5.3.7 Wellbeing indicators

“What if we measured the success of a society by how many girls ride their bikes to school?” 

This question was once asked by Katherine Trebeck, an economist who helped start the Wellbeing Economy Alliance. At first, it might sound like a joke. But think about it. If many girls cycle to school, it probably means the streets are safe. Families can afford bikes. It means girls are going to school and have some measure of equality. It means the air is clean enough to breathe deeply as they ride. In just one question, Trebeck points to many different things that must be going well for people and the planet.

For decades, most governments have used Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to measure progress. But GDP only counts the value of goods and services produced. It doesn’t show if people are healthy, safe, educated, or connected. It doesn’t tell us whether nature is being damaged. By focusing on GDP, we have often followed the wrong goal, resulting in a system trap (Section S.9) where we work to improve things that drive growth often at the expense of what really matters.

That’s why more countries and communities are turning to wellbeing indicators. These help us measure what truly matters for human and wider ecological wellbeing. What we measure matters because it shapes the questions we ask, the goals we set, and the systems we design. This section explores a few such indicators.

The Human Development Index (HDI) was introduced by the United Nations in 1990. It measures human wellbeing using three key dimensions (Figure 2):

• health: based on life expectancy at birth;

• education: based on mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling

• standard of living: based on Gross National Income (GNI) per person, adjusted for local prices

Each country gets a score between 0 and 1. A higher score means a higher level of human development. The HDI is useful because it goes beyond income and includes health and education. It also allows people to compare progress between countries (Figure 3)

Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)

The HDI is limited because it uses national averages, which can hide inequality. A country might have a high HDI, even if many people are still poor or excluded.

Gender Development Index (GDI)

The Gender Development Index (GDI) compares the HDI scores of women and men. It shows how gender inequality affects wellbeing. Tracking the GDI over time helps governments see if gender gaps are closing or growing. It also reminds us that wellbeing must include fairness between women and men.

In some countries, women live longer than men but earn much less or have fewer chances to attend school. In others, boys may receive more education or better healthcare. The GDI shows where these gaps exist by dividing the female HDI by the male HDI. A score of 1 means equality. A score below 1 means one gender is doing better than the other.

Figure 5 plots the GDI and HDI values, helping us see where human development is most undermined by gender inequalities.

Planetary Pressures–adjusted HDI (PHDI)

The Planetary Pressures–adjusted HDI (PHDI) recognises that human wellbeing depends on the health of the planet. The PHDI uses the same three dimensions as the HDI (health, education, and income) but then adjusts the score based on two environmental pressures:

• carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person

• material use per person, which means the total amount of natural resources used

If a country scores well on the HDI but emits high levels of CO2 or uses too many resources, its PHDI score will be lower than the HDI. The PHDI is a step in connecting human development with ecological limits. It helps show that real progress must happen within planetary boundaries.

In 2015, all 193 member states of the United Nations agreed to work toward 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. These goals were created to guide progress in both rich and poor countries. They include targets for ending poverty and hunger, ensuring access to quality education and healthcare, achieving gender equality, and protecting the planet (Figure 7).

Progress on the SDGs

As we approach the 2030 deadline, the world is facing significant challenges in achieving the SDGs. According to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, only 16% of the SDG targets are on track, with the remaining 84 percent showing limited progress or a reversal of progress (Figure 9).

Several factors contribute to this slow progress, including the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturns, inflation, geopolitical conflicts, and the escalating climate crisis. These overlapping crises have created a polycrisis that hinders efforts across multiple goals.

To accelerate progress, the United Nations has proposed an SDG stimulus plan aimed at addressing the high cost of debt and scaling up affordable long-term financing for development, especially in low-income countries.

The OECD Better Life Index was launched in 2011 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of mostly high-income countries. It measures wellbeing in everyday life, not just income. The index includes 11 dimensions such as health, education, environment, and work–life balance (Figure 10).

The website first shows a ranking of countries based on equal weight for all 11 dimensions. This gives a general picture of how each country is doing across different areas of wellbeing. Users can then adjust the importance of each dimension to reflect what they value most. For example, one person might care most about health and safety, while another might prioritise education and environment. The rankings change based on these choices.

Unlike the Human Development Index, the Better Life Index does not give a single fixed score. Instead, it presents a wellbeing profile for each country, showing its strengths and weaknesses. This helps people and governments identify where progress is needed.

The Index also provides more detailed data for cities and regions within some countries. Figure 11 shows results for Istanbul, Türkiye. The city scores highly on civic engagement and safety but lower on housing and jobs.

The Further Exploration section below introduces a few more examples of wellbeing indicators. Each of the indicators in this section helps us see part of the picture, but none captures everything that matters. They focus on what can be measured, which means important parts of life like love, dignity, culture, or a sense of belonging may be left out.

Many countries and communities are developing indicators that better reflect their own values and priorities. The next Section 5.3.8 Living in the Doughnut, looks at how cities and regions are using the Doughnut Economics model to guide decisions in ways that respond to their specific social and ecological realities.

