Countries typically measure their growth and progress between years by their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an indicator of the strength of a country's economy. But in 1971 one little country decided it was more important to measure a country's growth in terms of happiness, not financial worth.
That country was the kingdom of Bhutan, located in the Himalayas and bordered by China and India. For decades now improving the Gross National Happiness (GNH), not the GDP, has been at the heart of all of Bhutan's political and economic agendas. Its 2008 constitution (which solidified the GNH as the most important index for measuring growth and success) instructs kingdom leaders to consider the four pillars of national happiness when creating legislation- good governance, sustainable socioeconomic development, preservation and promotion of culture, and environmental consideration. Bhutan uses the GNH as a set of guidelines and aspirations through which to create a society that is sustainable and has a high quality of life for all citizens.
Though Bhutan has its fair share of problems and differs greatly from larger, more economically developed nations in numerous regards, their holistic approach to country development has a lot to teach the world about governance and the importance of a high quality of life. The country is not focused on power or material wealth, but rather the spiritual, emotional, physical, and environmental well-being of its people. Since 1971, the nation has doubled life expectancy, increased primary school enrollment to almost 100%, made significant strides in improving their environmental stability, and nearly eradicated homelessness and extreme hunger, despite being a developing nation with a poor economy.
Bhutan's focus on happiness and quality of life starts with early education. All primary education is free and students that perform well in school can continue studying for free up through college. In school, students have daily mediation time, which teachers say helps students remain focused and deal with stress in a healthy way. In addition to the traditional subjects such as math and science, students are taught the importance of respecting the environment, behaving kindly to all people, and having high moral values.
The government's focus on the welfare of its people has lead to free universal healthcare and medicine. All Bhutanese people are entitled to the highest quality of modern and traditional healthcare and medicine Bhutan has to offer.
Bhutan is the only country in the world with a negative carbon foot print. Environmental sustainability is a huge part of its GNH and the UN has applauded Bhutan for its environmental protection efforts during the annual Climate Change Conference. The carbon output of the country is outweighed by the intake of carbon by its vast forests, forests the country is determined to preserve. It is has pledged that 60% of its land will remain under forest cover and cutting down even a single tree requires a permit from the government. Bhutan also has strict laws limiting the number of tourists each year to ensure tourisms impact on the environment remains as low as possible.
Bhutan is a very small country with a population of only 700,000, which has helped them maintain their GNH programs. They were also largely isolated from the rest of the world until a little over a decade ago. A growing population, the increasing destruction of the environment from surrounding countries, and the influences of a highly modernized world will test the GNH model in the coming years and it will be interested to see how long-term this index can survive. But even if fully adopting happiness as a measure for country success the way Bhutan has is nearly impossible for most other countries, there are many important lessons to be learned about the role of the state in people's lives, the meaning of happiness, and how each of us should measure the worth of our individual lives.
What do you think about this anomaly in an increasingly materialistic world? Would you like to see your country adopt a more holistic approach to country success? Is the GNH model sustainable or even preferable to the GDP model?
