
Well-being Well-being is the experience of health, happiness, and prosperity. Describing well-being therefore requires moving beyond applying only traditional economic metrics such as gross domestic product (GDP), to measure the quality of life and welfare of a population. It is necessary to consider environmental and social factors that affect people's daily lives, such as health, housing, employment, education, income, communications and air and water quality. Indicators for measuring well-being Recent years, the Government of Iceland has emphasised increasing prosperity and quality of life of the general public in its strategic planning. In 2019, 39 indicators of prosperity and quality of life, often referred to as well-being indicators, were defined to monitor social, environmental, and economic factors. The decision on the choice of indicators was based, among other things, on a large sample survey conducted by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister. The survey asked the respondents to rank factors related to prosperity and quality of life in order of importance. Indicators for Measuring Well-being (2019) For the purpose of measuring well-being the Icelandic government has chosen to use 40 indicators. They are based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and utilise official statistics. The indicators are partly comparable with well-being indicators from other countries. Statistics Iceland manages the group of indicators and updates it regularly. Well-being indicators on Statistic Iceland's website The indicators are divided into three categories and thirteen subcategories: Society Health Life expectancy Mental health Unmet need for healthcare Education Educational level Dropout rate from secondary school Lifelong learning Social capital Trust in others Voter turnout Trust in political system Social support Participation in organised leisure activities Security Vandalism Domestic violence Security in the neighbourhood Work-life balance Long working hours Non-traditional working hours Multiple jobs Economy Economic conditions Purchasing power Household debt Public sector, private sector and household debt Price level developments (inflation) GDP and economic growth Employment Unemployment Not in education, employment or training (NEET) Participation rate Job satisfaction Housing Quality of housing Housing cost overburden Income Material deprivation Income inequality (GINI co-efficient) Low income ratio Persistently low income Energy Air quality Greenhouse gas emissions Particulate matter Land use Progress in land reclamation Nature conservation areas Energy Renewable energy Waste and recycling Recycling rate of solid waste Quantity of household waste What is a well-being economy? The term well-being economy is used to describe a perspective which differs from the traditional approach to measuring the prosperity of the economy or how wealthy a population is based on exclusively economic metrics. Instead, well-being and quality of life are assessed based on various social and environmental factors as well as economic ones. A well-being economy is therefore an economy that strives to prioritise the collective well-being of both current and future generations. It is an economy that works for people, not the other way around. In a well-being economy, clear objectives for public prosperity and quality of life influence the government's emphases and prioritisation in decision-making and planning. Indicators reflecting a variety of aspects of well-being in a wide context are gathered and used to assess the success of the government's policies. The objective is to have fiscal policy support the government's aim of improving the quality of life of the general public across a broad spectrum. A set of well-being indicators is also used to assess the long-term impact of government decisions in budgeting. Examples of this in the Medium-term Fiscal Strategy for 2024-2028 are indicators showing the proportion of renewable energy sources in transport; the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate provides an account of the status and expected development during the period of validity of the strategy. The budget for the year 2024 then lists actions that will contribute to achieving the targets set and changes in financial allocations for them. In this way, new expenditures are aimed at supporting the objectives set, the links between them are made visible and results are followed-up on. Reports on well-being Implementation of Well-being Priorities in Government Planning and Decision-Making (Summary)World Happiness Report Country deep dive on the well-being economy: Iceland (2023) Table of Contents Overview Sustainable Iceland Side event on spillover effects Well-being International co-operation

Well-being

Well-being is the experience of health, happiness, and prosperity. Describing well-being therefore requires moving beyond applying only traditional economic metrics such as gross domestic product (GDP), to measure the quality of life and welfare of a population. It is necessary to consider environmental and social factors that affect people's daily lives, such as health, housing, employment, education, income, communications and air and water quality.

Indicators for measuring well-being

Recent years, the Government of Iceland has emphasised increasing prosperity and quality of life of the general public in its strategic planning. In 2019, 39 indicators of prosperity and quality of life, often referred to as well-being indicators, were defined to monitor social, environmental, and economic factors. The decision on the choice of indicators was based, among other things, on a large sample survey conducted by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister. The survey asked the respondents to rank factors related to prosperity and quality of life in order of importance.

Indicators for Measuring Well-being (2019)

For the purpose of measuring well-being the Icelandic government has chosen to use 40 indicators. They are based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and utilise official statistics. The indicators are partly comparable with well-being indicators from other countries.

Statistics Iceland manages the group of indicators and updates it regularly.

Well-being indicators on Statistic Iceland's website

The indicators are divided into three categories and thirteen subcategories:

Society

Health

Life expectancy
Mental health
Unmet need for healthcare

Education

Educational level
Dropout rate from secondary school
Lifelong learning

Social capital

Trust in others
Voter turnout
Trust in political system
Social support
Participation in organised leisure activities

Security

Vandalism
Domestic violence
Security in the neighbourhood

Work-life balance

Long working hours
Non-traditional working hours
Multiple jobs

Economy

Economic conditions

Purchasing power
Household debt
Public sector, private sector and household debt
Price level developments (inflation)
GDP and economic growth

Employment

Unemployment
Not in education, employment or training (NEET)
Participation rate
Job satisfaction

Housing

Quality of housing
Housing cost overburden

Income

Material deprivation
Income inequality (GINI co-efficient)
Low income ratio
Persistently low income

Energy

Air quality

Greenhouse gas emissions
Particulate matter

Land use

Progress in land reclamation
Nature conservation areas

Energy

Renewable energy

Waste and recycling

Recycling rate of solid waste
Quantity of household waste

What is a well-being economy?

The term well-being economy is used to describe a perspective which differs from the traditional approach to measuring the prosperity of the economy or how wealthy a population is based on exclusively economic metrics. Instead, well-being and quality of life are assessed based on various social and environmental factors as well as economic ones. A well-being economy is therefore an economy that strives to prioritise the collective well-being of both current and future generations. It is an economy that works for people, not the other way around.

In a well-being economy, clear objectives for public prosperity and quality of life influence the government's emphases and prioritisation in decision-making and planning. Indicators reflecting a variety of aspects of well-being in a wide context are gathered and used to assess the success of the government's policies. The objective is to have fiscal policy support the government's aim of improving the quality of life of the general public across a broad spectrum. A set of well-being indicators is also used to assess the long-term impact of government decisions in budgeting.

Examples of this in the Medium-term Fiscal Strategy for 2024-2028 are indicators showing the proportion of renewable energy sources in transport; the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate provides an account of the status and expected development during the period of validity of the strategy. The budget for the year 2024 then lists actions that will contribute to achieving the targets set and changes in financial allocations for them. In this way, new expenditures are aimed at supporting the objectives set, the links between them are made visible and results are followed-up on.

Reports on well-being

Implementation of Well-being Priorities in Government Planning and Decision-Making (Summary)World Happiness Report Country deep dive on the well-being economy: Iceland (2023)