Indexes & Reports

NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index

Context: According to the NITI Aayog's 4th edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) India Index 2023-24, India's overall Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) score increased to 71 in 2023-24, compared to 66 in 2020-21. 

About SDG India Index

NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index: Sustainable Development Goals
  • The SDG India Index, which evaluates progress made across 16 goals on a scale of 1 to 100, and if a State/UT achieves a score of 100, it signifies it has achieved the targets. The higher the score of a State/UT, the greater the distance covered to the target.
  • Assesses sustainable development across states on the basis of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
  • The latest SDG India Index, now in its fourth edition since its inception in 2018, uses 113 indicators to evaluate the performance of each state aligned to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI) National Indicator Framework (NIF).

Key finding of the report:

  • Overall SDG score for the country is 71 for 2023-24, significant improvement from 66 in 2020-21 and 57 in 2018.
  • Kerala and Uttarakhand as the best performing states with a score of 79 points each followed by Tamil Nadu, Goa and Himachal Pradesh , while Bihar emerged as a laggard with 57 points, followed by Jharkhand at 62 points. While Chandigarh took the top spot among Union Territories.
  • Significant  progress  in Goals 1 (No Poverty), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 13 (Climate  Action) and 15 (Life  on  Land)
  • Goal 13 (Climate Action) records highest increase in score from 54 in 2020-21 to 67 in 2023-24 followed by Goal 1 (No Poverty) from 60 to 72
  • While goals like “Gender Equality” (Goal 5) and “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institution” (Goal 16) saw the smallest increase in points.
  • Gender Equality goal received the lowest score of 49 points among all goals, recording a marginal increase of 1 point from 2020-21. 
  • “Reduced Inequalities” (Goal 10) was the only goal to record a reduction in points to 65 in 2022-23 from 67 in 2020-21.

Global Gender Gap Index, 2024

Context: In the 2024 edition of the Global Gender Gap Index, India ranks 129th out of 146 countries surveyed, positioning it 18th from the bottom.

Key findings of Global Gender Gap Index’24: 

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  • The 2024 Index shows that while no country has achieved full gender parity, 97% of the economies included in this edition have closed more than 60% of their gap, compared to 85% in 2006.
    • It will take 134 years, until 2158, to achieve full gender equality, which is five generations past the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target.
  • Iceland (93.5%) is again ranked 1st and has been leading the index for a decade and a half. It also continues to be the only economy to have closed over 90% of its gender gap. 
  • Southern Asia ranks seventh among eight global regions, with a gender parity score of 63.7 per cent, an improvement of 3.9 percentage points since 2006. 
  • However, six out of the seven economies in this region, including India, are ranked below the top 100. Only Bangladesh, for the first time in the region, has achieved a double-digit rank of 99. 
  • India's performance in Southern Asia is particularly troubling. In 2024, India closed 64.1% of its gender gap, ranking third lowest in the region, just ahead of the Maldives and Pakistan. India’s overall rank is 129th, marginally lower than last year (127).
  • The decline is mainly attributed to slight decreases in ‘Educational Attainment’ and ‘Political Empowerment’ as women's representation in India's political sphere remains low, with only seven women in the newly formed council of ministers, and just two holding cabinet positions. However, despite the overall decline, there was a minor improvement in ‘Economic Participation and Opportunity.’

About Global Gender Gap Index: 

  • It is an annual report highlights the current state and evolution of gender parity.
  • It was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006.
  • It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps.
  • It presents a picture of the current state and evolution of gender parity across four indices: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.

India’s performance in global democracy indices

Context: V-Dem Democracy Report has categorised India as an Electoral Autocracy. However, the Indian government has criticised the report and now plans to release its own democracy index, which is assumed to help India “counter recent downgrades in ratings and severe criticisms by international groups”. 

About V-Dem’s Democracy report:

  • Advances in global levels of democracy made over the last 35 years have been wiped out.
  • 72% of the world’s population – 5.7 billion people – live in autocracies by 2022. 
  • 13% of the population – 1 billion people – live in liberal democracies. 
  • The level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2022 is down to 1986 levels.
  • The decline is most dramatic in the Asia-Pacific region, which is back to levels last recorded in 1978. 
  • Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, are back to levels last seen around the end of the Cold War. 
  • India has one of the worst autocratizers in the last 10 years.

