Wellbeing economy monitor

Ministerial foreword

Wellbeing is at the heart of our national purpose as a country, underpinning our National Performance Framework and reflected in our national outcomes and indicators. Economic activity should serve that purpose as a means to deliver improved health and wellbeing.

Our vision for Scotland is to create a wellbeing economy – an economic system that places the wellbeing of current and future generations at its core. Scotland is already leading the way on this work as a founding member of the international Wellbeing Economy Governments network, WEGo.

The National Strategy for Economic Transformation commits us to taking a broader view of what it means to be a successful economy, society and country, looking beyond traditional attitudes and measures of prosperity such as GDP, and putting people and the environment at the heart of our economy.

While we acknowledge that traditional economic metrics remain internationally recognised and we will continue to produce them, they cannot and should not be viewed in isolation. Our Wellbeing Economy Monitor has been developed to look beyond GDP to measure how Scotland's economy contributes to improving things that people really value, such as health, equality, fair work and environmental sustainability.

The data contained in this Wellbeing Economy Monitor will be used alongside our National Performance Framework to guide our future economic decision making, helping us to deliver a just transition to a net zero, nature-positive, circular, wellbeing economy based on the principles of equality, sustainability, prosperity and resilience.

I want to take this opportunity to thank those who have informed the development of this monitor, and I welcome further feedback as we work to realise our vision for a wellbeing economy in Scotland.

Kate Forbes MSP

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy