Gross National Happiness

"[2][3] The concept implies that sustainable development should take a holistic approach towards notions of progress and give equal importance to non-economic aspects of wellbeing.

[4] When defining Gross National Happiness (GNH), the king drew inspiration from Bhutan’s long-standing tradition of compassion and non-violence toward all living beings, rooted in its 1,200-year Buddhist heritage.

[29] The GNH survey covers all twenty districts (Dzonkhag) and results are reported for varying demographic factors such as gender, age, abode, and occupation.

The first GNH surveys consisted of long questionnaires that polled the citizens about living conditions and religious behavior, including questions about the times a person prayed in a day and other karma indicators.

[35] The holistic consideration of multiple factors through the GNH approach has been cited as impacting Bhutan's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[37][38] In the state of São Paulo, Brazil, Susan Andrews,[39] through her organization Future Vision Ecological Park, used a version of Bhutan's GNH at a community level in some cities.

[41][42][43] Other cities and areas in North America, including Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Creston, British Columbia and the U.S. state of Vermont, also used a version of the GNH Index.

[45] At the University of Oregon, United States, a behavioral model of GNH based on the use of positive and negative words in social network status updates was developed by Adam Kramer.

[48][49][50] Many other cities and governments have undertaken efforts to measure happiness and well-being (also termed "Beyond GDP"[51]) since the High Level Meeting in 2012, but have not used versions of Bhutan's GNH index.

[56] GNH has been described by critics as a propaganda tool used by the Bhutanese government to distract from ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses it has committed.

"[62] The Refugee Council of Australia stated that "it is extraordinary and shocking that a nation can get away with expelling one sixth of its people and somehow keep its international reputation largely intact.

"[63] Some researchers state that Bhutan's GNH philosophy "has evolved over the last decade through the contribution of western and local scholars to a version that is more democratic and open.

In an article written in 2004 in the Economist magazine, "The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is not in fact an idyll in a fairy tale.

"[66] However, in December 2023 Bhutan graduated from the UN's Least Developed Country List to Developing Country[67] as it has made significant improvements over the last few decades, in social and economic progress, including reduction in poverty levels, and improved education standards and life expectancy.