Helsinki, Finland – September 30th 2025 – A newly published study has identified surprising common ground across hundreds of existing wellbeing indicators and presented a 20-component model that could accelerate the long-awaited shift beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary measure of progress.
The study, part of the EU-funded MERGE project and authored by researchers from University College London, Hampshire College, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, and the Club of Rome, analysed 213 wellbeing frameworks currently in use worldwide. Despite wide variation in design, the study found a high degree of conceptual overlap. Using advanced semantic modelling, the team distilled these overlaps into a 20-component indicator that captures the essence of what societies consistently value.
“We found that hundreds of wellbeing indicators tell the same story, and that story gives us a chance to replace, or supplement, GDP with a measure that truly reflects human and planetary wellbeing.” said Dr Ida Kubiszewski, lead author and Associate Professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London.
The study highlights three key findings:
- Overlaps revealed: Despite methodological and cultural differences, most wellbeing indicators share a common conceptual backbone.
- 20 as the “sweet spot”: Beyond 20 components, additional detail added complexity but little extra value.
- A consensus model: The 20-component indicator offers policymakers a manageable, evidence-based tool for tracking progress in ways that reflect both human and planetary wellbeing.
The authors argue that this synthesis can help overcome the fragmentation of existing approaches, increasing the likelihood of uptake by governments, international institutions, and civil society. Importantly, the indicator balances natural, human, social, and financial dimensions of prosperity, ensuring no single aspect dominates.
The research comes at a critical moment: on the EU level, the Commission’s work on a dashboard of sustainable and inclusive wellbeing indicators is mature enough to be embedded into policy evaluation, according to the Commission’s Strategic Foresight Report 2025; on the international level, leaders at the UN Summit for the Future have pledged to develop measures of progress “beyond GDP,” resulted in the appointment of High-Level Expert Group in May 2025. By providing a tested consensus model, the study offers a practical pathway to turn political commitments into operational tools.
The full article, Building consensus on societal wellbeing: a semantic synthesis of indicators to move beyond GDP, is available open access via Ecological Indicators: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114076.
About the MERGE project
MERGE is a Horizon Europe-funded Coordination and Support Action (CSA) project that aims to integrate wellbeing, inclusion, and sustainability indicators into multilevel governance policy. MERGE consists of 16 partners, encompassing research, technical, policy, and civil society organisations.
Media contact
Ly Le
Communications Expert
Demos Helsinki | MERGE
ly.le@demoshelsinki.fi | +358449784988
