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Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a measure of a nation’s happiness coined by Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972. It considers sustainable development, preservation of culture and values, and government’s role in citizens’ health and happiness. It may benefit developing countries by encouraging sustainable development.
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a quantitative measure of the happiness of a nation’s residents. The concept was coined by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan in 1972, as part of a comprehensive approach to governance that emphasized more holistic measures of development and health of the nation’s population. While happiness is inherently very difficult to measure, some people think it could be an excellent complement to more objective measures such as a nation’s Gross National Product.
The concept of gross national happiness is rooted in the spiritual values of Buddhism, which place great value on happiness and contentment. Proponents of using this metric as an indicator of development believe that material development can be accompanied by a state of happiness for most of a nation’s citizens if development is well managed and happiness is an important government value . A similar concept is the United Nations Human Development Index, which factors in issues such as health care and education when calculating a nation’s overall health.
There are four main loci for gross national happiness. One of the most important in forest-rich Bhutan is the maintenance of a pristine and healthy environment that is in a state of balance. The use of the environment should ideally be sustainable and harmonious; some people liken the entire country to a form of park, as the Bhutanese environment is zealously guarded.
Furthermore, the measurement includes a consideration of whether a culture’s values and beliefs are preserved and promoted, and also looks at how socio-economic development is managed. For a high index, development should ideally be sustainable and equitable, incorporate everyone into society, and be practical over the long term. This measurement also considers the role of government in the health and happiness of its citizens.
Bhutan itself is one of the least developed nations in the world, leading it to rank in the low end of economically based national health indices. However, it is possible that the promotion of gross national happiness will benefit Bhutan in the long run by encouraging moderate and sustainable development that actively benefits the country. Many developing countries have struggled with exploitation and other development problems that Bhutan wants to avoid with its more holistic assessment of national health.
While the index can be used for countries other than Bhutan, it may require some adjustment. Not all countries share Buddhist values, for example. Ultimately, the concept illustrates the need to evaluate a country from many different points of view; it doesn’t matter if a country is well developed, for example, if wealth is only in the hands of a few, or if a large part of the population cannot read.
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