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File:Happy Planet.PNG

Map showing countries shaded by their position in the Happy Planet Index (2006). The highest-ranked countries are bright green; the lowest are brown

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2006. The index is designed to challenge well-established indices of countries’ development, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI), which are seen as not taking sustainability into account. In particular, GDP is seen as inappropriate, as the usual ultimate aim of most people is not to be rich, but to be happy and healthy.[1] Furthermore, it is believed that the notion of sustainable development requires a measure of the environmental costs of pursuing those goals.[2]

Outline[]

The HPI is based on general utilitarian principles — that most people want to live long and fulfilling lives, and the country which is doing the best is the one that allows its citizens to do so, whilst avoiding infringing on the opportunity of future people and people in other countries to do the same. In effect it operationalises the IUCN's (World Conservation Union) call for a metric capable of measuring 'the production of human well-being (not necessarily material goods) per unit of extraction of or imposition upon nature'.[3] Human well-being is operationalised as Happy Life Years.[4] Extraction of or imposition upon nature is proxied for using the ecological footprint per capita, which attempts to estimate the amount of natural resources required to sustain a given country's lifestyle. A country with a large per capita ecological footprint uses more than its fair share of resources, both by drawing resources from other countries, and also by causing permanent damage to the planet which will impact future generations.[5]

As such, the HPI is not a measure of which are the happiest countries in the world. Countries with relatively high levels of life satisfaction, as measured in surveys, are found from the very top (Colombia in 6th place) to the very bottom (the USA in 114th place) of the rank order. The HPI is best conceived as a measure of the environmental efficiency of supporting well-being in a given country. Such efficiency could emerge in a country with a medium environmental impact (e.g. Costa Rica) and very high well-being, but it could also emerge in a country with only mediocre well-being, but very low environmental impact (e.g. Vietnam).

Each country’s HPI value is a function of its average subjective life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita. The exact function is a little more complex, but conceptually it approximates multiplying life satisfaction and life expectancy, and dividing that by the ecological footprint. Most of the life satisfaction data is taken from the World Values Survey and World Database of Happiness, but some is drawn from other surveys, and some is estimated using statistical regression techniques.

178 countries were surveyed in 2006, compared to 143 in 2009. The best scoring country in 2009 was Costa Rica, followed by the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Guatemala, with Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe featuring at the bottom of the list.

International rankings[]

