The State of the Nation Report 2020 looks back on one decade and forward to a brand new one. These reports measure the progress of people’s wellbeing. The focus of social progress is often set against dominant public discourse around narrow measures of economic growth. It is heartening to see a ‘people-oriented’ emphasis adopted by economists and the current Government, with wellbeing increasingly incorporated into measures of economic prosperity.

This election year, we need to ask: How are we doing as a nation? Where do we want our nation to head? Where do we want our politicians to lead us? This report points to significant progress, including:
• an increase in average incomes
• a much needed extra spend on welfare and hardship support for beneficiaries
• a decline in offending and imprisonment rates
• an increase in the number of social houses
• new house builds at a 45-year high.

February 2020