Kuwait 100 of 149 on sustainable development

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KUWAIT CITY, July 21, (Agencies): Kuwait ranked 100th out of 149 countries with a score of 52.5 and regional average of 56.9 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index released recently by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and German social responsibility foundation — Bertelsmaan Stifung.

In September last year, the member-States of the United Nations (UN) reached an agreement on 17 ambitious goals to tackle the world’s most troubling problems such as inequality, poverty and climate change. The index measures the countries’ progress towards the realization of these goals: no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions, and partnerships for the goals. On the ranking of other Gulf countries, Qatar landed on the 49th spot with a score of 65.8, the United Arab Emirates ranked 55th with a score of 63.6, Oman ranked 75th with a score of 59.9 and Saudi Arabia ranked 85th with a score of 58.1. Bahrain is one of the countries excluded from the index due to insuffi cient data.

Most of the world’s richest countries failed to earn top marks on their progress toward reaching the United Nations’ goals to end poverty and inequality, with only Germany and the United Kingdom in the top ten. The United States ranked 25th on the index of 149 countries, scoring poorly on promoting clean energy and fighting inequality and climate change, said the ranking by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German social responsibility foundation.

The index measuring nations’ progress is meant to boost interest in the global goals, said Jeffrey Sachs, director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. “We put this report out … as a kind of spur,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “’Remember these goals? You signed up to them. Here’s where you are.’” Scoring at the bottom of the list were the Central African Republic and Liberia, while Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Switzerland topped the list.

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