Bhutan Happiness Metrics
Share
Bhutan is a small country between India and China that prioritizes national happiness over traditional economic metrics. Here's their unique approach to measuring success.
Bhutan's Happiness Measurement System
- Uses a weighted scoring system from 0 to 1
- Current score: 0.781 (up 3.3% from previous year)
- Population happiness breakdown:
- 9.5% deeply happy
- 38% extensively happy
- 45% narrowly happy
- 6.4% unhappy
Survey Process
- Conducted every 5 years
- Surveyors travel throughout the country
- Measures both traditional and unique metrics:
- Traditional: Education level, salary, material possessions
- Unique: Negative thoughts, positive thoughts, time spent working/praying/sleeping
Historical Context
- Originated in 1970s during king's diplomatic trip to India
- Started as casual comment about prioritizing happiness over GDP
- Evolved into formal national policy
- First country to measure Gross National Happiness over GDP
Implementation as National Policy
- Data collected influences rule-making and policy decisions
- Acts as a "pairing metric" alongside traditional economic measures
- Balances GDP growth with population wellbeing
- Used as framework for government decision-making
Notable Context
- Tiny country (half the size of Indiana)
- Stock market has only 18 companies ($800M total market cap)
- Got TV access in 1999
- Transitioned to democracy voluntarily during peacetime (rare occurrence)
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.