Note: This data is for academic research only. To use this data, please cite the following articles in your paper:

（1）Jiang, P.-C. (2024). National ESG index update: An assessment of the G20 countries. Innovation and Green Development, 3(2), 100147.

（2）Jiang, C., Feng, F., Wang, J., & Chang, P. （2024). CSR from different perspectives: The global ESG indexes updated. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2814

（3）Peng, X. Y., Zou, X. Y., Zhao, X. X., & Chang, C. P. (2023). Understanding the behavior of ESG in both OPEC and non‐OPEC countries? The implications for sustainable development reaching. Sustainable Development.

Time span: 1990-2021

Number of countries: 121 countries around the world

Introduction: Countries are facing unprecedented difficulties due to increasing environmental pollution, wealth disparity, energy shortage, and other problems. How to maintain high economic growth without compromising sustainable development has become an urgent issue. The concept of environmental, social and governance (ESG), which is derived from socially responsible investing, is an international standard for measuring the degree of sustainable and green development. Micro ESG has been widely discussed by scholars and its achievements have facilitated the transition from pure self-interest maximization to social value maximization. However, there are still comparatively few studies on macro ESG performance. Against this background, we constructed a national ESG index system consisting of 39 indicators using the World Bank database. The index measures the national ESG performance of 121 countries for the period 1990-2021 using the entropy weight method. The aim is to provide instrumental indicators reflecting the status and evolution of national ESG growth, and to serve as a reference for empirical research.