Japan remains the only non-European country in the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index top 20, but has lost ground on its previous ranking, according to a U.N.-initiated list released Tuesday.
The SDG Index, released annually by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) nonprofit, rates U.N. member states on a range of indicators including hunger, sustainability, peace and access to justice.
This year, Japan ranked 19th, behind Estonia and Belgium and above Portugal and Hungary. The country showed improved performance in the category of “no poverty” but did worse in fields like “zero hunger” and “press freedom.”
