Thailand ranks 43rd in 2026 SDG Index as Nordic nations dominate global sustainability
Thailand ranks 43rd in the 2026 SDG Index, leading ASEAN but facing major challenges on corruption, justice, press freedom and carbon emissions
- Thailand has been ranked 43rd out of 169 countries in the 2026 Sustainable Development Report, with an overall score of 75.4.
- Nordic countries dominate the top of the global sustainability index, with Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway occupying the first four positions.
- Thailand is recognized for its strong progress in poverty eradication (SDG 1) and quality education (SDG 4).
- The country's ranking is hindered by critical challenges in environmental areas like carbon emissions and biodiversity, as well as in governance, justice, and press freedom.
The 2026 Sustainable Development Report has placed Thailand 43rd in the world, while Nordic countries continue to dominate the global sustainability rankings.
The Sustainable Development Report 2026, or SDR 2026, was officially launched on June 23, 2026. It assesses global progress towards the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, and warns that the world is facing a serious crisis in meeting the targets by 2030.
According to the report, only 16.5% of all SDG targets are currently on track to be achieved on time. East Asia and South Asia have emerged as global leaders in SDG progress, but the wider picture remains clouded by conflict, political instability and environmental crises.
The analysis also looks closely at Thailand’s position. The country now ranks 43rd globally, standing out for progress on poverty eradication but facing critical challenges in justice, press freedom and carbon dioxide emissions.
Five key messages for the world beyond 2030
The 2026 SDR highlights five key messages that reflect the current and future direction of global sustainability.
First, commitment to the SDGs remains strong at the multilateral level. Despite many challenges, a large majority of the 190 United Nations member states continue to support the sustainable development agenda through the Voluntary National Review, or VNR, process. However, the report notes that only the United States and Argentina have systematically opposed sustainable development-related resolutions at the UN General Assembly.
Second, Asia has emerged as a major driver of global SDG progress. East Asia and South Asia have recorded the strongest SDG gains since 2015, particularly China and India, whose rankings have risen sharply by 14 and 18 places respectively. By contrast, the United States has seen its ranking decline.
Third, the report points to a crisis in multilateralism. Barbados ranks highest in support for the UN-based multilateral system, measured through the UN-based Multilateralism Index, or UN-Mi, while the United States ranks last. The report says that in 2026, the United States withdrew from more than 60 international organisations and voted with the UN majority only 5% of the time.
Fourth, the report proposes eight lessons to accelerate progress. These include ending wars and redirecting military budgets towards human resource development, preparing long-term investment plans, introducing new global taxes for public goods, and creating governance frameworks for artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
Fifth, the report calls for stronger implementation beyond 2030. A global expert survey supports maintaining the SDG framework through the middle of the century, but with sufficient financing mechanisms and greater use of scientific data in decision-making.
Nordic countries still lead the world
The SDR 2026 rankings show that European countries, especially the Nordics, continue to lead the global sustainability index.
The top 10 countries in the 2026 ranking, based on scores out of 100, are:
- Finland: 87.4 points
- Sweden: 86.3 points
- Denmark: 85.7 points
- Norway: 84.1 points
- Germany: 84.0 points
- Austria: 83.9 points
- France: 83.4 points
- United Kingdom: 82.5 points
- Iceland: 82.3 points
- Czechia: 82.2 points
However, the report stresses that even the highest-ranking countries continue to face major challenges in goals related to responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water and life on land.
These challenges are linked partly to unsustainable consumption patterns and negative spillover effects exported to other countries.
Thailand’s profile: an ASEAN leader with clear bottlenecks
Thailand ranks 43rd out of 169 countries in the SDR 2026, with an overall score of 75.4 points.
The score is higher than the average for East Asia and South Asia. Looking back to 2015, Thailand has improved by 7.0 points and has already completed three Voluntary National Reviews.
Thailand’s Statistical Performance Index, or SPI, based on World Bank data, stood at 85.0 points in 2024, up from 77.7 in 2016. The country is also assessed as maintaining its ability to achieve targets at a steady level.
Thailand’s score is above the East Asia and South Asia regional average of 68.5 points and Eastern Europe and Central Asia’s average of 76.7 points. It is also relatively close to the OECD average of 89.2 points.
The report finds that Thailand performs well in basic welfare areas, including poverty eradication, access to water, electricity and education. However, the country faces development bottlenecks in environmental areas such as PM2.5 pollution and climate action, as well as governance, transparency and freedom, all of which are important for long-term sustainability.
Strengths and achievements
Thailand has already achieved SDG 1 on ending poverty. The share of the population living below the poverty line is only 0.4%, based on the threshold of US$3 per day.
Thailand also performs strongly on SDG 4, quality education. Primary school enrolment is nearly universal at 99.2%, while the youth literacy rate is 98.2%.
