Thailand has been ranked 44th globally and first in ASEAN in the latest Sustainable Development Report by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN).
For the second year in a row, the world is no longer making progress on the SDGs. The average SDG Index score slightly declined in 2021, partly due to slow or nonexistent recovery in poor and vulnerable countries. Multiple and overlapping health and security crises have led to a reversal in SDG progress.
The report estimates the percentage of achievement for each of the 193 UN member states in relation to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 100% means that every SDG has been accomplished.
The 2022 SDG Index is topped by three Nordic countries – Finland, Denmark and Sweden – and all top 10 countries are European countries. Yet even these countries face major challenges in achieving several SDGs. The 2022 International Spillover Index included in this report underlines how rich countries, including many European countries, generate negative socioeconomic and environmental spillovers, including through unsustainable trade and supply chains.
Thailand ranked first in ASEAN and 44th in the world with 74.13%, ahead of Vietnam (72.76%), Singapore (71.72%), Malaysia (70.38%), Indonesia (69.16%), Brunei (67.10%), Philippines (66.64%), Myanmar (64.27%), Cambodia (63.75%) and Laos (63.39%), but behind Japan and South Korea.
Working toward the “No Poverty” goal, which aims to eradicate poverty in all of its forms worldwide, was the area in which Thailand performed best. The poverty to population ratio serves as an indicator.
But globally, performance on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) remains below pre-pandemic levels in many low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). This is a major setback, especially considering that before the pandemic, over the period 2015–2019, the world was progressing on the SDGs at a rate of 0.5 points per year
Thailand also did well in the category of “Quality Education.” Although there are still issues, the country is still on track to meet the SDGs, according to the report.
