Counting what counts: The urgent need for a new compass

For decades, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the primary metric guiding policy decisions. However, an over-reliance on GDP misses complex and interconnected societal changes. Between 1980 and 2025, global economic activity contracted only in 2009 and 2020, yet this economic expansion coexisted with heightened anxiety about jobs, environmental stability, and social cohesion. The report argues that while GDP has enabled investments in health and education, a new compass is required to measure equitable and sustainable progress.

Approach of the high-level expert group

The Secretary-General appointed an independent High-Level Expert Group to develop recommendations for country-owned indicators that complement GDP. The Group conducted wide-ranging consultations, noting that stakeholders warned against excessively complex frameworks that could inadvertently reinforce GDP as the default benchmark. The approach focused on producing an actionable, universally applicable framework with clear links to global policymaking processes.

Conceptual framework: An integrated, universal framework for progress

The core framework aims to measure equitable, inclusive, and sustainable well-being. It is based on three foundational principles: peace, human rights, and respect for the planet (page 8). The framework recognises that well-being is not just an individual state but a collective condition influenced by the quality of relationships and trust within communities. It considers both present outcomes and the preservation of key forms of capital—produced, human, social, institutional, and natural—to ensure future sustainability.

From conceptual framework to measurement: Dashboard and headline indicators

To operationalise this framework, the report proposes a dashboard of 31 indicators (page 12). The dashboard is intentionally limited in scope to facilitate practical use by policymakers. Close to half of these indicators are drawn directly from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that most countries already have the foundational data to begin implementation. The dashboard maps conditions across four components: foundational principles, current well-being, equity and inclusion, and sustainability and resilience. It incorporates measures for often-overlooked dimensions such as social cohesion and institutional quality. Furthermore, the report recommends developing a small set of headline indicators to improve public communication.

Future agenda and pathway to global adoption

The future agenda necessitates sustained investment in statistical systems and improvements in data availability. Institutionalising a new policy compass requires significant changes in measurement approaches and decision-making. The Group asserts that moving beyond GDP is a process requiring long-term political commitment, and sets out a capacity agenda to ensure that nations at all development levels can adopt the new metrics.

Recommendations

The report outlines a road map for moving beyond GDP, targeting governments and international organisations. Governments are urged to establish national progress-measuring initiatives using the proposed dashboard by 2027 and to integrate these into budgetary processes (page 26). The United Nations is recommended to produce an annual progress report starting in 2027 and establish a dedicated mechanism to support countries in enhancing statistical capacity. Furthermore, official development assistance and South-South cooperation should increase investments to ensure comprehensive data availability globally.