Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Goal 10 or SDG 10) is about reduced inequality and is one of the 17

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

established by the United Nations in 2015. The full title is: "Reduce inequality within and among countries".United Nations (2015) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/70/1
United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/71/313
The Goal has ten targets to be achieved by 2019. Progress towards targets will be measured by indicators. The first seven targets are ''outcome targets'': Reduce income inequalities; promote universal social, economic and political inclusion; ensure

equal opportunities Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. For example, the intent of equa ...

and end

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

; adopt fiscal and social policies that promotes equality; improved regulation of global

financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial marke ...

s and institutions; enhanced representation for

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

financial institution A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...

s; responsible and well-managed migration policies. The other three targets are ''means of implementation targets'': Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Special and differential treatment for developing countries; encourage

development assistance Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid ...

and investment in

least developed countries The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed b ...

; reduce transaction costs for migrant

remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes ...

s. Target 10.1 is to "sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average". This goal, known as "shared prosperity", is complementing SDG 1, the eradication of extreme poverty, and it is relevant for all countries in the world. There has been a growth in income for poorer people in 2012–2017. Nevertheless, it is common in many countries that "the bottom 40 per cent of the population receive less than 25 per cent of the overall income". A UN report from 2020 pointed out that "women are more likely to be victims of discrimination than men".United Nations (2020
Sustainable development goals report
, New York And the situation is even worse for women with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

Background

Inequality exist in various forms, such as economic, sex, disability, race, social inequality, and different forms of discrimination. Measuring inequality in its individual forms is a crucial component in order to reduce inequality within and among countries. The

Gini coefficient In economics, the Gini coefficient ( ), also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio, is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution, income inequality, the wealth distribution, wealth inequality, or the ...

is the most frequently used measurement of socioeconomic inequality as it can significantly show the income and wealth distribution within and among countries. Issues associated with health, pollution, and environmental justices are often inseparable with inequality. Sometimes these issues also associated with indigenous and aboriginal communities,

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

and communities of low socio-economic status (SES). Studies of

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

shows these communities are irregularly likely to live in environments with higher risk of exposure to pollution and toxic contamination, which possess long-term health and environmental threats.

Globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

is also accompanied with migration, displacement and dispossession, and this often increased vulnerability of marginalized communities and groups, which negatively shaped their prospects for globalization and emancipation and widened inequality at the meantime. There are also association between inequality and mental and physical health in various forms, such as status anxiety/competition, social capital, social embeddedness and cohesion.

Negotiation process

A study in 2023 pointed out that the emergence of SDG 10 was partially related to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

and its aftermath, which prompted calls for addressing extreme inequalities in outcomes and wealth concentration at the top of the income distribution. For comparison, the earlier Millennium Development Goals did not have a separate goal on inequality. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License The same study found that in the agenda-setting phase, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

significantly influenced the definition of SDG 10 during the negotiations. This reduced their need for later adjustments to comply with the goal. The bank succeeded in incorporating its goal of ''shared prosperity'' into SDG 10. ''Shared prosperity'' was a ready-made framework to use, and it left out sensitive political discussions around inequalities of outcome. The bank defined ''shared prosperity'' as increasing the income of the bottom 40 percent of the population in each country. The authors of the study pointed out that by doing so, the World Bank ensured that others would evaluate their success based on the bank’s own definition of inequality. The only difference between the first target of SDG 10 and the World Bank’s own internal goal is the addition of “higher than the national average.” The World Bank thus managed to enter its own framing into the global agenda and to block any possibly more radical global inequality narrative.

Targets, indicators and progress

The UN has defined 10 targets and 11 indicators for SDG 10. Targets specify the goals and Indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these Targets are achieved. SDG 10 covers issues including reducing income inequalities (10.1), promoting universal social, economic and political inclusion (10.2), ensure equal opportunities and end discrimination (10.3), adopt fiscal and social policies that promotes equality (10.4), improved regulation of global financial markets and institutions (10.5), enhanced representation for developing countries in financial institutions (10.6), responsible and well-managed migration policies (10.7), special and differential treatment for developing countries (10.a), encourage development assistance and investment in least developed countries (10.b) and reduced transaction costs for migrant remittances (10.c).

Target 10.1: Reduce income inequalities

Annualized-average-growth-rate-in-per-capita-real-survey-mean-consumption-or-income-bottom-40-of-population

The full title of Target 10.1 is: "By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average". Target 10.1 has one indicator: Indicator 10.1.1 is the "Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population".Ritchie, Roser, Mispy, Ortiz-Ospina.
Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
(SDG 11) ''SDG-Tracker.org, website'' (2018) Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Relative poverty and inequality is the share of people living below 50 per cent of the median income level. Data from 110 high- and low-income countries showed that the median country had 14 per cent of the population with income levels below that threshold. But both rich and poor countries have high and low levels of inequality. Income inequality is not strongly correlated with either poverty or affluence, suggesting that policies promoting equality and inclusivity have universal relevance.United Nations (2020
Sustainable development goals report
New York There has been a growth in income for poorer people in 2012–2017. Nevertheless, it is common in many countries that "the bottom 40 per cent of the population receive less than 25 per cent of the overall income".

