New york: The United Nations Statistical Commission, the highest international body in the global statistical system, has officially commended the global Quality of Life Index initiative. This initiative, implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in cooperation with the Quality of Life Program Center in Saudi Arabia, has been encouraged for continued development. This step incorporates the initiative into the international statistical ecosystem and establishes the Global Quality of Life Index as an approved tool for measuring quality of life in cities worldwide.
According to Saudi Press Agency, the endorsement came during the commission's 57th session under the item related to population and housing statistics. The commission acknowledged the progress made in developing the index and its role in supporting the implementation of the Global Urban Monitoring Framework, which was adopted by the commission in 2022. Discussions among member states reflected broad international interest in the initiative's potential to enhance the measurement of urban development and to formulate development policies that prioritize people.
This commendation follows the announcement by the Quality of Life Program Center of the launch of the Global Quality of Life Index in partnership with UN-Habitat. This announcement was made on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos 2026, marking a global culmination of joint efforts aimed at providing cities with a multidimensional, data-driven framework to measure and improve the quality of life.