Özet:

This study disaggregates the selected 14 Sustainable Development Goal Indices into the three main dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals: environmental, social, and economic, and aims to reveal the similarities and differences among countries in terms of their sustainable development performance. To achieve this aim, the indices determined for each dimension were separated into their components by Principal Component Analysis to eliminate any correlations resulting from the interdependence among sub-indicators. Subsequently, the countries under consideration were grouped into clusters using Hierarchical Clustering and K-means clustering algorithms. The results show that a single component can adequately represent the economic dimension, but two components are necessary to adequately represent the environmental and social dimensions. With the identification of five principal components, 86 countries were divided into four clusters through clustering analysis. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that the cluster comprising European countries exhibits the best performance in three out of the five principal components. Conversely, the cluster of countries with the lowest performance consists of economies with diverse structures. The results imply that each cluster is undergoing an achievement or difficulty in a specific aspect of sustainable development. By comprehending the strengths and weaknesses of each cluster group, this information can be used to effectively develop sustainable development strategies and policies that address economic growth, social welfare, and environmental protection in a balanced manner.

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