A data-driven decision-support framework for cross-country sustainability assessment: Integrating CRITIC, composite indexing, and multivariate analysis

This study develops a Sustainable Development Performance Index (SDPI) to assess countries’ sustainable development performance through a data-driven approach that integrates environmental, energy, and socioeconomic dimensions. Using panel data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) database for the period 2001–2021, the analysis covers 148 countries. The model comprises nine indicators organized into three dimensions: Environmental and Resource Sustainability, Energy Sustainability, and Socioeconomic Sustainability. Following missing-data screening and country exclusion procedures, the indicators were normalized using a direction-sensitive robust Winsorized Min–Max approach that accounts for their benefit and cost orientations. Indicator weights were derived from the data using the CRITIC method, and annual SDPI scores and country rankings were obtained through weighted additive aggregation. The multivariate structure of the model was examined using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), K-Means clustering, and Ward’s hierarchical clustering, while its external alignment was assessed through comparison with the 2021 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index. The results show that the first two principal components explain 81.1% of the total variance and that both clustering methods classify countries into two underlying sustainability profiles with complete agreement (ARI = 1.000). The SDPI also exhibits strong external alignment with the SDG Index (Pearson’s r = 0.919; Spearman’s ρ = 0.906). Robustness analyses further showed that the country rankings remained highly stable under alternative missing-data thresholds, annual and period-specific CRITIC weighting schemes, and standard Min–Max normalization. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the proposed SDPI framework provides an integrated and discriminative decision-support tool for comparing sustainability performance across countries, tracking changes over time, and informing policy priorities.