Concept: Systems, Regeneration

Skills: Research skills (information literacy)

Time: varies depending on option

Type: Individual, pairs, or group

Option 1: Understanding HDI data

Time: 15 minutes

Each HDI score is based on three dimensions: health (life expectancy); education (mean and expected years of schooling); and standard of living (GNI per capita at PPP$). Use the table below to answer the questions. 

1. Which country has the higher HDI score?

2. Which country has the longer life expectancy?

3. Which country performs better in education? How can you tell?

4. If Malaysia wanted to raise its HDI score to match Bulgaria’s, which dimension should it focus on? Why?

Option 2: Exploring country HDI insights

Time: 30 minutes

Access the UN website for country-level HDI information. Choose the country where you live, or one you feel connected to and read the summary and data about the country.

Questions:

• What is the country’s HDI rank?

• How does it compare to countries with similar income?

• Which area (health, education, income) is the country’s strongest? Which is the weakest?

• Is there a surprising insight in the data? Why did it stand out?

Option 3: Exploring the SDG Index
Time: 40 minutes
The SDG Index tracks how close each country is to meeting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The map shows progress using a colour scale—green means the goal is close to being achieved, red means major challenges remain.

Access the SDG interactive map.

Choose a country you live in or feel connected to. Explore the country’s SDG data and answer the questions below.

• Which SDGs is the country closest to achieving? Which goals show the least progress?

• Choose one red goal and click on it to view the detailed data. What might be causing the slow progress?

• Choose one green goal. What might have helped the country make good progress in this area?

• How does your country compare to a neighbouring country or one with a similar income level?

• How do the SDGs connect with the wellbeing indicators you have already explored (like HDI or the Better Life Index)?

Extension:
If you were advising the government, which two SDGs would you recommend prioritising? Why?

Option 4: Understanding the OECD Better Life Index

Time: 40 minutes

Access the OECD Better Life Index.

Individually, in pairs or small groups choose one of the 11 dimensions (e.g. housing, health, work–life balance).

Use the website to explore how that dimension is measured. For example, housing includes housing expenditure, rooms per person, dwellings with basic facilities.

Choose two countries to compare (your own can be one of them if it’s listed). Individually, in pairs or small groups consider the following questions (in writing or discussion):

• Why do you think the elements in your dimension were chosen?

• How do the two countries compare in this area?

• Is this a good way to measure wellbeing in your area? What might be missing?

• Suggest one new element you think should be added to your dimension.

Option 5: Interpreting the GDI

Time: 30 minutes

Examine the data from Figure 5 in the text (repeated below). Individually, in pairs or small groups, consider the following questions:

• What does the Gender Development Index (GDI) measure?

• What does it mean if a country’s GDI score is 1? Below 1? Above 1?

• Find a country where the HDI is relatively high and the GDI is noticeably lower. What does this suggest about gender equality there?

• Find a country with a low HDI and relatively high GDI. What does this suggest about gender inequality there?

• Find the country where you live, or one that you have a connection to. What are its HDI and GDI scores? How would you explain the data about this country to someone who is unfamiliar with these indices?

• Why are gender gaps hidden in HDI scores?

Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 5.5

Coming soon!

• World Happiness Report - a yearly report that assesses countries based on how happy their people say they are. The report helps us understand how different countries support people’s wellbeing, beyond just economic growth. Each yearly report has a special theme. In 2025, it’s focused on the role of caring and sharing for human happiness and wellbeing. Difficulty level: medium

• Human Development Reports - the website of the UN Human Development Reports, with a yearly update and all the HDI data to explore. Difficulty level: medium

• The Human Development Index and related indices: what they are and what we can learn from them - an article and related data from Our World in Data about the various Human Development Indices. Difficulty level: medium

• Beyond income: understanding poverty through the Multidimensional Poverty Index - an article and related data from Our World in Data about the UN’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, which includes more, and different, indicators of health, education and living standards than the HDI. Difficulty level: high

• Sustainable Development Report - the UN website that tracks progress on the SDGS, with a report published each year and an interactive map to explore data. Difficulty level: medium

• OECD Better Life Index - the website of the OECD’s composite index for wellbeing with information on how the index is constructed and interactivity that allows people to change the relative value of each element. Difficulty level: medium

• Wellbeing Economy Alliance - the website of a global alliance working to replace GDP with wellbeing as the goal of the economy. Includes resources, case studies, and updates on policies that support a wellbeing economy. Difficulty level: easy

• Purpose - a documentary film about countries around the world that are shifting away from economic growth as the main goal and towards wellbeing-centred economies. Difficulty level: easy

• Gross National Happiness Centre Bhutan - the website of the organisation in Bhutan that supports the country’s unique approach to development, based on nine domains of happiness instead of GDP. Difficulty level: medium

• Happy Planet Index - the website for an index that measures sustainable wellbeing by combining life satisfaction, life expectancy, inequality, and ecological footprint. Difficulty level: easy

Herre, B., & Arriagada, P. (2023). The Human Development Index and related indices: What they are and what we can learn from them. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/human-development-index

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (n.d.). OECD Better Life Index. https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/

United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals

United Nations Development Programme. (n.d.). Human Development Reports. https://hdr.undp.org/

Wellbeing Economy Alliance. (n.d.). Wellbeing Economy Alliance. https://weall.org/

Coming soon!