GNH
From Tricycle:
The kingdom of Bhutan measures its success in GNH - Gross National Happiness rather than GNP (Gross National Product) or GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
The term was coined in 1972 by then-king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk. GNH is derived from the following seven indicators:
- Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution
- Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic
- Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses
- Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients
- Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits
- Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates
- Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts.
Bhutan recently assumed the chairmanship of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) and the country’s Prime Minister (Bhutan’s first ever) used the opportunity to tell other nations about Bhutan’s use of GNH, and urge them to cast aside the usual crasser, more materialistic measures and give it a shot.