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India has secured its highest-ever position in the global UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index, climbing to 94th among 167 countries in the 2026 edition of the index. With an overall SDG score of 68.3 out of 100, India improved from 99th place in 2025, reflecting its strongest performance since 2015.
Since the SDGs were adopted in 2015, India has been among the world’s biggest movers in the rankings, rising 18 places from 112th to 94th by 2026 says the 2026 Sustainable Development Report, released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
According to the report, countries in East and South Asia have recorded the strongest advances on the SDGs since 2015, with India (+18) and China (+14) registering the largest improvements among major economies.
Despite this progress, India continues to be behind four South Asian neighbours—Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, in the global rankings.
The report indicates that India faces challenges in 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The country faces major challenges in 7 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
India also faces significant challenges in six other goals—SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Despite improving its overall ranking, India remains off track to meet the 2030 goals on sustainable development shows the report. In India, only one-third (33.3 per cent) of the targets will be achieved by 2030. Progress has been limited on 42.7 per cent of the targets, while 24 per cent have moved in the wrong direction and worsened.
Among all the goals, SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) continues to be one of India’s most serious concerns. The report shows that India’s progress on Zero Hunger is facing major challenges, with overall performance largely stagnating. Of the nine key indicators tracked for India, under SDG 2, four remain in the “significant and major challenges” category.
The only SDG 2 indicator currently on track is cereal yield, which reached 3.6 tonnes per hectare of harvested land in 2023. However, progress on key nutrition and health-related indicators under SDG2, continues to lag.
According to the report, 35.5 per cent of children under five were stunted in 2020, compared with 37.9 per cent in 2015. However, stunting prevalence has declined to 29.3 per cent according to the recent estimates released in the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6). While this represents a substantial reduction since 2015, nearly one in three Indian children under five are stunted.
The situation is more worrying for child wasting. The prevalence of wasting increased from 16.9 per cent in 2017 to 18.7 per cent in 2020, according to the SDG report. India has highest rate of wasting in the world according to the UN FAO report on food security and nutrition. The recent estimates in NFHS-6 show a further increase to 19 per cent, indicating worsening trend.
The prevalence of undernourishment also remains off track. After declining from 12.1 per cent in 2015 to 10.5 per cent in 2018, the proportion of undernourished people rose again to 12 per cent in 2023. According to the report, progress on this indicator is “stagnating”.
India has also made little progress in tackling obesity. The share of adults classified as obese increased from 4.91 per cent in 2015 to 7.27 per cent. So the progress on this indicator has reversed or “decreased” show trends in the report.
In India, the SDGs on health, climate action and peace & justice also face challenges.
The report identifies major challenges under SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), with half of the 14 monitored indicators either stagnating or deteriorating. For instance, the death rate linked to air pollution increased to 132 deaths per 100,000 population in 2023, up marginally from 131.72 in 2019.
Similarly, the death rate from heart disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease among adults aged 30-70 increased from 22.6 per cent in 2015 to 23.6 per cent in 2021.
Under SDG 13 (Climate Action), India’s carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production continued to rise. Per capita emissions increased from 1.69 tonnes in 2015 to 2.21 tonnes in 2023, the highest level recorded since the SDGs were adopted.
Under SDG16, the country faces major challenges on four indicators which include the Corruption Perceptions Index and Press Freedom Index. Of these, the performance on Press Freedom Index has been the worst since 2015. India’s score decreased by more than 27 points, declining from 59.51 in 2015 to 31.96 in 2026.
India’s progress matters for global SDG achievement.
The global SDG report states that none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is currently on track to be achieved globally by 2030.
Globally, progress has been slow on goals related to cities, the environment, sustainable agriculture and food systems, and peace. Four global goals which include the SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG14 (Life Below Water), SDG15 (Life on Land) and SDG16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) remain among the furthest off track, with little progress since 2015.
The report also finds that globally, the indicators lagging the most are linked to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), which includes sustainable agriculture and healthy diets, and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). These include the prevalence of obesity, progress towards productive and sustainable agriculture, the Press Freedom Index and the Corruption Perceptions Index. These are also the areas where India continues to face major or significant challenges.
The country has made notable progress in expanding electricity access (SDG 7) and increasing mobile broadband subscriptions and internet use (SDG 9). These two indicators are also progressing globally.
This indicates that progress of India, world’s most populous country, has a crucial role in determining whether the world can achieve the SDGs by 2030. While India has steadily climbed the global SDG rankings, faster progress on hunger, health, climate and governance will be critical not only for the country but also for global sustainable development.