Target 10.2: Promote universal social, economic and political inclusion

The full title of Target 10.2 is to: "By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status". Target 10.2 has one indicator. Indicator 10.2.1 is the "Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilities".

Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunities and end discrimination

The full title of Target 10.3 is to: "Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard". Target 10.3 has one indicator. Indicator 10.3.1 is the "Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law". A UN report from 2020 pointed out that "women are more likely to be victims of discrimination than men". And the situation is even worse for women with

Target 10.4: Adopt fiscal and social policies that promote equality

The full title of Target 10.4 is to: "Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality". Target 10.4 has one indicator. Indicator 10.4.1 is the "Labour share of GDP, comprising wages and social protection transfers". A UN progress report from 2020 stated that: "The global labour income share has shown a downward trend since 2004, when it stood at 54 percent, implying that workers are receiving a smaller proportion of the output they helped produce".

Target 10.5: Improved regulation of global financial markets and institutions

The full title of Target 10.5 is to: "Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations". Target 10.5 has one indicator. Indicator 10.5.1 is the "Financial soundness indicator".

Target 10.6: Enhanced representation for developing countries in financial institutions

The full title of Target 10.6 is to: "Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions". Target 10.6 has one indicator. Indicator 10.6.1 is the "Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations". These indicators measure the share of members and voting rights in international institutions which are held by developing countries.

Target 10.7: Responsible and well-managed migration policies

The full title of Target 10.7 is to: "Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies". Target 10.7 has two indicators: * Indicator 10.7.1: Recruitment cost borne by employee as a proportion of yearly income earned in country of destination * Indicator 10.7.2: Number of countries that have implemented well-managed migration policies There is a focus in this target and indicators on granting permission of temporary stays of forcibly displaced people, agreements on readmission, and monitoring of

travel visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

overstays. In effect, the 2030 Agenda frames migration as a temporary and unplanned phenomenon that needs to be managed, rather than as an inherent and longstanding part of

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

and

social transformation In sociology, social transformation is a somewhat ambiguous term that has two broad definitions. One definition of social transformation is the process by which an individual ''alters'' the socially ascribed social status of their parents into a ...

. Insights from human migration science shows that migrants can in fact be a source of innovation, economic growth and cultural diversity. Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
/ref>

Target 10.a: Special and differential treatment for developing countries

The full title of Target 10.a is to: "Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements". Target 10.a has one indicator. Indicator 10.a.1 is the "Proportion of tariff lines applied to imports from least developed countries and developing countries with zero-tariff".

Target 10.b: Encourage development assistance and investment in least developed countries

The full title of Target 10.b is to: "Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programs". Target 10.b has one indicator. Indicator 10.b.1 is the "Total resource flows for development, by recipient and donor countries and type of flow".

Target 10.c: Reduce transaction costs for migrant remittances

The full title of Target 10.c is to: "By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent". Target 10.c has one indicator. Indicator 10.c.1 is the "Remittance costs as a proportion of the amount remitted". Target 10.c is to reduce the transaction costs for migrant remittances to below 3 percent. The target of 3 percent was established as the cost that international migrant workers would pay to send money home (known as

s). However, post offices and money transfer companies currently charge 6 percent of the amount remitted. Worse, commercial banks charge 11 percent. Prepaid cards and mobile money companies charge 2 to 4 percent, but those services were not widely available as of 2017 in typical "remittance corridors".

Custodian agencies

Nine custodian agencies monitor the eleven indicators of SDG 10. This makes the arrangement of custodian agencies highly fragmented for this SDG. As a result there is only very limited, informal coordination and "ad hoc forms of interorganisational knowledge sharing". The custodian agencies include:

(for four indicators), International Labor Organization (for two indicators),

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

(this agency, and the following agencies, monitor just one indicator),

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

Financing for Development Office,

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD),

International Trade Centre The International Trade Centre (ITC) () is a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The headqua ...

, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division,

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for Human migration, migrants, including internally displa ...

Monitoring

An annual report is prepared by the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

evaluating the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.United Nations Economic and Social Council (2020
Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals Report of the Secretary-General
High-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (E/2020/57), 28 April 2020

Links with other SDGs

SDG 10 is linked to many of the other SDGs, such as peaceful and inclusive societies ( SDG 16), gender equality ( SDG 5), poverty ( SDG 1), zero hunger ( SDG 2), good health and wellbeing ( SDG 3), clean water and sanitation ( SDG 6), sustainable cities and communities ( SDG 11).

Challenges

Impacts of Covid-19 pandemic

The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2020 made inequality worse. It has hit the most vulnerable people hardest. Due to the pandemic it is estimated that there will be an increase of more than 6% on average for the Gini Index of emerging markets and developing countries, with a much more devastating effect on the lesser developed countries of the world. The Gini Index is a ratio which is able to determine the income inequality where 0 means that all income is shared equally between all the population and 100 means all the income belongs to a single person.

Organizations

Organizations that work on achieving SDG 10 include for example the

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

, UN, WEF.

References

External links

UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform – SDG 10

“Global Goals” Campaign - SDG 10

SDG-Track.org - SDG 10

UN SDG 10 in the US
{{Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals 2015 establishments in New York City Projects established in 2015 Equality rights