Chapter 06 · Governance & regulationDevelopment, Impact & Global Frameworks
Beyond GDP
Definition
A policy and statistical agenda to complement or move beyond gross domestic product as the primary measure of national progress, on the grounds that GDP fails to capture environmental degradation, inequality, unpaid work and long-term sustainability. The UN Secretary-General called overreliance on GDP a "glaring blind spot"; the 2024 Pact for the Future committed member states to developing a limited set of country-owned, universally applicable beyond-GDP indicators.
References
Final report presented 7 May 2026; conceptual framework and dashboard; mandate from member states.
Pact for the Future mandate; HLEG established May 2025; ~30 indicators, ~half SDG-aligned; UNSC March 2026 discussion.
Overview
What it means
The agenda crystallised institutionally in 2025–2026: a UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP, established in May 2025, delivered its final report in May 2026, recommending a conceptual framework and an indicator dashboard of roughly 30 indicators — about half drawn from existing SDG indicators — spanning material well-being, health, education, environmental quality, subjective well-being, social capital and governance, plus cross-border spillovers, with an annual global report proposed.
How it is used
Beyond-GDP thinking already operates through the OECD Well-being Framework (Better Life Index), national well-being budgets (New Zealand, Wales, Scotland), and alternative indices (HDI, GPI). The UN process aims to make such measures standard in national statistics and policy, with emphasis on gradual adoption and national statistical capacity.
Why it matters
What gets measured drives policy: while GDP remains the compass, environmental and social costs stay invisible in the headline number. The 2026 UN framework is the strongest institutional push yet to change the compass.