Happy Planet Index

[rufuspollock]

https://happyplanetindex.org

Launched in 2006 by New Economics Foundation.

The Happy Planet Index measures what matters: sustainable wellbeing for all. It tells us how well nations are doing at achieving long, happy, sustainable lives.

Crudely: life expectancy x wellbeing / ecological footprint

From https://happyplanetindex.org/learn-about-happy-planet-index/

How is the Happy Planet Index calculated?

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) combines three elements to show how efficiently residents of different countries are using environmental resources to lead long, happy lives.

• Wellbeing: How satisfied the residents of each country say they feel with life overall, on a scale from zero to ten, based on data collected as part of the Gallup World Poll.
• Life expectancy: The average number of years a person is expected to live in each country, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Ecological footprint: The average amount of land, measured using global hectares (gha) per person, needed to sustain a country’s typical consumption patterns, based on data prepared by the Global Footprint Network.
  We use a traffic light system – red, amber, and green – to show how well countries score on each element.

Before combining the three components, we make adjustments to ensure that no single component dominates the overall calculations. Details can be found in the methodology paper.