquidity and liability management support and reviewing the role of credit rating agencies.

Another session dedicated to strengthening partnerships for SDG implementation will take place later in the week. According to a background note, prepared by the UN Secretariat, the session “will highlight the need for effective partnerships, sustained political will, financial commitments, and greater policy coherence across interconnected global processes.”

HLPF 2025 will convene in New York, US, from 14-23 July, on the theme, ‘Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.’ [HLPF 2025][ECOSOC newsletter announcing the HLPF | subscribe to the ECOSOC newsletter]