UN Sustainable Development Goals progress 2026

In late June 2026 the United Nations warned that none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is on track to meet the 2030 deadline and fewer than 20 % of all targets are likely to be achieved. Progress is especially lagging in Sustainable Cities and Communities, Life Below Water, Life on Land and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, with financing, governance and data gaps hitting small‑island developing states hardest. Public opinion across 127 countries remains broadly supportive, though the United States has shown growing opposition to the multilateral framework. A UN warning later confirmed that only 36 % of the 139 tracked sub‑targets are on track, while roughly half are stalled and 15 % have regressed. Notable gains include about one billion people gaining safe drinking water, 1.2 billion accessing safely managed sanitation, a 30 % decline in new HIV infections, electricity reaching 92 % of the global population and internet use rising to 74 %. More than half of humanity now benefits from some form of social‑protection scheme. Persistent challenges remain: one in ten people still live in extreme poverty, 2.3 billion face moderate to severe food insecurity, over 150 million children are stunted and maternal mortality stays roughly three times the target. Climate‑related disasters have more than doubled since 2015, compounded by rising conflicts, slowing growth, mounting debt and a record decline in official development assistance. The refugee population has more than doubled. UN officials called for accelerated financing, greater gender equality, rapid scaling of renewable energy and a shift of resources from military to development spending. At the opening of the ministerial segment of the High‑Level Political Forum, Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres noted that only about a third of assessable SDG targets show moderate progress and 15 % have reversed.