V-Dem Democracy Report is based on five sub-indices:

  • The Electoral Democracy Index: This index whether elections were free and fair, as well as the prevalence of a free and independent media. This index is part of all the other indices as a central component of democracy. 
  • Liberal Democracy Index: This index incorporates measures of rule of law, checks and balances and civil liberties.
  • Participatory Democracy Index: This index measures the degree to which citizens participate in their own government through local democratic institutions, civil society organizations, and direct democracy.
  • Deliberative Democracy Index: This index measures the degree to which decisions are made in the best interest of the people as opposed to due to coercion or narrow interest groups, in addition to the basic electoral democracy index. 
  • Egalitarian Democracy Index: This index measures the level of equal access to resources, power, and freedoms across various groups within a society, in addition to the level of electoral democracy. 

Other Democracy indices:

  • Freedom in the World Report by Freedom House.
  • Democracy Index by Economic Intelligence Unit.
  • Worldwide Governance indicators by World Bank.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Reports: HDI & GII

Context: India has moved up a rank on the global Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender Inequality Index (GII) of 2023-24, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report.

Key finding of the reports:

  • Human Development Index (HDI) 2023-24
    • India’s ranking on the HDI improved by one position in 2022 to 134 out of 193 countries ranked compared to 135 out of 191 countries in 2021.
    • In 2022, India saw improvements across all HDI indicators: life expectancy, education, and gross national income (GNI) per capita.
    • Life expectancy rose from 67.2 to 67.7 years, expected years of schooling reached 12.6, mean years of schooling increased to 6.57 and GNI per capita saw an increase from USD 6,542 to USD 6,951.
    • With an HDI value of 0.644, the latest HDR places India in the medium human development category.
    • Performance of other countries: Switzerland (1), Sri Lanka (78), China (75), Bhutan (125),Bangladesh, (129), Nepal (146) and Pakistan (164) have been ranked lower than India.
  • Gender Inequality Index (GII) 2023-24
    • India has been ranked at 108 out of 193 countries with a score of 0.437.
    • Its rank was 122 out of 191 countries with a score of 0.490 in the GII-2021.
    • India has one of the largest gender gaps in its labour force participation rate a 47.8 per cent difference between women (28.3 per cent) and men (76.1 per cent).
    • The GII measures gender inequalities in three key dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and labour market.
    • India’s adolescent birth rate in 2022 was 16.3 (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19), an improvement from 17.1 in 2021.
    • India’s rank in the GII has become consistently better, indicating progressive improvement in achieving gender equality in the country.

About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):

  • It is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.
  • UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality.
  • It helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • UNDP has its headquarters in New York City.
  • It is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations.
  • Their work is concentrated on three main focus areas:
    • Sustainable development
    • Democratic governance and peacebuilding
    • Climate and disaster resilience
  • Reports published by UNDP:
    • Global Multi-dimensional Poverty Index
    • Gender Inequality Index (GII)
    • Human Development Index (HDI)

World Food Price Index

Context: The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation’s (UN-FAO) world price index falls in February for the 7th straight month.

Key findings of the index: 

  • Wheat prices went down due to stronger Russian exports.
  • Vegetable oils also largely fell due to abundant harvests in South America.
  • Sugar, however, rose 3.2 percent during the month because of dry weather in Brazil.
  • The meat index rose 1.8 percent during the month as heavy rains disrupted cattle transportation in Australia and Chinese demand for pork grew amid tight supplies in Europe.
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About World Food Price Index: 

  • Released by: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
  • Aim: To measure monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
  • Base year: 2014-16
  • Measures:  The index measures 5 commodity group price indices such as cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.

About Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO): 
It is a specialised agency of the United Nations, to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security internationally.

Its objective is to attain food security for everyone, ensuring consistent access to sufficient high-quality food for maintaining active and healthy lifestyles.

