Multivariate Analysis of the Sustainable Society Index: A Structural Assessment of Global Sustainability

In this study, we address the structural coherence of the Sustainable Society Index (SSI) from a multidimensional perspective, focused on revealing underlying sustainability patterns by regional categorization of countries. Standardization and polarity adjustment ensured directional consistency and statistical comparability of the 21 indicators corresponding to the 53 countries studied based on the 2021 edition of the index. The analysis was conducted using Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA), evaluating the relative contribution of each dimension to the common factor space, and was complemented by a Hierarchical Clustering on Principal Component Analysis (HCPC) to identify structural clustering patterns. The results reveal the existence of three distinct sustainability configurations, associated with systematic contrasts in governance, human development, environmental pressure, and economic intensity. The evidence obtained suggests that the SSI not only functions as a comparative descriptive tool but also reflects consistent latent structures that allow for the interpretation of national trajectories under scenarios of increasing ecological constraint.