In June 2025, the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services launched the Quality of Life Strategy. The Strategy outlines goals and measures at the national, regional, and local levels to improve the quality of life of Norwegians and, particularly, to address inequalities and vulnerabilities. Its implementation is supported by an indicator framework developed by Statistics Norway.
Norway’s Quality of Life Strategy and Indicator Framework
Abstract
The Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services launched the Quality of Life Strategy in 2025, following consideration of the need to define better measures and processes to improve equitable well-being in the country’s 2022-2023 Public Health Report. The primary aim of the strategy is to improve efforts to reduce inequalities in quality of life and to address its decline in vulnerable groups such as people with low education levels, unemployed people, people with mental health issues, children, and Sámi people. The Strategy also aims to build stronger and clearer efforts to combat climate change, prevent biodiversity loss, and keep up with Norway’s sustainability goals to ensure that both current and future generations enjoy a good quality of life.
The Strategy was developed by the Ministry of Health and Care Services and was first submitted for consultation in March 2024, with inputs from a working group including representatives from the Ministry, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, Statistics Norway, and the consultancy firm Menon Economics. Other input included representatives from the national administration, county authorities, municipalities, and non-profit organisations.
The Quality of Life Strategy, launched in June 2025, describes important areas of focus for achieving the identified goals and develops a comprehensive monitoring system at the national, regional, and local levels, serving as a basis for societal and policy development. The Strategy comprises goals and objective and subjective measures of quality of life, as well as laws and regulations, guidelines, and guidance to guide implementation across government sectors and levels. The framework outlined in the Strategy, which is supported by an indicator set developed by Statistics Norway, identifies the following six values associated with quality of life: learning and development, happiness and meaning, freedom, health, belonging and community, and security. It also encompasses two cross-cutting dimensions: equality and fair distribution, and sustainability. In turn, the indicators are divided in ten dimensions that form the basis of the indicator framework: subjective quality of life, health, knowledge and skills, economy and material goods, physical safety, governance, participation and rights, social community, work and education, leisure and culture, and nature and the local environment.
The implementation of the Quality of Life Strategy is set to be an ongoing process, guided by a detailed cross-governmental action plan for 2025-2030. This includes the continuance of indicator development and the production of “Quality of Life” population profiles to support decision-making and implementation at the municipal and county government level. The requirement to consider quality of life has been integrated in the Norwegian Public Health Act since a 2025 revision, and the Strategy may consider the relevance of including quality of life in other forms of legislation.
Government of Norway (2025), National Quality of Life Strategy: From measurement to policy formulation 2025-2030 [Nasjonal livskvalitetsstrategi Fra måling til politikkutforming 2025–2030], https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/nasjonal-livskvalitetsstrategi/id3111081/.
Government of Norway (2025), Public Health Act [Folkehelseloven] webpage, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/helse-og-omsorg/folkehelse/folkehelseloven/id673728/#:~:text=Lov%20om%20folkehelsearbeid%20%28folkehelseloven%29%20tr%C3%A5dte%20i%20kraft%201.,no%20p%C3%A5%20h%C3%B8yring%2C%20med%20h%C3%B8yringsfrist%2018.%20januar%202025 (accessed on 28 July 2025).
OECD, How’s Life in your country? Country note: Norway, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/how-s-life-2024-country-notes_2603b12c-en/norway_a5322033-en.html.
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