By aligning the global economy with sustainable development we can enhance decision-making in the best interests of people, the planet and the future. Photo: Adobestock/Fahad (generated with AI)
What is Beyond GDP?
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) serves as the leading measure of development progress within and across countries. Yet it provides an incomplete picture of the different dimensions of sustainable development. In recent decades, Governments, civil society, and researchers have made the case for expanding the set of metrics that are relied upon to gage progress and to guide policy.
Efforts to complement, or go beyond, GDP aim to re-define how we measure progress by placing people, planet, and prosperity at its center.
To achieve the progress we need, the well-being of people and the planet must be at the centre of what we measure and value.
The growing momentum for Beyond GDP
Building on the 2030 Agenda, the Beyond GDP project reflects a shared and long-standing goal that has strong support globally.
As the global caretaker of the sustainable development agenda with responsibility for setting norms for international statistical activities, the UN is uniquely placed to facilitate this work.
In his report, Our Common Agenda, and the related policy brief on Beyond GDP, the Secretary-General elaborated the case for this initiative.
This paved the way to a milestone agreement in the Pact for the Future in which Member States committed to a two-phased approach to advance this work: i) requesting the Secretary-General to appoint a High-Level Expert Group; and ii) calling for a subsequent intergovernmental process to consider the Group’s recommendations.
Get involved
The High-Level Expert Group is committed to an inclusive process to which all stakeholders can contribute.
We encourage all interested parties to submit ideas and insights at: beyondgdp@un.org. This account will be regularly monitored, and all inputs will be considered by the High-Level Expert Group.
