For decades, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the gold standard for evaluating national success. But does a rising GDP really mean citizens are happier or healthier? As the world grapples with rising inequality, mental health crises, and climate change, economists and policymakers are beginning to question whether GDP alone tells the full story.
Countries like Bhutan have pioneered the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH), integrating well-being, cultural values, and environmental health into policymaking. Others, like New Zealand and Finland, have introduced well-being budgets or emphasized happiness indexes in their national agendas. These approaches measure success beyond material wealth looking at factors such as mental health, education quality, work-life balance, and environmental sustainability.
Critics argue that happiness is too subjective or difficult to quantify. Yet proponents believe that economic systems that fail to prioritize human flourishing are fundamentally incomplete. In a world where GDP can rise alongside burnout and ecological degradation, the push toward redefining success seems not only relevant but necessary.
As the debate grows, one thing becomes clear: the future of national progress may lie not in what we produce, but in how we feel while producing it.
