Global partnerships for sustainable development encompass key areas such as finance, technology, trade and data. There are mixed trends in mobilizing financial resources for development, expanding internet connectivity and and strengthening statistical systems. However, a substantial $4 trillion annual investment gap for developing countries to achieve the SDGs, persistent and crippling issues such as unprecedentedly high external debt levels, and limited access to online connectivity in low-income countries underscore the need for sustained collaboration and enhanced cooperation and support in a landscape of worsening international cooperation and geopolitical tensions.
Finance
Target 17.1: 2022 data from approximately 130 countries show that globally, government revenue accounts for approximately 33% of GDP. The average overall tax burden or revenue in the form of taxes is 26% of GDP among advanced economies and 18% of GDP among emerging market and developing economies. In 2019, the overall average of proportion government expenditure funded by taxes was about 66% among advanced economies and 61% among emerging market and developing economies. The overall average sharply declined following the pandemic to about 52% in 2020 but rebounded in 2021 and 2022 for both groups of economies (to 62% for advanced economies and 59% for emerging and developing countries), however, still lower than the pre-pandemic level.
Target 17.2: In 2023, ODA by member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) amounted to $223.7 billion, representing 0.37% of DAC members' combined GNI. Total ODA in 2023 rose by 1.8% in real terms compared to 2022 and by 47% compared to 2015. This was the fifth consecutive year ODA reached a new high. The increase was primarily due to aid for Ukraine, humanitarian aid and contributions to international organisations.
Target 17.3: In 2022, financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources reported by 101 bilateral and multilateral providers amounted to $276.6 billion in official resources, $55.3 billion mobilized from private finance and $10.2 billion from private grants for development. Sustainable development grants (both official and private) decreased in 2022, compared to 2021. However, sustainable concessional development loans increased by 6%, while non-concessional loans decreased and mobilized private finance increased by 21%, compensating the decrease of 2021. Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in 2023 amounted to an estimated $1.37 trillion, a marginal increase over 2022. However, the increase was due largely to higher values in a small number of conduit economies; excluding these conduits, global FDI flows were 18% lower. The number of international investment projects announced in developing countries in sectors relevant to the SDGs – including infrastructure, renewables, water and sanitation, food security, health and education – remained flat. The annual SDG investment gap in developing countries is now about $4 trillion. If the SDG investment needs to 2030 are to be met, some $30 trillion of additional investment must be found over the next eight years. More than half of the gap, or $2.2 trillion, relates to the energy transition alone. In the post-COVID period, remittances have proved to be resilient and become a premier source of external finance for developing countries. In 2022, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries increased by 8%, to reach $647 billion. This increase is remarkable, given that it followed a 10.6% growth rate in 2021. The remittance growth rate is expected to moderate to about 4% in 2023.
Target 17.4: The external debt stock level of low- and middle-income countries decreased in 2022 for the first time since 2015, to $9.0 trillion in 2022 from $9.3 trillion in 2021. Despite the slight decrease in 2022, external debt stock levels remained unprecedentedly high following more than a decade of rapid debt accumulation. Moreover, going forward, interest costs both in nominal terms and in relation to GNI and export revenue are expected to increase given the aggressive rise in global interest rates to tame inflation and could become increasingly burdensome by crowding out spending on other priorities for many low- and middle-income countries.
Target 17.5: The number of countries that actively promote outward foreign direct investment to developing countries, including least developed countries, remains limited. In 2023, at least 50 countries, including 19 emerging or developing economies, had at least one type of investment promotion mechanism for outward foreign direct investment in place. However, out of those, only 23 countries have adopted an outward foreign direct investment promotion scheme specifically targeting developing countries, including least developed countries.
Information and communications technology
Target 17.6: Fixed-broadband subscriptions continue to grow steadily, at an average annual growth rate of 6.4% between 2015 and 2023, reaching 19 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2023 globally. Nevertheless, while fixed connections are common among households in upper-middle-income and high-income countries, they are nearly non-existent in low-income countries due to high prices and a lack of infrastructure.
Target 17.8: Approximately 67% of the world's population, or 5.4 billion people were online in 2023. This represents a growth of 4.7% since 2022, a higher increase than that recorded from 2021 to 2022 at 3.5%. While there was an uptick in the increase in the number of Internet users during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the last three years growth rates in the number of Internet users were back to pre-pandemic levels.
Data, monitoring and accountability
Target 17.18: One of the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was the limited ability of national statistical offices to collect recent data for the Sustainable Development Goals. This was reflected in a drop in average data coverage scores in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN). Despite the recent decrease in data production capabilities, a comparison of ODIN coverage scores from 2017 to 2022 shows that the scores of low- and middle-income countries have increased at the same pace as high-income countries. Globally, scores on the Data Sources Performance Index (Statistical Performance Indicators Pillar 4) and Data Infrastructure Performance Index (Statistical Performance Indicators Pillar 5) have been improving since 2016. Data sources improved by only 3 points, held back in part because of COVID disruptions, while data infrastructure—meaning both the hard and soft infrastructure needed to produce data are available—has increased by around 14 points. In 2023, 159 countries and territories reported having national statistical legislation in compliance with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, representing a significant increase from 132 in 2019 and marking the fastest annual growth of 10 countries. In 2023, a total of 163 countries and territories reported having implemented a national statistical plan, marking an increase from 143 in 2019 and 156 in 2022. Of these, 109 plans were fully funded, up from 91 in 2019 and 100 in 2022. These trends suggest a recovery from the long-term disruptions caused by the pandemic on the planning and execution of statistical activities.
Target 17.19: There has been a resurgence in international support for the development of data and statistics, reaching $799 million in 2021 and representing a 14% increase from 2020 and a substantial 44% increase from 2015. Notably, 2021 marked the first time that multilateral aid providers emerged as the main source of funding.
