What kind of images do you have of Bhutan, or what comes up to your mind when you hear the name of this country?

Bhutan is a very small nation on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, and the last remaining great Himalaya Kingdom. The predominantly Buddhist nation of Bhutan is located between China and India with a variety of sceneries. You can catch a sight of the architectures that are extraordinarily cultural, the well-known monasteries of the country, the painted or carved Buddhist religious figures on the cliffs, the high mountain peaks, and many more.

Here is an interesting fact about their culture. You probably know what GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is but do you know what GNH is? GNH stands for Gross National Happiness, which is an idea that has substantially influenced the economic and social policy of Bhutan. In fact, Bhutan is the only country that has GNH. GNH was a phrase from the 4th King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972, when he declared “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.”In spite of that, what do you think GNH specifically is? It is generally about how a balanced development in all crucial aspects of life for happiness can be achieved. In other words, it is about how the indicators of GNH strengthen different strands of well-being and meeting human needs. Its index includes 9 domains, which are psychological well being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.

These 9 domains above are what the measurement of Bhutan’s wellbeing is based on. The composition of GNH in each indicator can be shown among each person’s achievements: men, women, by the district, and other additional groups. It, as a result, identifies 4 groups of people; unhappy, narrowly happy, extensively happy, and deeply happy. The analysis finally explores the people who are already happy and enjoying, then focuses on how unhappy and narrowly happy people can be happy by refining policies to increase happiness.

To conclude, GNH is the index which is used to measure the happiness and well-being of the population in Bhutan, as well as the way to approach to the country’s development. I hope that this article has informed you about the uncommon aspects of Bhutan and I definitely suggest that you research more in-depth about this interesting nation to find out more about what wasn’t mentioned in this article.