2006 Happy Planet Index[6] 2009 Happy Planet Index[7]
Rank Country HPI
1 Template:Flag 68.21
2 Template:Flag 67.24
3 Template:Flag 66.00
4 Template:Flag 64.55
5 Template:Flag 63.54
6 Template:Flag 61.86
7 Template:Flag 61.75
8 Template:Flag 61.69
9 Template:Flag 61.66
10 Template:Flag 61.37
11 Template:Flag 61.31
12 Template:Flag 61.23
13 Template:Flag 61.08
14 Template:Flag 60.98
15 Template:Flag 60.31
16 Template:Flag 59.23
17 Template:Flag 59.17
18 Template:Flag 59.09
19 Template:Flag 59.05
20 Template:Flag 58.93
21 Template:Flag 58.92
22 Template:Flag 57.92
23 Template:Flag 57.90
24 Template:Flag 57.90
25 Template:Flag 57.66
26 Template:Flag 57.55
27 Template:Flag 57.14
28 Template:Flag 56.65
29 Template:Flag 56.14
30 Template:Flag 56.07
31 Template:Flag 55.99
32 Template:Flag 55.39
33 Template:Flag 55.14
34 Template:Flag 55.03
35 Template:Flag 55.00
36 Template:Flag 54.47
37 Template:Flag 54.43
38 Template:Flag 54.39
39 Template:Flag 53.52
40 Template:Flag 53.26
41 Template:Flag 53.20
42 Template:Flag 52.92
43 Template:Flag 52.73
44 Template:Flag 52.69
45 Template:Flag 52.64
46 Template:Flag 52.41
47 Template:Flag 52.20
48 Template:Flag 52.04
49 Template:Flag 51.96
50 Template:Flag 51.87
51 Template:Flag 51.32
52 Template:Flag 51.13
53 Template:Flag 51.01
54 Template:Flag 49.95
55 Template:Flag 49.65
56 Template:Flag 49.59
57 Template:Flag 49.31
58 Template:Flag 49.29
59 Template:Flag 49.22
60 Template:Flag 48.96
61 Template:Flag 48.77
62 Template:Flag 48.67
63 Template:Flag 48.59
64 Template:Flag 48.35
65 Template:Flag 48.30
66 Template:Flag 48.26
67 Template:Flag 47.23
68 Template:Flag 46.98
69 Template:Flag 46.17
70 Template:Flag 46.00
71 Template:Flag 45.99
72 Template:Flag 45.99
73 Template:Flag 45.89
74 Template:Flag 45.62
75 Template:Flag 44.90
76 Template:Flag 44.75
77 Template:Flag 44.55
78 Template:Flag 44.04
79 Template:Flag 44.03
80 Template:Flag 43.94
81 Template:Flag 43.83
82 Template:Flag 43.71
83 Template:Flag 43.64
84 Template:Flag 43.41
85 Template:Flag 43.34
86 Template:Flag 43.23
87 Template:Flag 43.04
88 Template:Flag 42.88
89 Template:Flag 42.65
90 Template:Flag 42.46
91 Template:Flag 42.15
92 Template:Flag 42.13
93 Template:Flag 42.05
94 Template:Flag 41.92
95 Template:Flag 41.70
96 Template:Flag 41.59
97 Template:Flag 41.58
98 Template:Flag 41.40
99 Template:Flag 41.40
100 Template:Flag 41.16
101 Template:Flag 41.15
102 Template:Flag 41.11
103 Template:Flag 40.96
104 Template:Flag 40.81
105 Template:Flag 40.69
106 Template:Flag 40.52
107 Template:Flag 40.33
108 Template:Flag 40.29
109 Template:Flag 40.26
110 Template:Flag 40.10
111 Template:Flag 39.76
112 Template:Flag 39.40
113 Template:Flag 39.38
114 Template:Flag 39.29
115 Template:Flag 39.18
116 Template:Flag 39.14
117 Template:Flag 39.07
118 Template:Flag 38.41
119 Template:Flag 38.17
120 Template:Flag 37.72
121 Template:Flag 37.64
122 Template:Flag 37.42
123 Template:Flag 37.36
124 Template:Flag 37.30
125 Template:Flag 36.92
126 Template:Flag 36.86
127 Template:Flag 36.70
128 Template:Flag 36.5
129 Template:Flag 36.42
130 Template:Flag 36.15
131 Template:Flag 36.14
132 Template:Flag 35.81
133 Template:Flag 35.71
134 Template:Flag 35.08
135 Template:Flag 35.08
136 Template:Flag 34.83
137 Template:Flag 34.49
138 Template:Flag 34.35
139 Template:Flag 34.06
140 Template:Flag 33.68
141 Template:Flag 33.01
142 Template:Flag 32.76
143 Template:Flag 32.72
144 Template:Flag 32.53
145 Template:Flag 31.59
146 Template:Flag 31.14
147 Template:Flag 31.12
148 Template:Flag 30.08
149 Template:Flag 29.29
150 Template:Flag 28.83
151 Template:Flag 28.80
152 Template:Flag 28.35
153 Template:Flag 28.24
154 Template:Flag 28.20
155 Template:Flag 27.88
156 Template:Flag 27.80
