The Nordic region consists of 5 countries often performing among the top 10 globally in most indices constructed for between-country comparisons where at least economic and social performance is included. In the past years, the NSOs in these countries observe the use of especially the SDSN SDG Index in overall assessments relating to the SDGs. The temptation to lean towards the measure is understandable given the performance levels it indicates for these countries. The involvement of the NSOs in the interpretation of the measure and evaluations of the suitability of the measure to national priorities is however not present. The presentation will raise issues with and discuss the use of such single figure measures in shedding light on a country’s performance towards complex and crosscutting agendas like the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It will also reflect views from different Nordic NSOs experiences in relating to statistical measures created outside of the national statistical system as well as sharing some views on the use of such measures by users and stakeholders in Norway.
