Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Nicola Sturgeon call for action beyond GDP in TIME

Former Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon have renewed their call for governments to rethink how societal progress is measured in a new article published by TIME.

Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Nicola Sturgeon on the Wellbeing Economy Forum 2026

In the article, Countries Need to Look Beyond GDP, they argue that Gross Domestic Product alone cannot capture many of the things that matter most to people's lives, including health, secure housing, material wellbeing, work-life balance, strong communities and a healthy environment. Instead, they call on governments to move beyond simply developing new indicators and ensure that measures of wellbeing are used to shape priorities, budgets and policy decisions, while also helping hold governments accountable for whether people's lives are genuinely improving.

Drawing on their experience leading the governments of Iceland and Scotland, Katrín and Nicola highlight practical approaches developed in both countries. These include Iceland's wellbeing indicators and Scotland's National Performance Framework and Wellbeing Economy Monitor. They also reflect on the establishment of the Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) partnership, which they helped create together with former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Their message closely reflects discussions at the Wellbeing Economy Forum 2026, held in Reykjavík in April under the theme The Power of Wellbeing: Redefining Success. The Forum, which forms part of the JA PreventNCD initiative, brought together leaders, policymakers and experts to explore how wellbeing can be placed at the centre of decision-making. Moving beyond GDP and developing more meaningful ways of understanding societal progress were central themes throughout the Forum.

Nicola Sturgeon and Katrín Jakobsdóttir receiving the Wellbeing Awards 2026

Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Nicola Sturgeon both participated in the Forum session Women's Leadership, the Future of the Wellbeing Economy and WEGo, where they shared their experiences of placing wellbeing more firmly at the centre of government decision-making.

During the Forum, both leaders received the Wellbeing Awards 2026 in recognition of their significant contributions to advancing wellbeing-focused policymaking nationally and internationally.

Their new contribution to TIME comes as the international debate on moving beyond GDP continues to gain momentum. They point in particular to new work at the United Nations on measures that complement GDP, arguing that the next step must be implementation: translating broader measures of progress into the decisions governments make every day.

As they conclude, the challenge is ultimately to redefine what successful societies are trying to achieve and to ensure that the wellbeing of people remains at the centre of decision-making.

Read the full article in TIME: Countries Need to Look Beyond GDP