Modeling a comprehensive multi-criteria, multi-period framework for assessing global sustainability performance: Insights from 164 selected countries

Global concerns regarding sustainable development have become commonplace in all decision-making scales and have been accompanied by the need to develop proper modeling systems. Indicators and goals recognizing the interconnections between social, economic, and ecological systems are increasingly acknowledged as a necessary pathway, urging research efforts and extensive literature reviews to explore and combine indicators. The Five Sectors Sustainability Model is presented as a multi-criteria decision-making tool to compose a comprehensive view of global sustainability performance between 2000 and 2022, considering the progress or deviation from proposed goals and targets. Since few publications address the challenges faced in all geographic regions, especially in the Global South, this study presents the Five Sector Sustainability Model as a multi-criteria decision-making tool for ranking sustainability performance in 164 nations. The results indicate that few nations remained at the top of the sustainability ranking, primarily due to environmental and economic factors, while 58 countries maintained a medium sustainability level. At the other end of the spectrum, 12 countries consistently ranked low in sustainability performance throughout the studied timeframe. The diversity of economies at each sustainability level and their performance over time suggests that, despite the United Nations' fundamental role in supporting countries to overcome sustainability challenges, the growth of international cooperation for sustainable development and the global approach to the Sustainable Development Goals, local initiatives remain essential for fostering global sustainability.