Key facts
- The world must close a $4 trillion annual financing gap to meet 2030 sustainable development goals.
- Official development assistance fell by a record 23.1% in 2025.
- Only 36% of 139 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track or making moderate progress.
- 28% of the world's population faces moderate or severe food insecurity.
- Low- and middle-income countries' external debt reached a record $8.9 trillion in 2024.
- Global temperatures in 2025 reached 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels.
Countries worldwide must urgently address a $4 trillion annual financing shortfall to achieve the sustainable development targets set for 2030, according to a new United Nations report. While progress has been made in areas like access to electricity, water, and healthcare, the report warns that overlapping global crises and a widening funding gap present significant obstacles.
Key findings from the report indicate a substantial decline in official development assistance, which fell by a record 23.1% in 2025, returning to 2015 levels. Of the 139 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 36% are on track or showing moderate progress, while 49% are advancing too slowly and 15% have regressed. Extreme poverty affects about 10% of the global population, with projections suggesting minimal improvement by 2030 without new interventions. Food insecurity is also a major concern, with 28% of the world's population experiencing moderate to severe insecurity and 673 million facing chronic hunger, both higher than in 2015.
The report also highlights that most regions are unlikely to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, with sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and Oceania being exceptions. Positive developments include a decrease in child labor by over 20 million between 2020 and 2024. However, 273 million children and young people remain out of school, and young people are nearly four times more likely to be unemployed than adults. The global refugee population has more than doubled since 2015, reaching 440 per 100,000 people by mid-2025. Furthermore, the external debt of low- and middle-income countries reached a record $8.9 trillion in 2024. Environmentally, global temperatures in 2025 hit 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels, with atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at a two-million-year high.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commented that the report demonstrates that progress is possible but often insufficient, citing strong headwinds such as the collapse in development assistance, growing debt burdens, rising conflicts, slowing global economic growth, and climate chaos.