Sustainable development has long been part of the political agenda of the European Union. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their related targets, approved in September 2015 by the UN General Assembly, provide a new policy framework worldwide towards ending all forms of poverty, fighting inequalities and tackling climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

This publication builds on Eurostat’s long experience in monitoring the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. It provides a statistical glance at the current situation in the EU and its Member States, but now from the viewpoint of the SDGs. The publication is based on a limited number of indicators which are relevant for the EU and aims to capture the broader ambition of each SDG. In total, 51 indicators are presented, mainly produced and disseminated by Eurostat. For each indicator the publication presents data for the most recent available year for the EU-28 and the EU Member States and trends (in general from 2000) for the EU-28.