OECD launches How’s Life? report and Digital Well-being Hub to foster more inclusive and sustainable well-being for all

How’s Life? 2024 is the OECD’s flagship publication on the state of well-being for people, the planet, and future generations. The report was launched on November 5th at the 7th OECD World Forum on Well-being: Strengthening Well-being Approaches for a Changing World. It charts both current well-being outcomes and future resources, offering a comprehensive picture of people’s lives.

This helps to identify current social, inclusion, and sustainability challenges, guiding policymakers to address areas in need of intervention. This 6th edition of How’s Life? introduces new people-focused indicators, including measures of loneliness, household energy poverty, exposure to extreme temperatures, and physical pain.

Government interventions have buffered the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation on households and businesses, but cost pressures remain significant, especially for the most vulnerable. Positive economic trends include average incomes, which have not fallen below pre-COVID levels in any OECD country, and employment rates at historic highs at the end of 2023.

However, the report raises concerns about housing costs and self-reported financial well-being. Nearly one in five low-income households are overburdened by housing costs and almost 1 in 5 people reported financial difficulties in 2023.

Relying solely on economic metrics to assess crisis recovery and monitor societal progress yields an incomplete picture. Critical non-economic aspects of well-being – such as health, social connectedness, and subjective well-being – are showing signs of deterioration. In 2023, one-third of people reported experiencing a lot of pain or worry on the previous day, one-fifth felt considerable sadness, and between 4 to 14% of people felt lonely in countries with available data. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, feelings of pain, worry, sadness, loneliness, and life satisfaction have worsened in more OECD countries than have seen improvements.

Stronger action is needed to ensure the well-being of future generations, especially in the face of climate change. In 2023, almost 15% of the population across OECD countries was exposed to extreme heat, and current efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are insufficient to mitigate global warming. Water stress is classified as “medium-high” in half of the OECD countries with available data, and biodiversity risks are rising in the majority of countries.

Progress on overall income inequality has been limited, and persistent gaps between population groups continue to affect well-being. Education-related inequalities are particularly striking. For example, people with tertiary education are 1.5 times less likely to experience loneliness, and 1.3 times less likely to suffer from physical pain than the general population.

While some gender and age gaps have narrowed over the past decade, this progress was sometimes driven by deteriorating outcomes for previously advantaged groups, including young people. Addressing these inequalities and reflecting well-being evidence in policymaking is critical to reinforcing democracy and building public trust as governments face increasingly complex structural transformations.

“Taking a people-focused approach to decision-making will be essential to maintain well-being as we face societal challenges like the digital transition, climate change, and population ageing,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, “Reliable data on well-being helps governments understand where resources and action are needed most. Evidence-based policies that consider the economic, social, and environmental impact on people’s well-being will ensure that lives are improved in a sustainable and inclusive way.”

As digital technologies continue to transform our lives, it is important to understand how the benefits and risks of this transition are impacting people’s well-being. In OECD countries, 40% of adults lack basic digital skills, limiting their ability to navigate digital environments safely and effectively. This includes understanding digital privacy and addressing the possible mental health implications of online activities.

The new OECD Digital Well-being Hub, grounded in the OECD Well-being Framework, is an interactive and dynamic platform developed in collaboration with Cisco where people can explore data to view the impacts of digital transformation and share their experiences with digital technologies. By crowdsourcing new evidence on how individuals interact with and are affected by digital technology, the Digital Well-being Hub will support the development of policies that shape a positive digital future.