Global sustainable development trends reveal widespread inequality and tradeoffs

This study uses four globally consistent headline indicators, namely CO₂ emissions, PM₂.₅ concentrations, night-time light intensity, and NDVI, to map and track spatiotemporal sustainable development trends worldwide. Using 0.1° × 0.1° grid cells, approximately 11 km at the equator, for the period 2000–2019, we construct a high-resolution Sustainable Development Matrix (SDM) that classifies local trends into 16 distinct sustainability categories. We quantify the population and land area associated with each trend pattern, identify regional disparities, and analyse the distribution of these patterns across income groups, continents, and urban centres versus rural areas. The analysis also estimates the projected population associated with each trend pattern in 2030. National-level summaries are derived from this spatial framework, enabling international comparisons and the identification of priority areas for targeted intervention. The source datasets and the source data underlying the figures in the paper “Global sustainable development trends reveal widespread inequality and tradeoffs” are provided here.