HISTORICAL ANALYSIS (2000 TO 2023) OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)

Abstract

This study analyzed the correlation between the performance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the member, partner and candidate countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2000 to 2023. Based on the premise that the SDGs are interdependent and must advance in an integrated manner, the article sought to identify patterns of positive or negative association between the goals and assess the coherence of national public policies with the 2030 Agenda. Methodologically, we used data from the Sustainable Development Goals Transformation Center (2024), processed in the R software (version 4.4.0), applying the Shapiro-Wilk tests for normality, Spearman correlations and K-means cluster analysis. The individual correlations between the SDGs were calculated for 49 countries and summarized using a cumulative correlation matrix, making it possible to identify SDGs with negative trends. The results indicated that no country showed exclusively positive correlations between the SDGs, revealing that progress on certain goals often occurs to the detriment of others. SDGs 2 (zero hunger), 8 (decent work and economic growth) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) were more prone to negative correlations, while SDGs 3 (good health and well-being), 5 (gender equality) and 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) were more stable. The cluster analysis did not produce consistent groupings, suggesting strong heterogeneity between the countries. It concludes that progress towards sustainability is highly dependent on local contexts and that achieving the 2030 Agenda requires effective integration between national policies and international cooperation, with an emphasis on strengthening SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).