Thailand has been ranked first in ASEAN in the latest Sustainable Development Report by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN).

The report assesses 193 UN member states on their progress towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and calculates their percentage of achievement. 100% indicates that all SDGs have been achieved.

Thailand ranked first in ASEAN and 44th in the world with 74.13%, ahead of Vietnam (72.76%), Singapore (71.72%), Malaysia (70.38%), Indonesia (69.16%), Brunei (67.10%), Philippines (66.64%), Myanmar (64.27%), Cambodia (63.75%) and Laos (63.39%).

Globally, Finland ranked first, at 86.51%, followed by Denmark (85.63%), Sweden (85.19%), Norway (82.35%) and Austria (82.32%).

The area in which Thailand performed best is working towards the “No Poverty” goal, which is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. The indicator is the poverty: population ratio.

Another area in which Thailand performed quite well was “Quality Education’. The report said that challenges remain, but that the country is still on track to SDG achievement. This is the goal to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all. The indicators are participation in pre-primary organised learning, lower secondary completion and literacy rates.

The area which needs improvement, however, is “Partnerships for the goals”, the indicators for which are government spending on health and education, government revenue and statistical performance indices.