Classifying Sustainable Development Goal trajectories: A country-level methodology for identifying which issues and people are getting left behind

Abstract

Highlights • A harmonized methodology can translate SDG targets into an empirical framework pertinent to each country’s challenges. • Of 169 SDG targets, 35 include quantified and measurable country-level outcomes; 43 are assessable through proxy targets. • A clear SDG diagnostic framework can distinguish between policies that are succeeding and those meriting a new approach. • A methodological focus on “no one left behind” suggests even Canada is only fully on track for one of the 16 SDGs assessed. • The human scale of SDG shortfalls can be estimated; Canada has approximately 54,000 lives at stake.