This discussion paper examines whether the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring framework is “broken”, focusing on the data systems underpinning global progress tracking. It reviews lessons from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the complexity of indicator design, and the tension between country‑led monitoring and custodian agency control.
The paper highlights persistent problems: too many indicators, reliance on modelled rather than national data, weak transparency, and limited capacity development for national statistical systems. Ultimately, it argues that without stronger country ownership, better data flows, and genuine accountability, the SDG monitoring system risks failing its central promise to “leave no one behind.”