The Challenge

No country currently meets the basic needs of its residents at a globally sustainable level of resource use. In fact, meeting the basic needs of all people on the planet would result in humanity transgressing multiple environmental limits, based on current relationships between resource use and human well-being. The chart below demonstrates the profound challenge that nations currently face.

Biophysical Boundaries Transgressed versus Social Thresholds Achieved by Nation

The chart shows the number of social thresholds each country achieves in comparison to the number of biophysical boundaries it transgresses. Ideally, countries would be located in the top-left corner, with all social thresholds achieved and no biophysical boundaries transgressed. Click on a country to see its performance relative to the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries.

The data on this page are from our 2018 article A Good Life For All Within Planetary Boundaries. Most indicators are for the year 2011. Countries are sized according to population.