At the World Social Summit of 2025, world leaders reaffirmed the full, timely and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This renewed political momentum underscores a shared recognition: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires bold action, innovation within governments, strengthened institutions and a genuine whole-of-society approach. Partnerships across sectors and communities remain indispensable for accelerating progress.
International cooperation and solidarity are essential to these efforts. In this spirit, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) convenes focused exchanges and peer-learning initiatives that promote concrete action and advance sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions. Our flagship platform is the annual Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, which will bring together a broad range of stakeholders for the tenth time in 2026.
A clear understanding of where the region stands is essential for shaping effective policy dialogue and action at the Forum and beyond. The assessment prepared by the UNECE Statistics and Data Division provides an overview of regional progress. It identifies the targets where the UNECE region is on track to meet the ambitions set out in the 2030 Agenda – whether directly measured or estimated based on best practice benchmarks.
As we enter the final third of the path toward 2030, it is increasingly evident that many targets may not be reached in time. The rising number of indicators showing movement away from the desired direction highlights areas where urgent and intensified action is required. Yet the overall picture also contains important signs of resilience: most targets still show forward momentum, reflecting substantial development gains achieved despite crises, conflict and other pressures.
This report also looks separately at the group of 17 UNECE member States in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia that participate in United Nations technical cooperation programmes. In addition, United Nations country teams and international agencies contribute encouraging examples of how working together can make change happen.
We hope that the 2026 UNECE Regional Forum for Sustainable Development – and the global High-Level Political Forum that will follow – create further momentum for action and inspire further cooperation to bring more SDG targets back on track.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, Geneva