The headquarters is located in Rome, Italy.

The FAO comprises 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union.

Its sister bodies are World Food Programme (WFP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Reports released by FAO: State of the World's Forests (SOFO)State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO), State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)

United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME)

Context: The number of children who died before their 5th birthday has fallen according to estimates released by United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

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Key findings of report: 

  • Annual number of under-five deaths has fallen to 4.9 million, with almost half of these deaths being babies just born in 2022 or about half the number that occurred in 2000. 
  • In Cambodia, Malawi, Mongolia, and Rwanda, where the number of children dying before age five has dropped by more than 75% since 2000.
  • Around 2.1 million kids and young people between 5 to 24 years old died, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.

  • In India: 
    • Infant mortality rate: From 66.45 (2000) to 25.53 (2022)
    • Neonatal mortality rate: From 44.68 to 18.13 (2022)
    • Under five mortality rate : From around 25 lakh (2000) to about 6.5 lakh (2022)
  • The contributions of midwives, community health workers, and skilled health personnel have been pivotal in achieving these milestones.

Challenges in preventing child deaths

  • Threats and inequities: Increasing inequity, economic instability, conflicts, climate change impacts, and the aftermath of Covid-19 pose significant threats to child survival.
  • Data gaps: Especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, large gaps in data hinder the tracking and monitoring of child survival and health.
  • SDG targets at risk: At the current pace, 59 countries will miss the SDG under-five mortality target, and 64 will not meet the new-born mortality goal, potentially resulting in 35 million child deaths by 2030.

Way forward to end preventable child deaths: 

  • Investment in healthcare: Increased investments are needed in primary healthcare, including for community health workers, to ensure access to quality health services.
  • Integration and support of health workers: Community health workers should be integrated into healthcare systems, fairly compensated, well-trained, and well-equipped.
  • Improving data systems: Enhancing health information management systems and civil registration and vital statistics is crucial for better monitoring and action.
  • Global commitment and collaboration: Accelerated progress requires global commitment, collaboration, and focused investments to end preventable child and youth deaths.

About UNIGME: 

  • Formed in 2004.
  • To share data on child mortality, improve methods for child mortality estimation, report on progress towards child survival goals and enhance country capacity to produce timely and properly assessed estimates of child mortality.
  • It is led by UNICEF and includes the WHO, World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
  • Under-five mortality rate: Probability of dying between birth and exactly 5 years of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
  • Infant mortality rate: Probability of dying between birth and exactly 1 year of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
  • Neonatal mortality rate: Probability of dying in the first 28 days of life, expressed per 1,000 live births.

State Food Safety Index (SFSI)

Context: In State Food Safety Index (SFSI), 19 out of 20 large states including Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh recorded a drop in their 2023 scores from 2019.

About State Food Safety Index (SFSI)

  • Released by: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
  • Released on: June 7 on the occasion of World Food Safety Day.
  • 1st report: Since 2019.
  • Parameters: Human resources and institutional data , compliance, food testing infrastructure, training and capacity building, and consumer empowerment. In the 2023 index, a new parameter ‘Improvement in SFSI Rank’ was added
  • Objective: To foster healthy competition and catalyse positive change in the food safety ecosystem throughout the country, ultimately ensuring the provision of safe and wholesome food to all residents.

Findings of the report

states with steepest index fall 65436ad63f9ac
  • The ‘Compliance’ parameter, which was given the highest weightage of 28 per cent in 2023 (30 per cent in previous years), measures licensing and registration of food businesses, inspections conducted, special drives and camps organised, and other such compliance-related tasks carried out by each state’s food safety authority.
  • The steepest fall in scores over five years was seen in Maharashtra, which scored 45 out of 100 in 2023 compared to 74 out of 100 in 2019, followed by Bihar, which scored 20.5 in 2023 compared to 46 in 2019, and Gujarat, which scored 48.5 in 2023 compared to 73 in 2019.
  • Over five years, the worst drop has been recorded in the ‘Food Testing Infrastructure’ parameter.

