Ireland ranks highest of 14 EU countries for education but lowest for logistics capacity

Ireland ranks highest of 14 EU countries for education but lowest for logistics capacity

Ireland ranks highest of 14 EU countries for quality education but lags behind in affordable energy, clean water, climate action, innovation, infrastructure, and gender equality, a report on UN Sustainable Development Goals reveals.

Social Justice Ireland published the Sustainable Progress Index 2025 on Thursday. The index ranks 14 comparable EU countries on three dimensions: economy, society and environment. The overall Sustainable Progress Index, which includes all 17 goals set out by the UN, concludes that Ireland is in ninth place out of the 14 countries.

Ireland ranks No 1 for education

Ireland ranks in first place in education, third for good health and wellbeing, and in the top four for peace and justice. “From basic education to tertiary education, Ireland’s reputation for ‘quality education’ is evident, although some consideration should be given to the low rate of adult participation in learning,” the report said.

Ireland’s relatively good performance on ‘Peace and Justice’ notes Ireland having a relatively safe quality of life in our cities and communities with a reasonably good transparent, effective, and accountable institutions.

Ireland second-lowest rate of investment

But Ireland has the second lowest rate of investment in R&D as a percentage GDP in the EU-14, and lowest on logistics capacity. Ireland ranked 10th on the goal of ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’, pointing to the need for further policy action with regard to logistics and broadband capacities.

“The goal of the Sustainable Development Goals is to change the perspective of public policy, and our analysis has highlighted both the successes and challenges facing Ireland under the headings of economy, society and environment. Although there is clear evidence of progress in Ireland, still challenges remain,” said Social Justice Ireland chief executive John McGeady.

“Ireland continues to underperform in areas such as affordable energy, clean water, climate action, innovation and infrastructure, and gender equality. This is dragging our overall ranking down even though we are performing well in other areas such as quality education, economic growth and employment progress and good health and wellbeing.” 

Overall, Ireland is ranked joint 7th out of the 14 countries on the economy index. Although the record on GDP per capita and GDP growth and the score on employment rate is good,  the low score on the economy index is influenced by several factors including investment in R&D.

Ireland environment index

On the environment index, Ireland is towards the bottom of the ranking, in 11th place.

The index is published on Thursday to mark UN World Social Justice Day. “Events over the past few years have highlighted the interdependence of our economic, social and natural spheres,” said Mr McGeady. “It has also made the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs even more challenging, both for the EU and globally. However, they must remain at the top of the policy agenda if we are to ensure a more sustainable future for all.” 

The list of 14 is: 1. Sweden. 2. Finland. 3. Netherlands. 4. Denmark. 5. Austria. 6. Luxembourg. 7. Belgium. 8. Germany. 9. Ireland 10. France. 11. Portugal. 12. Spain. 13. Italy. 14. Greece.