Less than five years remain before 2030, the deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 gives the latest scorecard, and its key messages are clear: some areas have improved, but most targets are moving too slowly.
How many SDG targets are on track?
The report assessed the 139 targets for which trend data are available. It finds three groups.
- On track or making moderate progress: 36 percent
- Moving too slowly: 49 percent
- Slipped below the 2015 baseline: 15 percent
The three shares add up to 100 percent, which we checked ourselves. The key messages do not separate moderate, marginal, off-track and regressing targets, and they do not give a count of goals making progress, so we do not either.
What does the report say about poverty and hunger?
One in ten people lives in extreme poverty, and social protection now covers over half of the world’s population. Our article on the $3 a day poverty line explains how that threshold is set. On hunger, 2.3 billion people face food insecurity, still well above 2015 levels.
What about water, energy and connectivity?
About 2.1 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water. Since 2015, nearly 1 billion people gained access to safely managed drinking water and 1.2 billion gained access to safely managed sanitation. Electricity reaches 92 percent of the global population, and about a third of it comes from renewable sources. Our report on energy access covers the detail. Internet use rose from 40 percent to 74 percent of the population over the period.
What are the health findings?
- 134 countries met the child mortality target, as discussed in our article on child mortality
- New HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths each fell by roughly a third
- 59 countries eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease
- Maternal mortality remains nearly three times the global target
- More than 150 million children are stunted
The mix of results shows why the overall score looks uneven. A target can be met in many countries while a different health target is far from its goal.
What about climate and gender equality?
Global temperatures reached 1.43 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in 2025, and greenhouse gas emissions hit record highs. For the physical picture, see our entries on climate change and the latest CO2 emissions. On gender equality, none of the targets are on track.
Why is money part of the story?
The report points to a financing gap of $4 trillion a year for the goals. Official development assistance fell by a record 23 percent in 2025. Those two numbers together suggest that the funding available is moving in the opposite direction from the funding needed. That reading is our own, and the key messages do not frame it this way.
What is the SDG framework?
The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015, with targets to be met by 2030. They cover poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, water, energy, climate and more. The report is produced each year to track them. This description is general and is not part of the key messages we used.
How to read the scorecard
Three points are worth keeping in mind. First, the 139 targets are those with enough data to assess a trend, so some targets are missing. Second, an average of 36 percent on track hides wide differences between goals and between countries. Third, the report’s headline numbers come from a summary document and not the full report. The publication date is not stated in the document, and news reports place the release in July 2026. We treat the figures as the UN reports them.
Key figures at a glance
- Targets on track or making moderate progress: 36 percent of 139
- People in extreme poverty: one in ten
- People facing food insecurity: 2.3 billion
- People without safely managed drinking water: about 2.1 billion
- Annual financing gap: $4 trillion
What has improved since 2015?
- Social protection now covers over half of the global population
- Nearly 1 billion more people have safely managed drinking water, and 1.2 billion more have safely managed sanitation
- Internet use rose from 40 percent to 74 percent
- New HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths each fell by roughly a third
- 59 countries eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease
- 134 countries met the child mortality target
What is falling behind?
- Hunger: 2.3 billion people face food insecurity, well above 2015 levels
- Maternal mortality: nearly three times the global target
- Child nutrition: more than 150 million children are stunted
- Gender equality: none of the targets are on track
- Climate: temperatures at 1.43 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and record emissions
- Funding: official development assistance fell a record 23 percent in 2025
The two lists show why a single verdict on the goals is hard to give. Our own reading is that the report describes a world with real gains in access and health services alongside weak results on hunger, gender equality and climate.
Glossary: terms used here
- Target: a specific, measurable aim under one of the 17 goals
- Baseline: the starting level, here 2015, against which progress is judged
- Food insecurity: a lack of regular access to enough safe and nutritious food
- Safely managed drinking water: water from an improved source on premises, available when needed and free of contamination
- Official development assistance: government aid given to support the economic development of lower-income countries
- Financing gap: the difference between the money needed and the money available
These definitions are general ones and are not quoted from the key messages.
Frequently asked questions
How many SDG targets will be met by 2030?
On current trends, most will not. Only 36 percent of assessable targets are on track or making moderate progress, according to the 2026 report.
Which goal has the worst record?
The key messages say none of the gender equality targets are on track.
How much time is left?
Less than five years until 2030, according to the report.
What is the financing gap?
$4 trillion a year, according to the report.