Goal 17 of 17

Partnerships for the goals

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

What this goal is about

Goal 17 is the goal about how the other sixteen get done. It covers money (tax, aid, investment and debt), technology, trade, skills, data and the partnerships between governments, businesses and civil society that turn plans into results.

It matters because the gap is mostly a gap in means. The UN puts the annual SDG financing gap in developing countries at about $4 trillion, while aid from the richest donor countries fell by a record 23.1% in 2025 and developing countries paid a record $415 billion in interest on external debt in 2024.

There is also real progress to build on. About three quarters of the world's people now use the internet, up from 40% in 2015, and more countries publish open, reliable statistics. Goal 17 asks everyone, including companies, to put skills, capital and data to work on the shared agenda.

23.1%real-terms fall in aid from OECD DAC donors in 2025OECD, preliminary ODA data press release, 2025

$8.9 trillionrecord external debt of low- and middle-income countriesWorld Bank, International Debt Report 2025, 2024

$4 trillionannual SDG financing gap in developing countriesUnited Nations, Sevilla Commitment (FfD4), 2025

2.2 billionpeople still offline worldwideITU, Facts and Figures 2025, 2025

The main targets

17.1

Help developing countries collect more of their own tax and other revenue, with international support where needed.

17.2

Developed countries should meet their aid promises, including giving 0.7% of national income as official development assistance.

17.4

Help developing countries keep debt sustainable through better financing, debt relief and restructuring, and ease debt distress in poor countries.

17.6

Strengthen cooperation and knowledge sharing on science, technology and innovation, including through a UN technology facilitation mechanism.

17.11

Grow developing countries' exports, and double the least developed countries' share of global exports by 2020.

17.16

Strengthen the global partnership, backed by partnerships that share knowledge, expertise, technology and money.

17.17

Encourage effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships that build on partners' experience and resources.

17.18

Help developing countries produce timely, reliable data broken down by income, gender, age, disability, location and other factors.

Summaries in plain English. The full wording of every target and indicator is on the UN Goal 17 page.

What businesses can do

Pick partners with a shared goal. Work with a local NGO, college or industry body on one concrete problem you understand, such as skills, waste or supplier standards. Agree what each side brings and how you will measure it.
Pay fair and on time. Late payment hits small suppliers hardest, especially where credit is expensive. Short payment terms and clear contracts are a partnership you control fully.
Share know-how. Offer staff time, training or mentoring to suppliers, local start-ups or community groups. Skills transfer is part of Goal 17 and is often as useful to a partner as cash.
Pay your taxes where you earn. Domestic revenue is the first target of Goal 17. Transparent tax practice in the countries where you operate supports public services everyone relies on.
Publish useful data. Report your social and environmental numbers in plain, comparable formats and open data where you can. Good data helps partners, investors and policymakers make better decisions.

What you can do

Join a local group. Find a community group, student society or volunteer project working on a local SDG issue and give time regularly over months rather than once.
Ask your representatives. Write to elected officials about aid, debt or tax policy, or ask how your city reports on the SDGs. Public interest shapes budgets.
Learn to read the data. Use the UN SDG database and national statistics to check claims you see online. Data literacy is a practical skill for any career.
Build skills that partnerships need. Statistics, public finance, trade, law, languages and project management are all in demand in development work. Talk to teachers or career advisers about routes in.

Where digital tools help

Software helps most where Goal 17 depends on shared information. Open standards such as IATI make aid spending searchable, open-source platforms such as DHIS2 and MOSIP let countries run health data and ID systems they control, and better statistical tools help governments measure progress. The limits are real: 2.2 billion people were still offline in 2025, systems need long-term funding and local skills, and digital tools cannot replace aid, fair trade rules or debt relief.

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