About FSSAI:

Body: Statutory body has been established under Food Safety and Standards , 2006.It works as an independent authority and attained a special status. The FSS Act took 7 older acts into one umbrella.

  • Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. 
  • Fruit Products Order, 1955 
  • Meat Food Products Order, 1973
  • Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947  
  • Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1998  
  • Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967  
  • Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 

Nodal ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation. 

Headed by: Non-executive chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary.

Objective: To establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi- departmental control to a single line of command. 

Function: 

  • Framing of regulations to lay down food safety standards
  • Laying down guidelines for accreditation of laboratories for food testing
  • Providing scientific advice and technical support to the Central Government
  • Contributing to the development of international technical standards in food
  • Collecting and collating data regarding food consumption, contamination, emerging risks, etc.
  • Disseminating information and promoting awareness about food safety and nutrition in India.

In India, 74% can’t afford a healthy diet: UN agency report

Context: The report, ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ (SOFI) 2023, was published recently shows that while the cost of a healthy diet has increased in recent years in India, it is still the lowest among the BRICS nations (including the newly added six countries) and India’s neighbours. However, the share of people who can afford such a healthy diet is still low: India features at the bottom of that list since income levels are stagnant or going down.

About ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report

  • This is the most intensely scrutinized FAO’s annual report presents the headline number of undernourished people around the world while advocating for strategies against hunger and malnutrition. 
  • SOFI is jointly produced with fellow UN agencies IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO.
  • In the SOFI report, the cost of a healthy diet is arrived at by looking at the cheapest local food items that meet dietary guidelines. 
  • The cost and availability of such food items are averaged from national data. 
  • To check if the diet is affordable, its cost is compared to the average income in each country. 
  • A diet is considered too expensive if it costs more than 52% of a country’s average income.
  • This percentage is based on data showing that people in low-income countries spend about 52% of their income on food. 
  • The percentage of people who cannot afford this diet is then calculated by using income distributions within a nation. 

Major Findings of the Report

  • The report points out that the cost of meals in Mumbai rose by 65% in five years, while salaries/wages rose by just 28%-37%. 
  • In India, a healthy diet costs 3.066 PPP dollars per person per day, the lowest among the countries considered. PPP stands for ‘Purchasing Power Parity’. 
  • In India, 74% were not able to afford a healthy diet, the fourth highest share among the nations considered. 
  •  The expense of maintaining a healthy diet increased by almost 9% in Asia between 2019 to 21 — the highest across regions. 
  • Between 2019 and 2021, Asia followed by Africa recorded the highest growth in the number of people who could not afford a healthy diet. The two continents together made up 92% of the worldwide increase. In Asia, South Asia had the highest number of people (1.4 billion) and the highest share (72%) who could not afford a healthy diet. This rate was nearly double the average for the region. In Africa, Eastern and Western Africa together had the most people (712 million) and the highest share (85%) who could not afford a healthy diet.

Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana Lead Annual Health Index Rankings in Covid Year, While Delhi Ranks as Worst UT

About Annual health index

  • It was launched by the NITI Aayog in 2017.
  • The Aayog brings out the index in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry and World Bank.
  • It measures the performance of states and UTs on a “weighted composite score incorporating 24 health performance indicators.
    • The ‘health outcomes’ include indicators like neonatal mortality rate, total fertility rate, sex ratio at birth, immunisation coverage, proportion of institutional deliveries, total case notification rate of tuberculosis, and proportion of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.
    • The ‘key inputs/ processes’ is a measure of health infrastructure available, including proportion of functional 24X7 primary healthcare centres, districts with functional cardiac care units, and vacancies in healthcare provider positions.
    • The ‘governance and information’ domain includes indicators like proportion of institutional deliveries, average occupancy (in months) of three key posts at state level, average occupancy (in months) of the chief medical officer, and days taken for fund transfer.
  • The health index assesses states and UTs on two parameters – incremental performance (year-on-year progress) and overall performance. 
  • The states and UTs — categorised separately as ‘larger states’, ‘smaller states’ and UTs — are then ranked based on their scores.

