Abstract

The Global Indicator Framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an enormously complex indicator framework. With 231 unique indicators, many with numerous sub-indicators, understanding if overall progress is being made is difficult to assess and even harder to communicate. There is a temptation to simplify the SDGs and distill the 2030 Agenda into a single index. However, while having a single number is favoured by policymakers as it is easy to understand, it can mask areas where progress is not being made or issues for vulnerable groups. Nonetheless there is a need to better communicate progress on SDGs in a manner that is simple, yet statistically robust to help policymakers. Building on previous work from Eurostat, Statistics Canada has developed a measure of progress that harnesses the simplicity of a composite index to communicate progress that uses the official global SDG indicators and official country data.