Commentary on the new UN report “Progress in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2025”

However, starting from the 19th century, per capita income began to grow much faster than the population itself. From 1800 to 2025, the world’s population increased eightfold. Over the same period, average annual per capita income, converted into euros at the 2024 exchange rate, rose from about 900 to almost 14,000 euros, a sixteenfold increase. The average annual GDP growth rate over these 225 years is estimated at 2.2%. [gender.cawater-info](http://gender.cawater-info.net/what_is/sdg.htm)

Income and resource inequality, the growth of global production, inefficient use and depletion of resources, environmental pollution, and climate risks are the defining economic challenges to **sustainable** development under current conditions. [unstats.un](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/)

Drawing on UN sustainable development data, one can note positive shifts in access to health care, reductions in hunger, and greater opportunities for education, employment, and participation in public life. However, the situation varies greatly across different regions of the world. [unstats.un](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025)

Moreover, despite the significant progress made between 2015 and 2025, the pace of change remains insufficient to meet national plans and commitments on the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Poverty and hunger still persist worldwide, while inequality continues to intensify and constrain human potential. In addition, many countries are facing record-high debt servicing costs and budget deficits, which limit their development progress. [weforum](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/09/sdg-progress-report-2025/)

Geopolitical turbulence and armed conflicts in various regions of the world negatively affect future prospects, since the sustainable development challenges faced by countries are global and interconnected by their very nature. [unstats.un](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/)

Author: Associate Professor at the Department of International Business, Faculty of International Economic Relations, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Irina Nikolaevna Abanina.