Country deep dive on the well-being economy: Iceland

Abstract

The WHO Regional Office for Europe’s series of deep dives are part of the technical documentation supportingthe WHO European Regional High-level Forum on Health in the Well-being Economy (‎1–2 March 2023)‎.Each publication in the series is developed by combining academic and grey literature with narratives from semistructured interviews conducted with key stakeholders in government and public health institutions, with the aim to demonstrate concrete country experiences in advancing and implementing well-being economies. This deep dive focuses on the Icelandic approach. It gives context for Iceland’s commitment to the well-being economy agenda, and identifies key concepts and strategies, governance structures and mechanisms, the role of (‎public)‎ health, and approaches to measuring and monitoring progress. It highlights both the drivers and barriers Iceland has encountered on the path towards a well-being economy. While Iceland’s experience is not representative or allencompassing, countries that are considering or in the process of shifting to a well-being economy can look atthese key findings and take-home policy messages for inspiration.