🌍SDG 16 at a Turning Point: Highlights from the 2023–2025 Global Progress Reports

Since 2023, the Global Progress Report has served as the annual reference point for monitoring SDG 16. The report brings together evidence and expertise of several custodians on SDG 16 and validated national data. The report brings together cross-cutting data on peace, justice and strong institutions, helping governments, practitioners and advocates track progress, understand emerging risks, and guide action.

SDG 16 plays a foundational role for all other SDGs. This December, the Global Policy Centre for Governance will publish the 2025 SDG 16 Regional Snapshots, a timely midterm analysis that will inform the next Global Progress Report to be launched in September 2026. 

Below is a brief overview of the major findings from the first three editions.

2023 - A Wake-Up Call for Action

Read the full 2023 Global Progress Report here.

The first Global Progress Report consolidated data across UN agencies and exposed major setbacks in peace, justice and inclusion:

• Conflict-related intentional deaths rose by 53% between 2021 and 2022. An unprecedented increase since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda.
• 1 in 6 people worldwide experienced discrimination in the previous 12 months. Women were twice as likely as men to experience it, with racial discrimination as the most common form.
• Countries adopting access-to-information laws increased by 30% between 2015 and 2021.

2024 - At the Crossroads: Breakdown or Breakthrough for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Read the full 2024 Global Progress Report here.

The 2024 report underscored SDG 16’s central role in enabling progress across all other SDGs, especially in responding to climate, governance and social risks.

Key findings include:

• Improvements in women’s and youth representation, although women’s inclusion in public institutions remains insufficient.
• Transnational organised crime was identified as a major setback for SDG 16, exploiting fragility and undermining the rule of law and people’s right to live free of violence.

2025 - Indicators on Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

Read the full 2025 Global Progress Report here.

The 2025 Global Progress Report on SDG 16 highlights both progress and persistent challenges:

• A 25% increase since 2015 in countries with national human rights institutions compliant with international standards (now 89 countries).
• Conflict-related deaths continued rising for a third consecutive year with 40% more civilians and persons with undetermined status killed.
• Every 14 hours, a journalist, unionist or human rights defender was killed or disappeared. A slight decrease from 2023, but still far from the zero-attack target.

Together, these findings emphasise the urgency of reversing negative trends and strengthening the institutional foundations for a more just and sustainable future.

2026 - Global Progress Report on SDG 16 (Coming Soon -  September 2026)

The report is produced by UNDP, UNODC, OHCHR and with contributions from multiple agencies (UNHCR, UNICEF, IPU, UNESCO, UN DESA, UNODSA, WHO, UNCTAD, OECD, World Bank and PEFA). For further information, contact [email protected].