Happiness better than GDP as measure of success

Dubai - Bhutan is also known as the happiest country in the world

Happiness is not just a catchword but an index of a country's development, and measuring it is an even better indicator than rating a country's gross domestic product.

This was the gist of the keynote address of Tshering Tobgay, prime minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan, at the inaugural Global Dialogue on Happiness (GDH) held on Saturday at Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai.

Tobgay said Bhutan, tucked away in the Himalayan mountain range, and bordered by China in the north and India in the south and contiguous with Nepal, is the smallest country in Asia but it is also known as the happiest country in the world. Moreover, Bhutan is the champion of gross national happiness (GNH) as a measurement of social progress.

To drive his point, Tobgay, who is also the leader of Bhutan's People's Democratic Party, started his speech with photos of smiling Bhutanese people taken by king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

Tobgay said those pictures were shot by the king during his regular trips to the remotest communities of Bhutan which are 8,000 feet above sea level.

"For Bhutan, GNH is more important than gross national product (GDP)," Tobgay asserted . "GNH or measuring happiness sets the government away from unrestrained material growth which poses an imbalance in social progress and preservation."

Tobgay, however, did not talk in the abstract or based his assumptions from mental construct.

He said his country conducted two national surveys back in 2010 and 2015. Questions were very subjective and specific such as measuring family income, housing, children's schooling, individual mental health, emotions, spirituality, safety and whether or not someone has been getting enough sleep and proper rest, aside from evaluating social equity and rating government performance and programs.

Moreover, Tobgay said the two surveys "were revealing and compelled the (Bhutan) government to address areas that need improvement and come up with programs such as increasing maternity leave from two months to six months."

He added measuring happiness was a holistic approach based on four pillars: 1) equitable socio-economic development anchored on clean, green and equitable economy, free health and education; 2) protection of culture, explaining that Bhutan is a custodian of a unique, spiritual and cultural heritage; 3) preservation of enviroment, where 72 per cent of Bhutan land area is covered with forest, making the country carbon neutral; and 4) good governance based on a transparent, accountable and decentralised democracy.

angel@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai