By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
Economic progress should be measured by the well-being of people and the planet, not just economic output, according to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Independent High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP.
The experts develop recommendations for a limited set of country-owned, universally applicable indicators of sustainable development that complement and go beyond gross domestic product (GDP).
The report was released early this month by the UN Trade and Development agency (UNCTAD).
The report defines progress as equitable, inclusive, and sustainable well-being, grounded in peace, human rights, and respect for the planet.
For decades,GDP and its growth have been treated as the closest thing the world has to a measure of progress.
Yet, GDP growth has coexisted with persistent inequality, environmental degradation, and declining trust in public institutions, the experts noted.
They explained that GDP measures economic output, but does not fully capture what counts – well-being, equity, and sustainability.
“Despite decades of growth, many people feel left behind, while pressures on the planet continue to rise. This gap shows that GDP alone is not enough to measure real progress,” the experts stated.
The report sets out a practical way forward.
It presents the first global blueprint to move beyond GDP, placing people and the planet at the centre of decision-making.
“It marks the start of a longer process to redefine how we measure progress. After all, what we measure shapes what we value,” the experts wrote.
At the heart of the framework lies the well-being of people and the planet under one organising principle: that progress means equitable, inclusive, and sustainable well-being.
The framework is multidimensional and intergenerational in scope, recognising that well-being depends on economic, social, institutional, and environmental conditions — and on how sustainable those conditions are over time.
The report proposes a dashboard of 31 indicators structured around four components.
The first is foundational principles — peace, human rights, and respect for the planet.
This will be captured through a limited set of indicators, complemented by normative commitments and institutional safeguards.
The second is current well-being, measured across domains that reflect people’s lived experiences: material conditions and work, health, education, security, subjective well-being, social cohesion, quality of institutions, and environmental quality.
The third is equity and inclusion, treated as a cross-cutting dimension and assessed through indicators of inequality, poverty, and disparities across population groups.
This includes overlapping deprivations, with space for country-specific dimensions where relevant.
The fourth is sustainability and resilience, which connects present outcomes to future well-being through the measurement of key forms of capital: produced, human, social, institutional, and natural.
According to the experts, these four components map the conditions a society needs not just to function today, but to hold together over time.
Close to half of the developed indicators are drawn directly from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which means most countries have the data, the systems, and the experience to begin without delay, the experts noted.
They added that the value of any measurement framework lies entirely in whether and how it is used. The implementation agenda for the framework set out by the report covers statistical development, national adoption, and international coordination.
However, the expert group noted that over time, it will require sustained investment in statistical systems, improvements in data availability and timeliness, and continued methodological work.
And, most importantly, it will require sustained political commitment, stated the experts’ report.
erastus@thevillager.com.na
