Cyprus was ranked 43 out of 163 countries and last in the EU, regarding the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Cyprus Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Cyprus) said in an announcement on Friday.
According to the organisation, some of the most problematic indicators for Cyprus in the latest UN Sustainable Development report include:
- the excessive use of nitrogen in agriculture
- the number of new HIV infections
- women’s representation in parliament
- compensatory water imports
- the share of renewables in the primary energy supply
- a slight decline in GDP growth in 2020
- low investment in research and development as a share of the GDP
- high inequality
- public dissatisfaction with public transport
- the production of electronic waste and the export of plastic waste
- CO2 emissions
- overfishing
- the percentage of the surface area of the island which are protected areas both on land and at sea
- corruption perceptions
- the percentage of unsentenced detainees
- low levels of Overseas Development Assistance
- a poor tax haven score
SDSN Cyprus noted that the divided status of the island can partially explain the poor performance in terms of the percentage of the surface area which is protected for wildlife, while Climate Change and the geographical situation of the island can explain the scarcity of water resources.
The report also shows that Cyprus has made mild to strong progress for all SDGs except SDG 2 (Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate), while the targets of SDG 1 (Poverty) and SDG 4 (Education) can be considered as achieved.
SDSN Cyprus is the local branch of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. It is a network of universities, NGOs and other organisations from the public and private sectors who work to improve the country’s performance in implementing SDGs.
