The 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU) is researching and monitoring the progress of EU countries towards the SDGs. In this “SDG Comparison by Country Series”, we look at each country and assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Progress of Germany vs the EU average
The following chart illustrates how Germany is performing for the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) compared to the EU average in 2022.
What SDGs are high?
If we focus on the high averages (the top right hand green and the top left hand yellow), we can see where Germany is making positive progress in the SDGs and is performing better than the EU on average.
- 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
- 8 Decent work and economic growth
- 6 Clean water and sanitation
What SDGs are low?
If we focus on the low averages (the bottom right hand yellow and the bottom left hand red), we can see where Germany is making negative progress in the SDGs.
- 10 Reduced inequalities
- 4 Quality education
- 7 Affordable and clean energy
What is the result for Germany?
Germany has achieved high results in three SDG goals: Peace, justice, and strong institutions (Goal 16), Decent work and economic growth (Goal 8), and Clean water and sanitation (Goal 6).
This indicates that Germany has made significant progress in promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, creating job opportunities, improving access to clean water and sanitation, and promoting sustainable economic growth.
However, the Germany’s progress has been low in achieving the SDG goals of Reduced inequalities (Goal 10), Quality education (Goal 4), and Affordable and clean energy (Goal 7).
This suggests that Germany needs to focus on reducing inequalities, promoting inclusive and equitable quality education for all, increasing access to affordable and clean energy to achieve the SDGs.
Methodology
This chart compares a country in its standing with the EU average and track its progress over the past five years.
The SDGs are represented on a graph with four quadrants: green, upper yellow, lower yellow, and red.
- The green quadrant indicates that the country’s status is above the EU average, and it’s progressing towards the SDG.
- The lower yellow quadrant suggests that the country is making progress, but its status is below the EU average.
- The upper yellow quadrant represents a status above the EU average, but the country is moving away from the SDG.
- The red quadrant indicates that the status is below the EU average, and the country is moving away from the SDG.
The country’s status for each SDG is determined by the aggregation of all indicators of the specific goal, compared to the EU average. It’s a relative measure that also depends on the country’s natural conditions and historical developments.
However, a high status doesn’t necessarily mean that a country is close to achieving a specific SDG, but it indicates that it’s performing better than the EU on average.
On the other hand, the progress score for each SDG in a country is an absolute measure that’s not affected by the progress of other countries. It’s based on the average annual growth rates of all assessed indicators in the specific goal over the past five years.
Source: eurostat
