In 2015, the United Nations launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, establishing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 specific targets to address global challenges such as poverty reduction, environmental protection, and the enhancement of quality of life. Uzbekistan has demonstrated its commitment to this global initiative by integrating the SDGs into its national strategies and policy frameworks.
With the consensus of 193 member states, the SDGs are structured around three core pillars: the economy, society, and the environment. Achieving these targets requires rigorous monitoring and evaluation by each nation to identify areas of weakness, prioritize policy interventions, and allocate resources efficiently.
Uzbekistan has undertaken significant reforms in recent years to stimulate economic growth, enhance health and education systems, safeguard natural resources, and strengthen public institutions. Despite these efforts, the pursuit of the SDGs remains a complex and long-term endeavor, requiring increased coordinated action across various sectors of society and government.
This commentary serves as a precursor to an upcoming paper, offering a concise overview of Uzbekistan’s advancements in meeting the SDGs to date. It draws on key data and government initiatives to highlight both accomplishments and ongoing challenges. The aim is to offer insights into how Uzbekistan can further align its development trajectory with global sustainability objectives.
Uzbekistan has demonstrated moderate advancement in achieving the SDGs, currently ranking 81st out of 167 countries with a score of 70.6 – marginally surpassing the Eastern Europe and Central Asia regional average of 69.2. Despite this relative progress, the country’s performance remains inconsistent across individual SDGs.
Key challenges still remain in critical domains such as zero hunger, good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, affordable energy, sustainable cities, land preservation, and the establishment of robust institutions. Addressing these areas necessitates urgent, targeted policy interventions.
Furthermore, Uzbekistan faces considerable obstacles in enhancing educational quality, advancing gender equality, expanding employment opportunities, fostering industrial innovation, and strengthening international partnerships. These factors are essential for promoting inclusive and sustainable development. Although measurable progress has been made in reducing poverty and inequalities and in encouraging responsible consumption and climate action, these gains remain fragile. Sustained, coordinated efforts are required to ensure long-term sustainability and equitable growth nationwide[1].
The progress table highlights not only Uzbekistan’s performance across SDGs but also the underlying trends in progress, which offer important insights into the country’s development trajectory. Of particular concern is SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), which is marked in red to indicate a declining trend. This means a deterioration in performance within this area, underscoring an urgent signal for targeted policy interventions.
The majority of SDGs fall under the dark yellow category, indicating a stagnating trend. This category includes SDGs 2 (zero hunger), SDG 7 (clean energy), SDG 8 (decent work), SDG 9 (industry and innovation), SDG 12 (responsible consumption), SDG 15 (life on land), and SDG 16 (peace and institutions). Stagnation in such a wide range of goals suggests that progress is either too slow or not occurring at all, which could be attributed to systemic challenges, including weak implementation, lack of financing, or institutional inefficiencies.
In contrast, several SDGs show moderate improvement, including SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 3 (good health), SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 6 (clean water), SDG 9 (industry and innovation), and SDG 17 (partnerships), as indicated by light yellow. These trends suggest incremental advancements, especially in poverty reduction and the expansion of basic services. Meanwhile, SDG 10 (reduced inequalities) is marked in gray, indicating no available information, which may reflect challenges in data collection or monitoring capabilities.
Uzbekistan has achieved notable progress in several domains, including poverty reduction, access to basic healthcare, education enrollment, and expanded access to electricity and clean water. Despite these achievements, significant challenges remain, as multiple SDG targets continue to exhibit either stagnation or insufficient progress. Key areas requiring urgent policy attention include nutrition quality, non-communicable diseases, gender equality, water management, clean energy transition, labor rights, innovation, inequality, environmental degradation, governance, and statistical capacity.
While Uzbekistan’s SDG achievements provide a strong foundation toward SDGs, accelerated, multi-sectoral reforms and increased investments are essential to stimulate progress in lagging areas. Policymakers should prioritize inclusive and green approaches backed by effective governance, data-driven monitoring, and international cooperation to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
[1] Sachs, J.D., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G. (2024). The SDGs and the UN Summit of the Future. Sustainable
Development Report 2024. Paris: SDSN, Dublin: Dublin University Press. doi:10.25546/108572. Available online: https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/static/profiles/pdfs/SDR-2024-uzbekistan.pdf