Annual ‘health index’ for the Covid year of 2020-21

While the 2020-21 (fifth) health index report was supposed to be released by December 2022, it has not been made public yet. The NITI Aayog is learnt to have shared the report – Healthy States Progressive India Report on the Ranks of States and Union Territories – with the Health Ministry.

Key Facts

  • Among the 19 ‘larger states’, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have emerged as the top three performers, occupying first, second and third place respectively, in terms of overall performance. 
  • Bihar (19th), Uttar Pradesh (18th) and Madhya Pradesh (17th) are at the bottom of the list.
  • In terms of incremental performance, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Odisha emerged as the top three performers in 2020-21, as compared to their performance in 2019-20.
  • Among the eight smaller states, Tripura has recorded the best overall performance, followed by Sikkim and Goa; Arunachal Pradesh (6th), Nagaland (7th) and Manipur (8th) are at the bottom.

And among the eight UTs,Lakshadweep has been ranked as the top performer in terms of overall performance, while Delhi ranked at the bottom.

District Good Governance Index

Context: Recently the Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah virtually released India’s First “District Good Governance Index”,  prepared by DARPG in collaboration with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.

About District Good Governance Index

  • It measures the diversity of governance model in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • It is inspired by National Good Governance Index, which started in 2021.

Components of Index and their performance

  •  In the Agriculture and Allied Sector – Universal coverage has been achieved in the Kisan Credit Card scheme, Soil Health Card Scheme and Animal Vaccination. Most Districts of Jammu & Kashmir witnessed the growth of Food Grain Production, Horticulture produce, Milk and Meat production, poultry production, and agriculture credit.
  •  Commerce and Industry Sector – improvement is seen in GST registration, MSME units registered online, Credit to Handicrafts and Credit for Self-Employment. There is a 109 per cent increase in credit to handicrafts in the 2019-2021 period.
  • Human Resources Development Sector – The percentage of Schools with Drinking Water, Separate Toilets and Electricity Facilities have shown an increase as also the percentage of schools with access to computers and the number of children served mid-day meals. In 10 districts 100 percent skill training has been imparted to registered students.
  • Public Health Sector – Full Immunization represents a significant success story, the percentage of PHC/ Sub-Centers converted to Health & Wellness Centers, and the proportion of Anganwadis with their own buildings have shown improvements.
  • Public Infrastructure and Utilities Sector – Housing for all scheme indicates more than 50 per cent of sanctioned houses being grounded in 12 districts, Ganderbal and Srinagar achieving 100 per cent access to safe drinking water, 18 districts achieving 100 per cent access to sanitation facilities, improvements in households electrified and construction of all-weather roads.
  • Social Welfare and Development Sector – 80 per cent of Aadhar seeding of ration cards represents a major milestone.
  • Financial Inclusion Sector – Financial inclusion under Jan Dhan Yojana has achieved universal coverage, and financial support under self-employment schemes has also registered double-digit growth.
  • Judicial and Public Safety Sector – disposal of court cases has gone up significantly.
  • Citizen-Centric Governance Sector – tremendous momentum in government offices converted to e-Office, almost 100 per cent progress in grievance redressal and significant increases in government services provided online.

Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023

Context: Recently, the Logistics Performance Index 2023 was released by the World Bank. India's ranking on the LPI improved by 6 places to reach 38th place in 2023 edition of LPI as compared to 2018 edition of LPI.

About Logistics Performance Index

  • It is an index compiled by World Bank to help countries identify challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance. 
  • 139 countries are ranked in the 2023 edition of LPI.
  • 2023 edition of LPI only conducted survey on international component of LPI. Earlier editions of LPI, focused on both domestic & international surveys. 

