Overview:
The Global Goals can only be met if we work together.International investments and support is needed to ensure innovative technological development, fair trade and market access, especially for developing countries. To build a better world, we need to be supportive, empathetic, inventive, passionate, and above all, cooperative.
International Progress 2023:
Progress towards achieving SDG17 has been mixed. On the one hand, there have been some advances in areas such as development aid, remittances flows, and access to technology. However, funding for development remains a major challenge, particularly in lowincome countries. Additionally, geopolitical tensions and the rise of nationalism in some parts of the world have made it more difficult to achieve international cooperation and coordination. Many developing countries are battling record inflation, rising interest rates and looming debt burdens, competing priorities, and limited fiscal space. A major surge in concerted action is needed to ensure developing countries have access to the financing and technologies needed to accelerate SDG implementation.
Based on 2021 data from approximately 130 economies, government revenue accounted for approximately 33% of GDP on average. In addition, the average overall tax burden or revenue in the form of taxes was 26% of GDP among advanced economies and 17% of GDP amongst emerging market and developing economies. The proportion of government expenditure funded by taxes has been stable within each region and worldwide has tended to converge. The overall average was about 66% among advanced economies and 60% among emerging market and developing economies in 2019, but sharply declined to about 52% in 2020 before rebounding to about 58% in 2021 for both groups of economies.
Net ODA flows amounted to $206 billion (current price in 2022, an increase of 15.3% in real terms compared to 2021). This is the highest growth rate in record, mainly due to domestic spending on refugees and aid for Ukraine. However, total ODA as a percentage of GNI continues to remain below the 0.7% target, reaching 0.36% in 2022 compared to 0.31% in 2021. Moreover, net bilateral ODA flows to countries in Africa totalled $34 billion in 2022, representing a drop of 7.4% in real terms compared to 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped development spending, driving significant increases in financial resources mobilised for developing countries from multiple sources. Official sustainable development grants passed the $100 billion mark in 2020 and reached $118 billion in 2021. Official concessional loans amounted to $55 billion and official non-concessional loans to $107 billion in 2021, increases of 37% and 51%, respectively compared with 2019. But this is a long way from what is needed to enable developing countries to invest in the transitions needed to achieve the goals, estimated at some USD 3.9 trillion between now and 2030.
Debt levels of advanced and low- and middle-income countries reached record highs during the pandemic, increasing the likelihood of adverse consequences on economic growth. Total external debt of low- and middle income countries increased by 5.6% in 2021 to $9 trillion, driven primarily by an increase in short-term debt. As of November 2022, 37 out of 69 of the world’s poorest countries were either at high risk or already in debt distress, while one in four middle-income countries, which host the majority of the extreme poor, were at high risk of fiscal crisis.
In 2022, an estimated 66% of the world’s population (5.3 billion) used the Internet, compared with 41% (3 billion) in 2015. Globally, 259 million more men than women used the Internet in 2022. There has been slower growth in the number of Internet users compared to the height of the pandemic, meaning that without increased investment in infrastructure and digital skills, the aim of connecting everyone by 2030 will remain elusive.
Fixed-broadband subscriptions continue to grow steadily, at an average annual growth rate of 6.7% over the last 10 years, reaching 18 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2022 globally, up from 11 subscriptions in 2015. While fixed connections are common among households in upper-middle income and high-income countries, they are nearly non-existent in low-income countries due to high prices and a lack of infrastructure.
The total trade of tracked Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) in 2020 was $2,364 billion, an increase of 5% since 2015.
The worldwide weighted tariff average was about 2% in 2020- unchanged since 2017, however, a decline from 2.6% in 2015. The latest figures from 2020 indicate that agriculture and clothing products continue to face the highest tariff rates at about 6%, followed by textiles at 4% and industrial products at 1.4%. The special tariff treatment that developed countries offer to developing countries, SIDs, and LDCs remains unchanged.
In 2021, the share of LDCs’ exports in global merchandise trade amounted to 1.05% and has remained almost constant for the last three years. The target of doubling the share of LDCs’ exports by 2020, from its value of 1.03% in 2011, has therefore not been met. The share of all developing countries’ exports in global merchandise trade reached 44.4% in 2021, a share 3.1 percentage points larger than in 2016. It has increased almost continuously over the last five years.
In 2022, 147 countries and territories reported having national statistical legislation compliant with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. In 2022, 156 countries and territories reported implementing a national statistical plan with 100 of the plans fully funded, compared to 81 countries implementing a national statistical plan with 17 fully funded in 2016. However, due to long-lasting impacts of the pandemic and limited human and financial capacity in strategic planning, many national statistical offices are implementing expired strategic plans for their statistical activities, which may not fully cover their evolving development objectives and emerging demands for data.
International funding for data and statistics amounted to $542 million in 2020, a decrease of over $100 million and $155 million from funding levels in 2019 and 2018, respectively. This rate is also a decline of 16% since 2015. While this decrease could be partially attributed to pandemic-induced funding and policy shifts, it could reflect the long-standing challenges in mainstreaming data activities, the limited pool of donors, and the low strategic priority of statistics.
Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet – Report of the Secretary-General (Special Edition)
Ireland’s
Progress 2023:
XX
Targets —
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Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.1.1 Total government revenue as a proportion of GDP dropped from 25.9% in 2017 to 22.3% in 2020, and rose to 23.2% in 2021, and 23% in 2022.
17.1.2 Central government expenditure increased from €65.7 billion in 2017 to €91.3 billion in 2022, while taxes showed a general upward trend (apart from a slight dip in 2020) from €54.3 billion to €87.5 billion over the same period.
17.1.1
Total government revenue as a proportion of GDP, by source
17.1.2
Proportion of domestic budget funded by domestic taxes
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Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda.
CSO data
Status: No data available
17.10.1 No data available
17.10.1
Worldwide weighted tariff-average
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Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.11.1 Ireland exported nearly €209 billion of goods in 2022 and imported over €141 billion, which resulted in a trade surplus of €67 billion. Trade increased on the previous year, where Ireland exported almost €166 billion of goods in 2021 and imported almost €104 billion.
17.11.1
Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020.
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Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.12.1 Most recent data (2015) from the UNCTAD shows that the least developed countries (LDCs) share of the world’s exports dropped to below 1% for the first time since 2007.
17.12.1
Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States
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Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.13.1 The CSO’s National Accounts division publish the Macroeconomic Scoreboard on an annual basis.
17.13.1
Macroeconomic Dashboard
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Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.14.1 The government of Ireland launched the new National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals 2022-2024 on 5 October 2022.
17.14.1
Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
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Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.15.1 In 2021, the government of Ireland invested more than €976 million in official development assistance.
17.15.1
Extent of use of country-owned results frameworks and planning tools by providers of development cooperation
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Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.16.1 The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has overall responsibility for promoting the SDGs and overseeing their coherent implementation across government, including the development of the National Implementation Plans and reporting frameworks.
17.16.1
Number of countries reporting progress in
multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the sustainable
development goals -
Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resources strategies of partnerships.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.17.2 Eurostat’s data for Ireland’s ODA was €868m and €976m in 2020 and 2021.
17.17.1
Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
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By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high- quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.18.1 In 2022 more than nine in ten (92%) persons aged 16 years and older were recent users of the internet (used within the three months prior to survey), an increase of two percentage points from 2021.
17.18.2 The CSO adheres fully to the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
17.18.3 The CSO Statement of Strategy 2020-2023 sets out the work plans for the next three years.
17.18.1
Statistical capacity indicator for Sustainable Development Goal monitoring
17.18.2
Number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
17.18.3
Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding
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By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.19.1 No data available
17.19.2 A) The Census of Population (CoP) in Ireland conducted every 5 years. B) It is a legal requirement in Ireland that a record be kept of each birth, marriage and death that occurs in the State.
17.19.1
Dollar value of all resources made available to strengthen statistical capacity in developing countries
17.19.2
Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration
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Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries, and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries.
CSO data
Status: Not meeting targets
17.2.1 Excluding the costs relating to Ukrainian refugees, the figure for Ireland’s 2022 ODA is €1.446 billion, representing 0.4% of GNP. This is an increase on the 0.3% of GNP achieved in 2021.
17.2.1
Net official development assistance, total and to least developed countries, as a proportion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee donors’ gross national income (GNI)
-
Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.3.1 Irish foreign direct investment abroad increased by €296 billion to €1,288 billion in 2021.
17.3.2 The volume of remittances as a proportion of total GDP was calculated as 0.38% in 2021.
17.3.1
Foreign direct investments (FDI), official development assistance and South-South Cooperation as a proportion of total
domestic budget17.3.2
Volume of remittances (in United States dollars) as a proportion of total GDP
-
Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress.
CSO data
Status: Data unavailable
17.4.1 Data not currently available.
17.4.1
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services
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Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.5.1 Irish Aid is the government’s official aid programme administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), working on behalf of the Irish people to address poverty and hunger in some of the poorest countries in the world.
17.5.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
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Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.6.1 At the end of June (Q2) 2022, there were 1.95 million active broadband subscriber lines in Ireland. This was an increase of 0.6% on the previous quarter and a 3.0% increase on Q2 2021.
17.6.1
Fixed Internet broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed
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Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed.
CSO data
Status: Data not currently available
17.7.1 No data
17.7.1
Total amount of approved funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
-
Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.8.1 In 2022 more than nine in ten (92%) persons aged 16 years and older were recent users of the internet (used within the three months prior to survey), an increase of two percentage points from 2021.
17.8.1 In 2022 more than nine in ten (92%) persons aged 16 years and older were recent users of the internet (used within the three months prior to survey), an increase of two percentage points from 2021.
17.8.1
Proportion of individuals using the Internet
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Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation.
CSO data
Claim: Achieving
17.9.1 Ireland’s total ODA increased to €2.3 billion, representing 0.64% of GNP, in 2022.
17.9.1
Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries
