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Journalism of Courage
Sustainable Trade Index 2025: The global economy is transitioning from resilience — the dominant strategy in international trade between 2022 and 2024 — to a phase of economic unilateralism in mid-2025, driven by tariff escalations between long-standing trade partners.
The United Kingdom has taken the top spot in the 2025 Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI), ending New Zealand’s three-year reign and pushing it to No. 2.
Australia and Singapore have retained their positions at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
While the composition of the top 10 economies remains unchanged, there have been notable movements within the list. South Korea and Hong Kong (SAR) have climbed the ranks, whereas Japan has slipped two places.
The United States, ranked No. 9, recorded a significant reduction in its reliance on natural resource exports and a decrease in per capita carbon emissions.
| Rank | Economy | STI Score | Economic Pillar | Societal Pillar | Environmental Pillar |
| 1 | United Kingdom | 100 | 86.45 | 89.42 | 100 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 97.01 | 77.26 | 92.72 | 98.95 |
| 3 | Australia | 93.26 | 80.26 | 100 | 79.97 |
| 4 | Singapore | 90.01 | 99.51 | 86.63 | 66.56 |
| 5 | South Korea | 87.22 | 95.84 | 84.47 | 65.93 |
| 6 | Hong Kong, SAR | 83.79 | 100 | 65.49 | 72.78 |
| 7 | Japan | 83.48 | 67.81 | 78.54 | 91.21 |
| 8 | Canada | 80.45 | 74.4 | 96.75 | 59.38 |
| 9 | United States | 79.54 | 94.07 | 67.71 | 66.64 |
| 10 | Taiwan | 77.9 | 75.23 | 80.55 | 68.84 |
Source: Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI) 2025
Note: It analysed 30 economies based on multifaceted dynamics between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental stewardship in the global trade system.
In the latest 2025 Sustainable Trade Index rankings, India secured an overall rank of 23, with a combined score of 33.2 out of 100.
Breaking down the performance across key pillars, India scored 60.0 in the economic pillar, placing it 18th, a slight decline of two positions from last year.
In the societal pillar, the country improved by one rank to 27th, though the score remained modest at 23.4.
Environmental performance held steady at 28th position, with a score of 37.4, reflecting ongoing challenges in sustainability and ecological management.