Components of Logistics Performance Index (LPI)

  • Efficiency of customs & border management clearance
  • Quality of trade and transport related infrastructure
  • Ease of arranging competitively priced international shipments
  • Competence and quality of logistics services
  • Ability to track & trace consignments
  • Frequency with which shipments reach consignees within the scheduled or expected delivery time
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Methodology of Logistics Performance Index

  • For Logistics Performance Index: Worldwide survey of international logistics operators on the ground (global freight forwarders & express carriers), providing feedback on logistics 'friendliness' of countries with which they trade.
  • For Key Performance Indicators measuring actual speed of trade: Granular high frequency information on maritime shipping and container tracking, postal & air freight activities, collected & made available to LPI by several data partners. These KPIs are not yet included in the construction of main LPI indicators. 

Rankings in Logistics Performance Index 2023: 

  • India's ranking improved by 6 places to reach 38th place on the Logistics Performance Index 2023 as compared to the last edition in 2018. 
  • Singapore was the best ranked country on the LPI 2023.

Definition of Logistics

  • Logistics is understood as a network of services that support physical movement of goods, trade across borders and commerce within borders.
  • It comprises transportation, warehousing, brokerage, express delivery, terminal operations and related data & information management. 

Reasons for India's improvement in Logistics Performance Index

Since 2015, Government of India has invested in trade related soft and hard infrastructure connecting port gateways on both coasts to the economic poles in the hinterland. 

Enhancing  port productivity: Port productivity can be improved by increasing private sector participation in terminal operations, implementing electronic port community systems

Tracking & Tracing solutions: NICDC Logistics Data Services limited applied radio frequency identification tags to containers and offers consignees end-to-end tracking of their supply chain. With the introduction of cargo tracking, dwell-time in eastern Visakhapatnam port fell from 32.4 days to 5.3 days in 2019. On an average dwell time for containers came down to 2.6 days for India. 

World Happiness Report 2023

About World Happiness Report

  • World Happiness Report is annually published by Sustainable Development Solutions Network. 
  • The report uses data from Gallup World Poll Data based on Self-Reported levels of Happiness. 
  • The first edition of the World Happiness Report was published in 2012. 
  • UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2012 proclaiming March 20 to be observed as annually as International Day of Happiness. 

The Report ranks countries on six parameters to explain variation in self-reported levels of happiness across the world:

  • Social Support: Provides having someone to count on in times of trouble.
  • Income measured by GDP per capita: Provides information about the size of the economy and how the economy is performing.
  • Healthy Life Expectancy: Also focuses on Mental Health which is a key component of subjective well-being and a risk factor for future physical health and longevity. 
  • Freedom to make life choices: This also includes human rights. Human Rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, right to work and education etc. Everyone is entitled to these 
  • Generosity: Measured by donation of money to a charity in the past month. Generosity is a clear marker for a sense of positive community engagement and a central way that humans connect. In all cultures, people are drawn to behaviours which benefit other people.

Absence of corruption measures if people trust their governments and have trust in the benevolence of others.

Rankings:

  • Happiest countries: Finland remains the happiest sixth year in a row. 
  • Least Happy countries: War-torn Afghanistan is the least happy country just below Lebanon. 
  • India is ranked 125 on World Happiness Rankings.

About Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)

  • UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network was launched under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. 
  • SDSN started with 10 thematic working groups focusing on a range of environmental, social and economic topics, which contributed to the debate and ultimately the adoption of SDGs.
  • SDSN has now grown and founded its global networks program which is a membership-based alliance of top-tier knowledge-generating institutions focused on sustainable development, organised in national and regional clusters. In 2022, SDSN has over 1700 members in 50 networks across 144 countries.
  • SDG Academy: In 2016, SDSN expanded its mission and created the SDG Academy which creates and curates free, open educational resources on sustainable development and offers them as a global public good.
  • Six Transformations Framework: In 2019, introduced six SDG Transformations as modular building blocks for SDG achievement. The six transformations provide a shared understanding of how the 17 SDGs can be operationalised.
    • Education, Gender and Inequality
    • Health, Wellbeing and Demography
    • Energy Decarbonisation and Sustainable Industry
    • Sustainable Food, Land, Water and Oceans 
    • Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Digital Revolution for Sustainable Development 
  • Reports by SDSN: SDSN synthesises knowledge for sustainable development and produces renowned annual reports:
    • Sustainable Development Report (SDR)
    • World Happiness Report (WHR)