Norway announces new national wellbeing strategy

The Norwegian Government has announced that it will develop a new national strategy for wellbeing.

Referencing the approach taken by WEGo member New Zealand, the announcement by the Government of Norway states that:

• A good life is about much more than financial and material goods
• GDP is an insufficient metric for good lives, as it does not say enough about how people feel
• There is a need for wellbeing to become a supplementary measure of societal development.

Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie said: “Good quality of life is an important value in itself, but we also know that it strengthens our resilience in the face of stress. Therefore, we need more knowledge about the development of quality of life in different groups so that we even out social differences and create a more health-promoting and fair society.”

Statistics Norway carried out the first national wellbeing survey in 2020, and the results are being used to inform the new wellbeing strategy. Further surveys will be carried out, with the next starting in November 2021.

The Norwegian Government hopes that its new strategy will be “an inspiration for other countries and organisations”.

See the official announcement here.

Please note: this summary is based on a Google translation of the original Norwegian text. Please let us know of any inaccuracies as a result of this translation by commenting below.