Eurostat's new monitoring report shows how the European Union is progressing towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The 2026 edition assesses short- and long-term trends using more than 100 indicators, and places the findings in the context of EU policies. INFRAS has again conducted a review of five SDGs.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations provide the central framework for sustainable development in social, environmental, economic and institutional terms. The Eurostat Report 2026 is the tenth edition of the annual monitoring exercise and analyzes the EU's progress on all SDGs based on the latest available data, generally covering the period from 2019 to 2024 or 2025.
INFRAS Analysis of Five of the 17 SDGs
Since 2016, INFRAS has been an integral part of the project team, working alongside the Ecologic Institute and Haymarket under the overall leadership of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna). INFRAS analyzed the following five SDGs:
- SDG 1: Zero poverty
- SDG 3: Good health and well-being
- SDG 4: Quality education
- SDG 5: Gender equality
- SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
The report not only looks at developments in the EU and its member states, but also includes Switzerland, Norway and Iceland in its country-by-country comparisons.
Many goals are progressing well - but not at the same pace everywhere
Overall, the picture across all 17 SDGs is mixed: while the EU is making progress on most targets, significant challenges remain. The report emphasizes that while sustainability policies are having an impact in Europe, progress is not linear and conflicting objectives remain.
SDG Poverty highlights Switzerland's position on housing costs
For example, on SDG 1, «No poverty», the report shows only moderate progress overall. In 2024, 93.3 million people in the EU - or 21.0 percent of the population - were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 95.5 million in 2019. Although the figure is falling, the pace is not sufficient to meet the EU's target of lifting at least 15 million people out of poverty or social exclusion by 2030.
For example, the report highlights the ongoing issue of high housing costs. Compared to other European and EU countries, Switzerland has some of the highest housing costs. The situation has worsened even further over the past five years.
Further information:
- Monitoring Report on progress towards the SDGs 2026
- Overview of progress towards the SDGs 2026
- Eurostat press release
- Eurostat dossier on the SDGs
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