The State of Global Well-Being

1. The State of Global Well-Being A VISUALIZATION OF DATA FROM GALLUP-HEALTHWAYS 2013 GLOBAL SURVEY The world is becoming easier to understand through numbers. They can tell us how much an individual makes in a country, how many people are in that country, and how long these people can expect to live on average. But what about the more subjective concepts? How do we measure and understand happiness? Success? The statisticians at Gallup and Healthways have been struggling to do the same, and they’ve summarized these subjective ideas under “Well-Being”. So how can “Well-Being” be measured? The Global Well-Being Index has broken it down to people’s perception of five key elements in their life. The five elements of well-being G&H added ten simple questions to their global poll with a goal of measuring just how satisfied people are in these five key elements. These questions make up the Global Well-Being Index. purpose Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals ? You like what you do every day. ? You learn or do something interesting every day. social Having supportive relationships and love in your life ? Someone in your life always encourages you to be healthy. ? Your friends and family give you positive energy every day. financial Managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security $ ? You have enough money to do everything you want to do. ? In the last seven days, you have worried about money. community Liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community ? The city or area where you live is a perfect place for you. ? In the last 12 months, you have received recognition for helping to improve the city or area where you live. physical Having good health and enough energy to get things done daily ? In the last seven days, you have felt active and productive every day. ? Your physical health is near-perfect. Why does this well-being index matter if all the ideas that fall within it are subjective? Well, G&H have determined that higher well-being correlates with healthier, more productive, and more resilient people. So it makes sense to investigate and keep track of it on top of GDP, population, and life expectancy to see if people are thriving or sufering. SCORING THE RESULTS A global comparison What percentage of the population isthriving in 3+ elements? Thriving: well-being that is strong and consistent. Struggling: well-being that is moderate or inconsistent. ≤10% Not surveyed in 2013 >40% 30-40% 20-30% 10-20% Sufering: well-being that is low and inconsistent. AUSTRIA 39% DENMARK 40% COSTA RICA 44% PANAMA 61% BRAZIL 39% best: 61% on average: 17% of the global population is thriving in 3+ elements worst: 1% Haiti Afghanistan Syria Iraq Japan Kazakhstan Myanmar (Burma) Iran Jordan Turkey Yemen Egypt Greece Latvia Montenegro Niger Nigeria Palestine Serbia Azerbaijan Guinea Lithuania Albania Armenia Bhutan Italy Tanzania Ukraine Zimbabwe Botswana Burkina Faso Cameroon Croatia Gabon Georgia Kenya Senegal South Africa Benin Madagascar Uganda Chad Democratic Republic of the Congo United States of America Colombia Chile Mexico United Arab Emirates Malta Germany Ireland Paraguay Ecuador Honduras Iceland Kuwait Israel Jamaica Kosovo Malaysia Spain Turkmenistan Belgium Bolivia Finland Morocco Thailand Kyrgyzstan Luxembourg Northern Cyprus Portugal France Lebanon Hungary Mongolia Slovenia Taiwan Vietnam Mauritania Poland Sri Lanka Peru Russia Slovakia Bangladesh Cyprus Estonia Ethiopia India Indonesia Macedonia Moldova Nagorno Karabakh Romania South Korea Belarus Czech Republic Malawi Republic of Congo Angola Bulgaria China Ghana Pakistan Rwanda Tajikistan Cambodia Ivory Coast Mali Nepal Sierra Leone Tunisia Bosnia & Herzegovina Panama Costa Rica Denmark Austria Brazil Sweden Canada Guatemala Trinidad & Tobago Argentina The Netherlands New Zealand Venezuela Nicaragua Saudi Arabia Australia Bahrain United Kingdom Philippines Dominican Republic El Salvador Uruguay Putting it in perspective: percent of the global population thriving in each element. $ PURPOSE SOCIAL FINANCIAL COMMUNITY PHYSICAL 18% 23% 25% 26% 24% ON PAR WITH Poland ON PAR WITH Morocco ON PAR WITH China ON PAR WITH France ON PAR WITH Greece So what helps people thrive? Some key factors play into achieving high percentages in these elements. social safety nets stable government relative safety highly educated population access to basic services positive attitude stable/ growing economy Who are the top three and what makes them so special? Let’s take a closer look at those statistics. PURPOSE SOCIAL FINANCIAL COMMUNITY PHYSICAL COSTA RICA DENMARK PANAMA $ 66% 63% 50% 45% 51% 45% 68% 58% 59% Highest literacy rate in Latin America! FIFTH 96.3% worldwide for ease of doing business! More resources for infratructure due to no standing army. Financially, there is a notable disparity. Men are more likely to be thriving than women. Despite an economic boom in late 2013, the unemployment rate in Costa Rica has been steadily rising. Socially, there is a well-being disparity, Men are less likely to be thriving than women. 10% 2014 JOB! 38% 9% 2013 27% $ 25% $ $ 34% $ $ $ $ Source: Data retrieved from http://www.tradingeconom- ics.com/costa-rica/unemployment-rate Panama’s positive outlook may be contributed to high levels of positivity common to Latin American culture. Lower rates of financial well-being could be addressed through helping Panaman women achieve financial stability. Strong family and social networks help Costa Ricans thrive in the social scale, but concerns about rising un- employment and inflation have afected financial well-being. National and cultural values support a well rounded view of personal well being. This contributes to Denmark’s high thriving percentages. A notable demographic diference between men and women in the social element should be further examined. Still curious? Find out all the details in Gallup and Healthways full report: www.well-beingindex.com/ CREATED BY STINSON DESIGN WWW.STINSONDESIGN.COM Source: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (2014). 2013 State of Global Well-Being. Retrieved February 24, 2015 from http://www.well-beingindex.com/subscribe.