Bhutanese are happy but rural life fractured

People in Bhutan are getting happier as living standards improve, but social isolation is increasing, says a new report by Gross National Happiness commission. Over 90 per cent of Bhutanese are happy. Of those found to be happy, 8.4 percent of Bhutanese are categorised as being “deeply happy”, 35 percent as “extensively happy”, and 47.9 percent as “narrowly happy”.

The 2015 findings show that men are happier than women, with 51 percent of men being happy compared to only 39 percent of women.

However, the report mention increasing living standards have widen the gap between rich and poor and rural communities are fractured.

It has also been found that urbanites are happier than their rural counterparts. Fifty five percent of urbanites are happy compared to only 38 percent of those living in rural areas.

More education means more happiness. Only 32 percent of those without a formal education were happy as compared to over 60 percent of those having at least a high school education. The happiest districts in Bhutan are Bumthang, Gasa, and Paro.

“We saw some modest gains in areas such as living standards, health and time use since the last survey was conducted in 2010,” said Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, as he unveiled the results of the 2015 index at yet another international conference on GNH in Paro this week.

“But in other areas, such as community vitality and psychological well-being indicators, we actually seemed to have lost ground,” he said.

The 2015 report, based on a survey of 7,153 people across Bhutan, is the second national-level index of national happiness. It gives a happiness index of 0.756, up from 0.743 in 2010 – a figure based on nine criteria, including psychological well-being, health, education, community vitality and living standards.

But it also reveals a nation in flux, its traditional social fabric starting to show the strain of modernisation. The survey also shows a decline in people’s sense of belonging to a community.

Karma Ura, lead author of the report, said the government needs to address rural isolation as more young people migrate from the countryside, leaving their elders to cope alone.

There are nine domains in GNH that cover psychological wellbeing, community, culture, governance, knowledge, health, living conditions (which includes income), time use, and harmony with the environment.