Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The 2026 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Progress Report describes the global goals as a "shared blueprint for peace" while acknowledging significant political and financial challenges to meeting the 17 targets. The report was released alongside the annual High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, which brings together stakeholders to track SDG progress.
Since the goals' adoption in 2015 by all 193 UN Member States, notable improvements include nearly one billion people gaining access to safe drinking water, 1.2 billion people obtaining safely managed sanitation, a 30 percent decline in new HIV infections between 2015 and 2024, electricity reaching 92 percent of the global population, internet access increasing from 40 to 74 percent, and social protection now covering over half the global population.
Despite these gains, overall progress towards the SDGs remains insufficient. The report notes that one in ten people continue to live in extreme poverty, 2.3 billion individuals face food insecurity, maternal mortality rates remain nearly three times above the global target, and 273 million children and young people are out of school. Additionally, global temperatures in 2025 reached 1.43 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and the global refugee population has more than doubled in the past decade.
Of the 139 SDG targets with trend data, only 36 percent are on track or making moderate progress. Nearly half (49 percent) are advancing too slowly, and 15 percent have regressed compared to 2015 baselines. Factors such as escalating conflicts, climate change, slowing economic growth, rising debt, and a record decline in official development assistance have impeded progress and disproportionately affected vulnerable populations.
At the HLPF opening, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed called for reforms to enable international development banks to provide debt relief and longer-term financing, essential for advancing the SDGs. She noted that many countries lack the necessary tools to fulfill their commitments.