157 Template:Flag 27.74
158 Template:Flag 27.68
159 Template:Flag 27.67
160 Template:Flag 27.27
161 Template:Flag 26.80
162 Template:Flag 26.66
163 Template:Flag 25.91
164 Template:Flag 25.90
165 Template:Flag 25.78
166 Template:Flag 25.50
167 Template:Flag 25.42
168 Template:Flag 25.37
169 Template:Flag 23.96
170 Template:Flag 23.77
171 Template:Flag 23.05
172 Template:Flag 22.76
173 Template:Flag 22.68
174 Template:Flag 22.21
175 Template:Flag 20.69
176 Template:Flag 19.02
177 Template:Flag 18.38
178 Template:Flag 16.64
Rank Country HPI
1 Template:Flag 76.1
2 Template:Flag 71.8
3 Template:Flag 70.1
4 Template:Flag 68.4
5 Template:Flag 66.5
6 Template:Flag 66.1
7 Template:Flag 65.7
8 Template:Flag 61.5
9 Template:Flag 61.0
10 Template:Flag 61.0
11 Template:Flag 60.5
12 Template:Flag 60.3
13 Template:Flag 59.7
14 Template:Flag 59.0
15 Template:Flag 59.0
16 Template:Flag 58.9
17 Template:Flag 58.5
18 Template:Flag 57.4
19 Template:Flag 57.3
20 Template:Flag 57.1
21 Template:Flag 56.8
22 Template:Flag 56.5
23 Template:Flag 55.6
24 Template:Flag 55.6
25 Template:Flag 55.5
26 Template:Flag 54.6
27 Template:Flag 54.5
28 Template:Flag 54.4
29 Template:Flag 54.3
30 Template:Flag 54.2
31 Template:Flag 54.1
32 Template:Flag 54.1
33 Template:Flag 54.0
34 Template:Flag 53.5
35 Template:Flag 53.0
36 Template:Flag 52.5
37 Template:Flag 51.9
38 Template:Flag 51.3
39 Template:Flag 51.2
40 Template:Flag 51.2
41 Template:Flag 50.9
42 Template:Flag 50.8
43 Template:Flag 50.6
44 Template:Flag 50.4
45 Template:Flag 50.1
46 Template:Flag 49.7
47 Template:Flag 49.3
48 Template:Flag 48.3
49 Template:Flag 48.2
50 Template:Flag 48.1
51 Template:Flag 48.1
52 Template:Flag 48.1
53 Template:Flag 48.0
54 Template:Flag 47.9
55 Template:Flag 47.8
56 Template:Flag 47.7
57 Template:Flag 47.7
58 Template:Flag 47.6
59 Template:Flag 47.2
60 Template:Flag 47.2
61 Template:Flag 47.1
62 Template:Flag 46.2
63 Template:Flag 45.6
64 Template:Flag 45.4
65 Template:Flag 45.0
66 Template:Flag 44.5
67 Template:Flag 44.5
68 Template:Flag 44.4
69 Template:Flag 44.0
70 Template:Flag 43.9
71 Template:Flag 43.9
72 Template:Flag 43.6
73 Template:Flag 43.5
74 Template:Flag 43.3
75 Template:Flag 43.3
76 Template:Flag 43.2
77 Template:Flag 42.8
78 Template:Flag 42.6
79 Template:Flag 42.6
80 Template:Flag 42.3
81 Template:Flag 42.1
82 Template:Flag 42.0
83 Template:Flag 41.7
84 Template:Flag 41.6
85 Template:Flag 41.2
86 Template:Flag 40.9
87 Template:Flag 40.4
88 Template:Flag 40.4
89 Template:Flag 39.4
90 Template:Flag 38.9
91 Template:Flag 38.5
92 Template:Flag 38.3
93 Template:Flag 38.2
94 Template:Flag 38.1
95 Template:Flag 38.1
96 Template:Flag 38.0
97 Template:Flag 37.6
98 Template:Flag 37.5
99 Template:Flag 37.2
100 Template:Flag 37.1
101 Template:Flag 36.7
102 Template:Flag 36.6
103 Template:Flag 36.2
104 Template:Flag 35.7
105 Template:Flag 35.5
106 Template:Flag 35.0
107 Template:Flag 34.5
108 Template:Flag 34.5
109 Template:Flag 34.3
110 Template:Flag 33.6
111 Template:Flag 32.7
112 Template:Flag 32.4
113 Template:Flag 31.5
114 Template:Flag 30.7
115 Template:Flag 30.3
116 Template:Flag 30.3
117 Template:Flag 30.2
118 Template:Flag 29.7
119 Template:Flag 29.6
120 Template:Flag 29.0
121 Template:Flag 28.5
122 Template:Flag 28.5
123 Template:Flag 28.2
124 Template:Flag 28.1
125 Template:Flag 27.8
126 Template:Flag 27.2
127 Template:Flag 27.2
128 Template:Flag 27.0
129 Template:Flag 26.9
130 Template:Flag 26.8
131 Template:Flag 26.4
132 Template:Flag 25.8
133 Template:Flag 24.6
134 Template:Flag 24.6
135 Template:Flag 23.3
136 Template:Flag 23.1
137 Template:Flag 22.9
138 Template:Flag 22.4
139 Template:Flag 21.8
140 Template:Flag 21.1
141 Template:Flag 20.9
142 Template:Flag 17.8
143 Template:Flag 16.6

