Unconquered Peaks

Today, the majority of countries around the world rate their success in terms of their economic status, measured by GDP (or GDP per capita). However, surely this is not the only way to define whether a country is successful. This is the thinking behind the forming of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index (GNH), invented by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, of Bhutan, in the 1970s. It is a philosophy that comes from the country’s roots in Buddhism and guides the governing and policy making of Bhutan. It is an index to gauge the collective happiness and wellbeing of a population. In 1972 Bhutan declared it as being more important than GDP, and in a 2011 UN general assembly, members were urged to follow the example of Bhutan, saying happiness was a ‘fundamental human goal’.