Bhutan Happiness

Bhutan’s happiness

Barsha Khattry write about the factors that make Bhutan smile.

The onset of anew year invariably nudges us to take stock of our lives, our needs, our aspirations and most importantly, our happiness. After all, is happiness not the driving force behind our actions, or at times inaction? What holds true for us at the level of the individual, does it also apply at the nation level? Is it possible to measure the happiness of a nation? Interestingly, Bhutan, the tiny land-locked nation in the eastern Himalayas has experimented with the idea of measuring national happiness. Gross National happiness is the Bhutanese alternative to Gross Domestic product, with the term first being coined in 1972 by the then King Jigme Singye Wanchuk. GNH is not just reported along side GDP but is the driving forces of all development projects in the country as well. The five year planning process that determines the economic development plans of Bhutan are guided by the GNH and all proposed plans need to pass a GNH review. Bhutan concern is with maximizing GNH rather than GDP. Bhutan chose to use GNH as a guide for its development plans rather than GDP for several reasons.