APPS Indices & Ranking

The main APPS’ objective is to assess a) the current level of well-being, based upon historical observations; b) the sustainability of future development, resulting from the extended ICES’ model simulations.

In both cases, the first step is the computation of an aggregate index for each SDG. Each SDG performance is characterized by one or more indicators, normalized according benchmark thresholds. In the former case, the indicator’s value defines the current and future SDG performance. In the latter case, when several indicators are involved, they are weighted equally to provide an overall SDG assessment.

The second outcome generated by the APPS project is the computation of APPS Index, which collects and aggregates data for all SDGs, and three composite indices by sustainability dimension:

Economy

Society

 social-1

Environment

The main purpose of the project is to provide policymakers with a snapshot of each country’s performance on SDGs and to explore the full implications of policy actions, thereby considering direct and indirect effects.

UN SDG
APPS Indicator
Sustainability Dimension
01
Poverty headcount ratio at $1.25 a day (PPP2005) (% of population)
social-1
02
Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population)
social-1
03
Physician density (per 1000 population)
social-1
Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) at birth (years)
social-1
04
Youth literacy rate (% of population 15-24 years)
social-1
06
Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal renewable water)
environmental
07
Access to electricity (% of total population)
social-1
Renewable electricity (% in total electricity output)
environmental
Primary energy intensity (MJ / $PPP2011)
environmental
08
GDP per capita annual growth (%)
economic
GDP per person employed ($PPP2011)
economic
Employment-to-population ratio (%)
economic
09
Manufacturing value added (% of GDP)
economic
Total energy and industry-related GHG emissions over sectoral value added (t of CO2e / $PPP2011)
environmental
10
Palma ratio
social-1
11
PM2.5 pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter)
environmental
CO2 intensity of residential and transport sectors (t of CO2 / t of oil equivalent energy use)
environmental
12
Material productivity ($PPP2011/ kg)
environmental
15
Net GHG emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sectors per square metre of forest and agricultural land (t of CO2e / sq. m)
environmental
Gap from equitable and sustainable GHG emissions per capita in 2030 (t CO2eq)**
environmental
14
Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters)
environmental
15
Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area)
environmental
Forest area (% of land area)
environmental
Endangered and vulnerable (animals and plants) species (% of total species)
environmental
16
Corruption Perception Index
social-1
17
General government gross debt (% of GDP)
economic
Research and Development (R&D) expenditure (% of GDP)
economic
*This indicator is used only in the assessment of Future Sustainability
** The equitable and sustainable GHG emission per capita level in 2030 is computed as the ratio of the median GHG emission level in 2030 according to scenarios that will contain (with likelihood > 66%) the temperature increase below 2°C by the end of the century , i.e. 42 GtCO2 e (UNEP, 2015), and the median estimate of world population in 2030 (UN, 2015).