Views[]

Much criticism of the index has been due to commentators falsely understanding it to be a measure of happiness, when it is in fact a measure of the ecological efficiency of supporting well-being (see, for example, the following blogs in Heavy Lifting[8] and Spiked[9]).

Aside from that, criticism has focused on the following:

  • That the HPI completely ignores issues like political freedom, human rights and labor rights.[10]
  • That the World Values Survey covers only a minority of the world's nations and is only done every five years. As a result, much of the data for the index must come from other sources, or is estimated using regressions.
  • General suspicion of subjective measures of well-being.[11]
  • That the Ecological Footprint is a controversial concept with many criticisms.[12]

Nevertheless, the HPI and its subcomponents have been considered in political circles. The Ecological Footprint, championed by the WWF, is widely used by both local and national governments, as well as supranational organisations such as the European Commission. The HPI itself was recently cited in the British Conservative Party as a possible substitute for GDP,[13]. A recent review of progress indicators produced by the European Parliament[14], lists the following pros and cons to using the HPI as a measure of national progress:

Pros:

  • Considers the actual ‘ends’ of economic activity in the form of life satisfaction and longevity
  • Combines wellbeing and environmental aspects
  • Simple and easily understandable scheme for calculating the index
  • Comparability of results (‘EF’ and ‘life expectancy’ can be applied to different countries)
  • Data online available, although some data gaps remain
  • Mixture of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ criteria; takes into account people’s well-being and resource use of countries

Cons:

  • ‘Happiness’ or ‘life satisfaction’ are very subjective and personal: cultural influences and complex impact of policies on happiness
  • Confusion of name: index is not a measure of happiness but rather measure of environmental efficiency of supporting well-being in a given country

See also[]

  • Global Peace Index
  • Gross national happiness
  • Satisfaction with Life Index
  • Genuine Progress Indicator
  • Legatum Prosperity Index

Notes[]

  1. Template:Cite book
  2. Template:Cite book
  3. Adams WM (2006). The future of sustainability: Re-thinking environment and development in the twenty-first century. Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting. Also, Paehlke R (2005). Sustainability as a bridging concept. Conservation Biology 19:36-8.
  4. Veenhoven R (1996). Happy life expectancy: a comprehensive measure of quality-of-life in nations. Social Indicators Research 39:1-58.
  5. Ecological Footprint - Ecological Sustainability. Global Footprint Network.
  6. Marks, N., Abdallah, S., Simms, A., Thompson, S. et al. (2006). The Happy Planet Index 1.0. New Economics Foundation.
  7. Abdallah, S., Thompson, S., Michaelson, J., Marks, N., Steuer, N. et al. (2009). The Happy Planet Index 2.0. New Economics Foundation.
  8. Heavy Lifting - thoughts and web finds by an economist. Heavy Lifting. July 12, 2006
  9. Who’s happiest: Denmark or Vanuatu?. Spiked. August 7, 2006
  10. Steffan, Alex. Happy Planet Index. World Changing. July 12, 2006
  11. Johns H & Ormerod P (2007). Happiness, Economics and Public Policy. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs
  12. The Economist. September 19, 2002. "Treading Lightly".
  13. Cameron to offer green tax cuts. The Sunday Times. September 9, 2007.
  14. Goossens Y, et al. (2007). Alternative progress indicators to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a means towards sustainable development. IP/A/ENVI/ST/2007-10. Study provided for the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. [1]

External links[]

Template:Quality of life country lists

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