Social Progress

On September 10, we are unveiling the 2020 Social Progress Index that we did, our most detailed analysis so far of the actual state of the world. In the ongoing index this year, the discussions of the current pace of social progress in the world, if the United Nations were to adopt the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) or if the giants of the 19th century continue with business as usual, are already very useful.

Today we present the results of the 2020 Social Progress Index (SPI) results that define a full picture of the 7.8 billion people’s lived experiences in 163 countries. This year’s index now reports social progress indices back up to 10 years of historical data points.

The Social Progress Index is the most inclusive indicator that actually deliberately accounts for the social and environmental situation of a country regardless of economic indices, and thus it would be a meaningful measure of the United Nations Sustainable Goals. The index comprises the achievements of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and informs that the world will not reach the goals until 2082 if no preventive measures are put in place. It also tells that, if urgent measures are not taken, the Covid-19 pandemic will be an obstacle for the period till 2092—over 60 years after the target year 2030.

Along with organizations across the world, we have been trying to respond appropriately and constructively to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Though we are not public health experts, we have shifted our technical and analytic capacity to develop a tool to help cities respond to the growing spread of Covid-19 in cities across the country.

Thanks to our amazing team and partners who have worked tirelessly to provide new insights and support informed policymaking in an effort to further social progress around the world, 2019 has been one of our best years yet. The 2019 Social Progress Index provided comprehensive data for 149 countries all over the world. It shows that the world has continued to improve, but that progress has been slow and uneven. We need your support to ensure that we can continue to scale adoption of the index and help decision-makers use data to build a better future.

We just published the 2019 Social Progress Index results, which give us unprecedented insight into the reality of the lives of over 7 billion people across 149 countries across the world.

SHARP DECLINE IN RIGHTS & INCLUSION MARS GLOBAL PROGRESS

• The world situation strengthens generally on the aggregate of 51 measures of social progress but so many setbacks in the factors of Rights and Inclusion –
• Largest advancements in Africa and Asia –
• US is among those countries whose overall marks are down this time. It lost the most in Rights and Inclusion –
• The UK recorded a steep decrease in Inclusion post-Brexit

Our CEO, Michael Green, recently spoke to a group in London about Simon Kuznets, who was born 117 years ago today and won the Nobel Prize. He laid the groundwork for GDP measures and significantly advanced our knowledge of economic progress. He also foreshadowed the idea that social advancement was a prerequisite for economic advancement.