UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed an independent high-level expert group to develop recommendations for measures that complement or go beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Composed of 14 members serving in their personal capacity, the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP will work to elaborate a conceptual framework to identify key dimensions of progress.

The Expert Group will develop “an initial list of corresponding country-owned, universally-applicable indicators of sustainable development to form a dashboard that equips governments with the information they need.” It will also offer guidance on the deployment of the dashboard and outline “priorities for data collection and statistical capacity to operationalize the dashboard and indicators.”

According to a UN release, “Member States committed to the development of measures of progress that complement GDP” when already they adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs in 2015. “They did so in recognition that GDP, which is heavily relied upon as a gauge of prosperity and is the basis for government targets and rankings, provides an incomplete picture of the different dimensions of sustainable development,” it notes.

The Secretary-General elaborated the case for the initiative in his ‘Our Common Agenda’ report and a supporting policy brief. The appointment of the Expert Group responds to a request by Member States in the Pact for the Future, which recognizes that “sustainable development must be pursued in a balanced and integrated manner.”

The High-Level Expert Group will consult with Member States and key stakeholders throughout the process. It will take into account the work of the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) and build on the global indicator framework for the SDGs. The Expert Group will present its work’s outcome during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), “which will inform a subsequent intergovernmental process.”

The members of the Expert Group represent eminent scholars and experts from various fields, reflecting gender and geographical diversity. Led by two co-chairs, Kaushik Basu and Nora Lustig, the Expert Group will have the support of a technical secretariat made up of staff from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG).

The Secretary-General announced the establishment of the Expert Group on 7 May 2025. [UN Release]