SDG pulse provides quantitative assessments of progress with the 2030 Agenda through both a selection of official SDG indicators as well as complementary data and statistics. It also presents recent conceptual and methodological developments regarding SDG indicators of which UNCTAD is the custodian. It has become UNCTAD’s reference publication in mapping the organization’s work with the SDGs not only from an analytical perspective but also in terms of technical cooperation and capacity development. This year’s edition explores new sources for financing development sharing the first-ever preliminary estimates for an SDG indicator on illicit financial flows. Lastly this edition of the SDG Pulse is structured according to the four transformations identified in UNCTAD15’s Bridgetown Covenant – multilateralism and trade sustainability and resilience development finance and diversification with a particular focus on the most vulnerable and those furthest behind. This year’s In-Focus tackles the challenge of costing the achievement of SDGs through six transition pathways.

This annual publication provides an update on the evolution of a selection of official SDG indicators and complementary data and statistics highlighting progress on the development of new concepts and methodologies for UNCTAD custodian indicators. It further demonstrates beyond the perspective of the formal SDG indicators how UNCTAD is contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This first edition of the SDG Pulse illustrates in a very concrete way how UNCTAD is contributing to the 2030 Agenda. The report not only presents statistical updates for the indicators for which UNCTAD is a custodian or co-custodian but it also presents a range of other complementary indicators that provide a wider context and more nuance to these complex topics. This report also presents some case studies from UNCTAD’s capacity development programme from a statistical perspective – presenting our activities and successes in hard numbers. These case studies are important as they illustrate the Results Based Management approach being adopted by UNCTAD – helping us to improve our responsiveness and accountability to member states. Finally this report will every year highlight a thematic issue of immediate relevance. This year’s theme addresses the many faces of inequality. In particular to discuss how developments with regard to access to data and information may be creating new dimensions of inequality.