UN proposes global dashboard of 31 indicators to complement GDP
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations on Thursday proposed the first global blueprint for how countries can assess progress using measures that complement gross domestic product (GDP).
The proposal appears in a report titled 'Counting What Counts: A Compass of Progress for People and Planet', released by the UN Secretary General’s independent High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP. The report presents a dashboard of globally applicable indicators intended to provide a new compass of progress for people and the planet.
“This report is a landmark step in correcting a longstanding blind spot in measuring progress: the over-reliance on gross domestic product,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a UN General Assembly plenary meeting to launch the report. He added that while GDP is the most widely used metric of economic progress and well-being, “it cannot be the only one.”
UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said the report proposes a dashboard of 31 indicators that complement GDP, build on existing frameworks and are designed to give a more complete and policy-relevant picture of progress across economic, social and environmental dimensions, including societies’ capacity to manage risks such as disasters and to respond to shocks such as crises.
“The objective of this report is not to reject GDP, nor to dismiss the importance of economic growth,” she said.
Nora Lustig, co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group, said GDP ignores inequality and poverty, does not capture environmental degradation and misses non-monetary dimensions of well-being such as health, education and peace.
“Growth can mean many things. Growth in education. Growth in arts and leisure. Better health. Moving beyond GDP does not mean eschewing economic growth — but instead reflecting progress across the critical dimensions of well-being for people and planet. This is what we hope to capture in our report,” said Kaushik Basu, another co-chair of the group.
For decades, GDP has guided major policy decisions worldwide. While it remains an essential measure of economic output, relying on GDP alone risks presenting an incomplete picture of progress — one in which the economy can grow even as critical dimensions of well-being, such as safety or environmental quality, deteriorate, the UN Department of Global Communications said.
At the core of the report — which responds to a mandate from UN member states under the Pact for the Future to develop a limited number of country-owned, universally applicable indicators that complement and go beyond GDP — is a concise, ready-to-use dashboard designed to display a comprehensive assessment of progress, incorporating well-being, equity and inclusion, and sustainability, the department said in a press release.
Drawing on the existing Sustainable Development Goal global indicator framework and established statistical systems, the dashboard is intended to allow governments to begin using it immediately to inform decision-making.
The report also highlights often-overlooked determinants of progress, such as cross-country spillovers, recognising that well-being in one country is frequently influenced by activities and decisions in others. It sets out a clear roadmap for moving beyond GDP and, alongside a data agenda, offers actionable recommendations for governments, the multilateral system, the statistical community, civil society and the media, the department said.
The UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP comprises 14 globally recognised experts appointed in May 2025, drawing on expertise in economics, statistics, development policy, inequality, sustainability and public policy from diverse regions and institutional backgrounds.
By RSS/Xinhua
