New measurement of sovereign ESG index

In view of the progressive development of the ESG concept, this paper measures the sovereign ESG index of 171 countries worldwide over the period 1990–2020 by employing the entropy weight method based on relevant indicators from the World Bank's Sovereign ESG Database. The graphical analysis of the index leads to the preliminary conclusion that countries with higher economic levels tend to start earlier and focus more on ESG development, while low-income countries invest less in sustainable development and may have focused their development on the economy in the early stages of globalization. This research aims to contribute a set of instrumental data reflecting the current status and evolution of global sovereign ESG development, and to provide an important reference for studies related to sovereign ESG development and indicator system design.