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Monitoring SDG Progress Across Brazilian Municipalities

By Grayson Fuller

SDSN in partnership with the Sustainable Cities Institute (ICS) launched the Sustainable Development Index for Brazilian Cities (IDSC-BR) on March 23, 2021 in an online event. The index constitutes a tool for evaluating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 770 Brazilian municipalities using the timeliest data available in the country’s national data sources. The IDSC-BR complements the Sustainable Development Report series and makes use of SDSN’s peer-reviewed and statistically audited methodology for measuring SDG achievement.

The IDSC-BR is a tool that aims to generate transformative change in Brazilian cities. The objective is to orient municipal policymaking, define references and targets based on an indicator framework and facilitate SDG monitoring at the local level. There is a goal score for each of the 17 SDGs and an overall score for all of 17 goals together. In this way the index, comprised of 88 indicators, presents an evaluation of the progress and challenges of Brazilian municipalities towards achieving Agenda 2030.

The event featured speakers from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), the diplomatic corps of the Union European, and the OECD. Jeffrey Sachs, President of the SDSN and Professor at Columbia University, kicked off the event as keynote speaker. He stressed the need of effective governance to curb the grave consequences of the pandemic in Brazil and the importance of placing the SDGs at the center of efforts to recover from the pandemic. Jorge Abrahão, Director of the Sustainable Cities Institute, followed emphasizing that cities, as hosts of the majority of the world’s population, are important agents of social transformation and are key in achieving the SDGs.

Grayson Fuller, Data Analyst at SDSN, presented the methodology and key findings of the IDSC-BR. The conclusions revolved around 3 main themes: 1) the major socioeconomic challenges and inequalities in the country 2) the persistence of enormous territorial inequalities and 3) the grave consequences of deforestation in the Amazon. The key findings are the following:

  1. Even without considering the impacts of Covid-19 in Brazilian municipalities, the results show that efforts must be accelerated to meet the SDGs. The data and indicators of the report do not take into account the effects of the pandemic, as the reference year of these data are before the dissemination of the new coronavirus. And yet, Covid-19 has had serious impacts for all countries, and Brazil in particular. Brazilian cities already had many SDG challenges before the pandemic, including for SDG 3, which is the very SDG that tackles this issue in target 3.d: All countries must “strengthen their capacity for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.”
  2. There is a large range of SDG challenges, in particular for SDG 3 (Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice & Strong institutions). In general, Brazilian cities must accelerate efforts to bring about the societal transformations necessary to achieve the SDGs in all their dimensions. However, the country has certain challenges that require particular attention. Gender inequalities (SDG 5) and income inequalities (SDG 10) continue to represent major problems for the country and underline the necessity of reinforcing social protection systems. SDG 16 also represents a major challenge for the country, which has some of the highest homicide rates in the world.
  3. Major territorial inequalities persist in the country. Approximately 20 cities have reached two-thirds of the distance necessary for optimal SDG achievement. These 20 cities, which are national leaders, are all located in the states of São Paulo and Santa Catarina. Approximately 80 of the 100 cities that top the ranking are located in the state of São Paulo. And all 100 cities that top the ranking are in the South and Southeastern Regions. On the other hand, cities in the Northern and the Northeast tend to occupy the last positions in the ranking. These are cities that have achieved a score of approximately 30 and are thus only one-third of the way to meeting the SDGs. This demonstrates that SDG achievement differs enormously depending on the region. The tremendous regional inequalities highlight the usefulness and necessity of subnational assessments, as indicators at the national level may hide significant territorial disparities. This report highlights the need for particular attention in the North and Northeastern regions of the country.
  4. In terms of environment, deforestation continues to be a major problem for the country. In Brazil, deforestation persists at very high levels and is responsible for many environmental harms. It will be essential that municipalities with native forest cover, especially those located in the Amazon, elaborate strategies for sustainable land use and forest management.


Clara Meyer Cabral, coordinator of Indicators with the Sustainable Cities Program, walked participants through the interactive dashboards , a tool which allows users to examine the data for the 770 municipalities and view it using different visualization tools. These presentations were followed by a panel discussion with the following speakers:

  • Luanda Nera – Event Moderator and Communications Coordinator, ICS
  • Stefano Marta – Policy analyst and Coordinator of the Territorial Approach to SDGs, OECD
  • Ambassador Ignácio Ibañez – Ambassador of the European Union to Brazil
  • Diego Aulestia – Economist, Chief of Unit for Human Settlements, CEPAL
  • Sávio Raeder – Representative of CITinova, Director of Science policy & programs, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

You can view the full launch event here.