While the Nordic region maintains the highest average SDG Index score in Europe, the report shows that progress on several environmental goals has stalled and that climate action, sustainable consumption and production, and the protection of ecosystems stand out as areas where all Nordic countries face major challenges.
The gap between strong domestic SDG performance and the region's environmental and social spillovers is particularly striking. Nordic consumption continues to drive greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, and social risks beyond the region's borders.
"The high ranking of the Nordic countries reflects a century of social reforms rather than accelerating progress in recent years. Our findings clearly show that the Nordics are in a state of stagnation, while the global spillover effects remain substantial", says Martin Eriksson, Network Manager at SDSN Northern Europe and lead author of the report.
One goal stands out: Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), where the average Nordic score is only 47.8 percent. Significant challenges also remain for climate action (SDG 13) and biodiversity related goals (SDG 14 and 15) for all Nordic countries.
"We often hear about how successful the Nordic countries are in achieving the SDGs. There are also SDGs where we do poorly. All of the Nordic countries have challenges when it comes to environmental SDGs and sustainable production and consumption. The urgent message in this report is that a large proportion of the costs of our high lifestyles are paid for with resources from other countries. Sustainable development is not possible to achieve without addressing the impacts we have outside of the Nordic countries", says Katherine Richardson, Co-chair of SDSN Northern Europe and Professor at the University of Copenhagen.
Holger Wallbaum, Co-chair of SDSN Northern Europe and Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, notes that the findings mirror a broader European trend.
"The Nordics started from a strong position, which explains their high rankings. But the actual pace of improvement has been slow for more than a decade. Addressing the environmental and lifestyle-related challenges is crucial if the region is to maintain its leading position."
The report draws on 111 indicators from the Europe Sustainable Development Report, assessing national SDG performance and international spillovers. The analysis also includes the Leave-No-One-Behind Index on inequalities, where Nordic countries maintain their leading position with all five nations ranking at the top in Europe.
The Nordic Sustainable Development Report 2025 is available for download from the SDSN Northern Europe website and from SDG Transformation Center.
