Japan ranks in the top 20 on SDG index
Japan remains the only non-European country in the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index top 20, but has lost ground on its previous ranking, according to a U.N.-initiated list released Tuesday.
The SDG Index , released annually by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) nonprofit, rates U.N. member states on a range of indicators including hunger, sustainability, peace and access to justice.
This year, Japan ranked 19th, behind Estonia and Belgium and above Portugal and Hungary. The country showed improved performance in the category of 'no poverty' but did worse in fields like 'zero hunger' and 'press freedom.'
'Population with rent overburden,' which tracks households where housing costs represent more than 40% of disposable income, was also an area where Japan's performance declined somewhat.
Housing costs have steadily risen as burgeoning inflation takes root in Japan. In April, rents for houses in Tokyo's 23 wards increased 1.3% year-on-year, the largest spike since March 1994, according to Japan's Consumer Price Index.
Japan performs well on metrics like 'no poverty' and 'good health and well-being,' but faces significant challenges in areas including 'sustainable diet' and 'gender equality,' said Guillaume Lafortune, vice president of the SDSN and one of the report's lead authors.
The recently released World Economic Forum's 2025 Global Gender Gap report placed Japan 118th out of 148 countries.
Last year, the fourth-largest economy ranked 18th in the SDG Index, ahead of Iceland and Hungary but behind Belgium and Portugal. Its 2024 ratings highlighted improvement in a number of areas including poverty alleviation, academic output and crime, while declining in access to and affordability of justice.
Japan's position in the rankings has slowly declined from 13th place in 2015 — when the index began — as other countries in Asia have gained ground. SDSN spokesperson Alyson Marks, however, said rankings from the past are not fully comparable due to revisions and changes in data.
Policies and actions that have negative effects on other countries, described as negative international spillovers, are also taken into account.
Lafortune said spillovers from unsustainable consumption — or importing resources and energy exceeding Earth's regeneration capacity — and vulnerability to supply chain disruption proved a challenge for Japan in achieving its climate goals.
Across Asia, the picture was broadly improving. East and South Asia had made the most progress on their SDGs since the index began being carried out due to progress in reaching socio-economic goals.
Mega economies China (49th) and India (99th) both improved their rankings, entering the top 50 and top 100, respectively. Nepal, Cambodia, the Philippines, Mongolia and Bangladesh were also rapidly gaining ground.
But elsewhere the picture was less positive.
Globally, press freedom and corruption perception were on a downward trajectory since the index began 10 years ago, while obesity levels were on the rise. And just 17% of SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030, with conflict and financial constraints hampering progress.
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