Significant challenges
On SDG 3, good health and well-being, Thailand has a strong universal health coverage system, with a score of 82. However, road traffic deaths remain high at 25.4 per 100,000 people, while premature deaths from non-communicable diseases continue to place a heavy burden on the country.
On SDG 10, reduced inequalities, Thailand’s Gini index stands at 33.5, showing that income distribution remains a challenge.
On SDG 11, sustainable cities and communities, the main problem is PM2.5 air pollution. Average annual PM2.5 concentration is 27.7 microgrammes per cubic metre and is worsening.
On SDG 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure, 100% of the population has access to electricity and basic drinking water. However, quality and sustainable management still need improvement.
Critical areas requiring urgent action
Thailand faces a “red” status in three main goals that could affect long-term confidence.
The first is SDG 13, climate action. Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels remain high, while Thailand still lacks sufficiently strong policies to move towards a low-carbon economy.
The second is SDG 15, life on land. Species survival is on a downward trend, reflecting biodiversity loss.
The third is SDG 16, peace, justice and strong institutions, which is Thailand’s weakest area. Several indicators are particularly concerning.
Thailand’s Corruption Perceptions Index score is only 33.0 out of 100 and is worsening.
The country’s press freedom score has fallen to 54.0.
The efficiency and timeliness of administrative justice remain low, with a score of 0.43.
The SDR 2026 notes that countries at the bottom of the SDG Index are usually those severely affected by conflict, security problems, political unrest and major constraints on public budgets.
The 10 lowest-ranking countries
The 10 countries at the bottom of the 2026 SDG Index, out of 169 ranked countries, are:
160. Niger: 49.6 points
161. Afghanistan: 48.8 points
162. Eritrea: 48.7 points
163. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 48.3 points
164. Yemen: 47.8 points
165. Sudan: 47.7 points
166. Somalia: 46.2 points
167. Chad: 43.9 points
168. Central African Republic: 43.3 points
169. South Sudan: 39.9 points
Most of these countries face critical challenges across several SDGs and have seen progress stall since 2015.
The report says the intensity of conflict directly affects the accuracy and production of SDG statistics. Countries such as South Sudan, Somalia and Sudan are in areas with high data uncertainty because of war.
The goals furthest from achievement in these countries are especially SDG 2, zero hunger, and SDG 16, peace, justice and strong institutions. These include severe problems related to press freedom and corruption.
Methodology, measurement and analysis
The SDR 2026 uses both official data sources and alternative data sources to rank countries.
Around two-thirds of the data comes from international organisations with standardised verification and adjustment systems that allow cross-country comparison. These include the United Nations and its agencies, such as the FAO, WHO, UNICEF, ILO and UNESCO, as well as the World Bank, OECD, IEA, IRENA and IMF.
Around one-third of the data comes from alternative sources used to fill gaps in indicators. These include the Gallup World Poll, civil society organisations and research networks such as Oxfam, the Tax Justice Network, the World Justice Project and Reporters Without Borders.
The report also uses peer-reviewed academic journals, geographic information systems, and specialised research institutions such as SIPRI and the Global Carbon Project.
The SDR 2026 does not use data directly from each country’s national statistical office. This is intended to ensure that international comparisons are made under the same standards, using data verified by international organisations. However, this process may mean that some data lags behind the most recent national databases.
For the 2026 ranking, data was collected and processed between March and April 2026.
The 2026 Sustainable Development Report uses 123 indicators. Of these, 101 apply to all countries, while 22 additional indicators apply to OECD member countries.
Each indicator must meet five criteria. It must be globally relevant, statistically reliable, up to date, cover at least 80% of UN member states with populations of more than 1 million, and be capable of measuring the distance from SDG targets.
To compare indicators with different units, all data is converted into a score between 0 and 100. A score of 100 means that the SDG target has been achieved according to the relevant benchmark, or that the country is among the best performers. A score of 0 reflects the lowest performance according to the distribution of data.
The report gives equal weight to all 17 SDGs. No single goal is given greater importance. The average score of indicators under each goal is calculated first, before the scores of all 17 goals are averaged to produce each country’s SDG Index Score.
To be included in the ranking, a country must have data covering at least 80% of all indicators. For countries that were ranked in the previous year, the threshold is 75%.
As a result, the 2026 report ranks 169 countries out of the 193 United Nations member states.
The report also assesses the International Spillover Index, which measures each country’s cross-border impact through 14 indicators.
These indicators cover three areas: environmental and social impacts embedded in trade, economic and financial impacts, and security-related impacts.
The index is designed to show how development in one country can affect sustainability in other countries.
The report notes that a ranking difference of only two or three places may not be statistically significant. However, a difference of more than 10 places is considered a clear difference in performance.
