National Development Indicators

Thinley DORJI (Mr.)

National Environment Commission
www.nec.gov.bt
Email: thinleydorji@nec.gov.bt
Bhutan country background
Area = 38,394 sqkm
Population = 0.7m
Forest cover = 72% approx
Arable land = 2.93% (1125 sqkm)
Government = Constitutional democracy
Gross National Happiness (GNH) & its
Indicators
Historically Bhutan is referred to as Lhomenjong
valley of medicinal herbs
Development philosophy is centered around the
Gross National Happiness (GNH) concept (the
term coined by His Majesty the Fourth King of
Bhutan is early 1970s)
GNH concept implies that SD to progress in a
manner giving equal importance to non-economic
aspects of wellbeing (good life)
Gross National Happiness (GNH) & its
Indicators
Four pillars of GNH
1. Good governance
2. Sustainable socio-economic development
3. Cultural preservation
4. Environmental conservation

The four pillars of GNH are further classified

into 9 domains with 33 indicators (124
variables)
 GNH indicators
The 33indicators under the nine domains aim to
emphasize different aspects of wellbeing and
different ways of meeting these underlying
human needs the indicators are further
composed of 124 variables
The indicators are:
Statistically reliable
Normatively important,
Accuracy across time
Policy relevance
Clarity of interpretation
 GNH Index
GNH Index uses two types of thresholds
1. Sufficiency Thresholds: Shows how much a
person needs in order to enjoy sufficiency
how much is enough, normally, to create a
happiness condition. Each of the 33 GNH
indicators has a sufficiency threshold.
2. Happiness Threshold: A person who enjoys
sufficiency in more than six or more of the 9
domains is considered happy.
 What it does?
All government polices & plans are screened
for GNH (mandatory mainstreaming of
environmental issues into plans, policies &
programs)
All development projects/activities should be
aligned with the GNH approved/endorsed
plans
Quarterly review is conducted to measure
progress & status
 What it does?
GNH survey conducted and based on the results
measures are taken to improve the GNH Index.
GNH Index effectively classifies the population
depending on the degree of happiness (in
sufficiency)
Deeply happy (>77%)
Extensively happy (66% - 76%)
Narrowly happy (50% - 65%)
Unhappy (0 % 49%)
 GNP GNH
Gross National Happiness (GNH) measures the
quality of a country in more holistic way
[than GNP] and believes that the beneficial
development of human society takes place
when material and spiritual development
occurs side by side to complement and
reinforce each other
 Tashi Delek
&
Thank You for listening