Frequently asked questions
SDGs in an EU context
A scoreboard of around 100 indicators is both manageable and meaningful in an EU context.
The 102 EU SDG indicators, 6 for each of the 17 goals, ensure a balance between the 4 dimensions of sustainability
- environmental
- economic
- social
- institutional
In addition to the EU SDG indicator set, Eurostat publishes sector-specific statistics, for example on the circular economy or climate change, which provide a detailed view on sustainability.
Eurostat uses EU SDG indicators to monitor progress towards the SD goals and selects data with the best possible statistical quality and policy relevance. While data from research, businesses or citizen science are often useful to answer specific questions, they are not always suitable to monitor progress for the entire EU. For example, time series may be too short and data not comparable over time or between countries.
However, external data play a key role in the EU SDG indicators set. Around one third of indicators comes from external sources, such as the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), and from citizen science.
The EU SDG monitoring report is usually published together with the European Semester spring package in May / June. It includes an updated set of the EU SDG indicators. At the same time, the following products are published:
- EU SDG monitoring brochure, which is a summary of the report conveying its main messages in a visual and concise way
- visualisation tool ‘SDGs and me’ to help you understand what the 17 SDGs are about and explore the situation in your country compared to others
- visualisation tool ‘Progress of SDGs in the EU’ which gives a quick overview of the current progress towards each of the SDGs
- visualisation tool ‘SDG country overview’ to compare the country’s progress to the EU average
- Statistics Explained articles.
The data cut-off date for the annual report is usually in April. Many SDG indicators on the Eurostat website are updated automatically throughout the year following the update of the source dataset.
Reference to the source data is provided in the metadata file attached to each of the EU SDG indicators. Please look for this icon in the database.
The easiest way to monitor your country’s progress would be to use one of our visualisation tools:
Assessment method
The assessment method considers whether an indicator has moved towards or away from the sustainable development objective, as well as the speed of this movement. The method focuses on developments over time and not on the sustainability of the status.
In case of existing quantitative targets set within the political process, Eurostat assesses the progress made for each indicator using the 'compound annual growth rate' (CAGR) over the past 5 (15) years and compares it against the growth rate that would have been required during this period to reach the target. However, this approach is only possible for a limited number of indicators, where an explicit quantified and measurable target exists for the EU. For a detailed description of the calculation method, please consult the page on methodology.
Firstly, Eurostat calculates a score for each indicator, reflecting its short-term assessment over the past five years. Secondly, Eurostat calculates a simple average of the scores of the individual indicators, including the multi-purpose indicators, for each goal. Eurostat makes an overall goal level assessment for a SDG if 75% of the indicators of the goal can be evaluated.
Spillover effects
EU imports of products produced outside the EU can generate positive and negative effects on the environment and economy of the producing countries, for example by creating value added or triggering changes in the land use.
It is important to recognise these so-called spillover effects, because they influence how the world as a whole achieves the SDGs. The SDG monitoring report quantifies 1 positive (gross value added) and 3 negative spillover effects resulting from EU consumption: carbon footprint, material footprint, and land footprint.
Measuring consumption-induced spillover effects is a complex and data-intensive exercise, requiring data on direct cross-border flows (such as imports and exports) and indirect cross-border flows (socio-economic and environmental impacts of specific products and sectors throughout the entire supply chain). Many of these indirect impacts cannot be directly observed and therefore quantifying them requires making assumptions and model-based estimates.
Alignment with UN level
The UN Agenda 2030 document has foreseen different levels of SDG monitoring from the start. Therefore, in addition to the global level, we also have regional, national, and thematic SDG monitoring.
The EU SDG indicator set is aligned as far as appropriate with the UN list of global indicators. Around two thirds of the EU indicators are aligned with the UN list. However, the UN indicators are selected for global level reporting and are therefore not always relevant in an EU context.
The EU SDG indicators have strong links with EU policy initiatives. For example, with regard to SDG 2 ‘Zero hunger’ the EU focuses more on environmentally sustainable agriculture compared to the global level.
There are deviations in all of the 17 SDGs. The 2 main reasons for this are:
- Several of the UN indicators need to be adapted to the EU's situation, such as the number of people living below $1.25 per day as a measure of poverty.
- The EU SDG indicators monitor EU policies, for example in SDG 4, we use benchmarks from the European Education Area.
The desire for alignment with the UN list needs to be balanced with these 2 requirements.