Goal 16 of 17 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable institutions.
Peace is measurable, and the measurement is mixed. The global homicide rate fell from 5.9 per 100,000 people in 2015 to 5.1 in 2024 — real progress, but far from the goal of a 50 per cent reduction. Conflict remains devastating: nearly 50,000 conflict-related civilian deaths were recorded in 2024, and by the end of that year 123.2 million people had been forcibly displaced, an all-time high.
Legal identity is still out of reach for millions: while nearly 8 in 10 children under five worldwide have their births registered, about 150 million remain unregistered, and in sub-Saharan Africa only about half are registered. Without proof of identity, children can be excluded from school, health care and protection.
Justice systems are overstretched. In 2022, nearly a third of the world's 11.5 million prisoners were held in pre-trial detention — 3.5 million people not yet convicted of anything. Corruption continues to divert resources from development, with one in five people reporting that they were asked to pay a bribe to a public official in the past year, and human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists remain targets: at least 502 killings were documented across 44 countries in 2024.
Goal 16 calls for reduced violence, an end to abuse of children, the rule of law and equal access to justice, transparent and accountable institutions, and public access to information — the foundation the other sixteen Goals depend on.