In 2021, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Minnesota had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) score of any other states at ****. Many more states had a score just below this at ****. Mississippi had the lowest HDI score at ****, and the U.S. average was ****.

******* had the highest level of the Human Development Index (HDI) worldwide in 2023 with a value of *****. With a score of ****, ****** followed closely behind *********** and had the second-highest level of human development in that year. The rise of the Asian tigers In the decades after the Cold War, the four so-called Asian tigers, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (now a Special Administrative Region of China) experienced rapid economic growth and increasing human development. At number eight and number 13 of the HDI, respectively, *********************** are the only Asian locations within the top-15 highest HDI scores. Both locations have experienced tremendous economic growth since the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 1980, the per capita GDP of Hong Kong was ***** U.S. dollars, increasing throughout the decades until reaching ****** in 2023, which is expected to continue to increase in the future. Meanwhile, in 1989, Singapore had a GDP of nearly ** billion U.S. dollars, which has risen to nearly *** billion U.S. dollars today and is also expected to keep increasing. Growth of the UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the only Middle Eastern country besides Israel within the highest ranking HDI scores globally. Within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the UAE has the third-largest GDP behind Saudi Arabia and Israel, reaching nearly *** billion U.S. dollars by 2022. Per capita, the UAE GDP was around ****** U.S. dollars in 1989, and has nearly doubled to ****** U.S. dollars by 2021. Moreover, this is expected to reach over ****** U.S. dollars by 2029. On top of being a major oil producer, the UAE has become a hub for finance and business and attracts millions of tourists annually.

The USA: Human Development Index (0 - 1): The latest value from 2023 is 0.938 points, an increase from 0.927 points in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 0.744 points, based on data from 185 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1980 to 2023 is 0.898 points. The minimum value, 0.825 points, was reached in 1980 while the maximum of 0.938 points was recorded in 2023.

The average for 2023 based on 20 countries was 0.76 points. The highest value was in Chile: 0.878 points and the lowest value was in Haiti: 0.554 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023 Zurich was both the leading smart city based on the IMD smart city index as well as the city with the highest human development index score, making it one of the premier places on earth to live in. Notable exceptions to the HDI to IMD index score were Beijing, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Beijing is a notable outlier because although it ranked 12th on the digital smart cities ranking it was nearly 90 points lower than Zurich on the HDI score. This is compared to Munich, Germany, which was the 20th digital city but had a HDI score of 950.

Smart tech is watching.

CCTV cameras powered by artificial intelligence have become a significant growing market in the modern city. These are predominantly residential, with half the market catering to residential applications of CCTV cameras. However, commercial and business-related CCTV cameras have also seen significant growth, with the market reaching over 800 million U.S. dollars in 2023.

Digital cities need data and data needs infrastructure.

The leading issue with AI infrastructure is data management. AI is a strong influence on how digital cities work and requires a considerable amount of infrastructure to be effective. Storage of AI software is a minor concern, accounting for less than ten percent of challenges globally in 2023.

Results of the Civil Service Development Index (CSDI), obtained from diagnostics of the institutional quality of civil service systems in 16 Latin American countries. The IDB supported the design of a methodology that evaluates critical points to assess the civil services and carried out country evaluations in 2004. Between 2011 and 2013, a second group of diagnostics second group of diagnostics were completed (with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, and in the case of Central American countries and Dominican Republic with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development –AECID- and the Central American Integration System-SICA). Scores are available for 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 (year of second and/or third measurement varies per country). In 2015, 2017 and 2019, the IDB completed the third series of diagnosis. During the first assessment, 93 critical points were identified; each of those fed a subsystem and an index. In 2010 the methodology was simplified to 33 critical points and the base line was recalibrated to ensure comparability. The methodology is based in the identification of critical points that feed 8 subsystems: 1. Human Resources Planning, 2. Work Organization, 3. Employment management, 4. Performance management, 5. Compensation management, 6. Development management, 7. Human and social relations management, 8. HR Function organization; and 5 indexes: 1. Efficiency, 2. Merit, 3. Structural consistency, 4. Functional capacity, and 5. Integrating capacity.

Explore the Saudi Arabia World Development Indicators dataset , including key indicators such as Access to clean fuels, Adjusted net enrollment rate, CO2 emissions, and more. Find valuable insights and trends for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, China, and India.

Indicator, Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population), Access to electricity (% of population), Adjusted net enrollment rate, primary, female (% of primary school age children), Adjusted net national income (annual % growth), Adjusted savings: education expenditure (% of GNI), Adjusted savings: mineral depletion (current US$), Adjusted savings: natural resources depletion (% of GNI), Adjusted savings: net national savings (current US$), Adolescents out of school (% of lower secondary school age), Adolescents out of school, female (% of female lower secondary school age), Age dependency ratio (% of working-age population), Agricultural methane emissions (% of total), Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$), Alternative and nuclear energy (% of total energy use), Annualized average growth rate in per capita real survey mean consumption or income, total population (%), Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values), Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), Average working hours of children, working only, ages 7-14 (hours per week), Average working hours of children, working only, male, ages 7-14 (hours per week), Cause of death, by injury (% of total), Cereal yield (kg per hectare), Changes in inventories (current US$), Chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing), Child employment in agriculture (% of economically active children ages 7-14), Child employment in manufacturing, female (% of female economically active children ages 7-14), Child employment in manufacturing, male (% of male economically active children ages 7-14), Child employment in services (% of economically active children ages 7-14), Child employment in services, female (% of female economically active children ages 7-14), Children (ages 0-14) newly infected with HIV, Children in employment, study and work (% of children in employment, ages 7-14), Children in employment, unpaid family workers (% of children in employment, ages 7-14), Children in employment, wage workers (% of children in employment, ages 7-14), Children out of school, primary, Children out of school, primary, male, Claims on other sectors of the domestic economy (annual growth as % of broad money), CO2 emissions (kg per 2015 US$ of GDP), CO2 emissions (kt), CO2 emissions from other sectors, excluding residential buildings and commercial and public services (% of total fuel combustion), CO2 emissions from transport (% of total fuel combustion), Communications, computer, etc. (% of service exports, BoP), Condom use, population ages 15-24, female (% of females ages 15-24), Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units), Contraceptive prevalence, any method (% of married women ages 15-49), Control of Corruption: Estimate, Control of Corruption: Percentile Rank, Upper Bound of 90% Confidence Interval, Control of Corruption: Standard Error, Coverage of social insurance programs in 4th quintile (% of population), CPIA building human resources rating (1=low to 6=high), CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high), CPIA policies for social inclusion/equity cluster average (1=low to 6=high), CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average (1=low to 6=high), CPIA quality of budgetary and financial management rating (1=low to 6=high), CPIA transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector rating (1=low to 6=high), Current education expenditure, secondary (% of total expenditure in secondary public institutions), DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$), Deposit interest rate (%), Depth of credit information index (0=low to 8=high), Diarrhea treatment (% of children under 5 who received ORS packet), Discrepancy in expenditure estimate of GDP (current LCU), Domestic private health expenditure per capita, PPP (current international $), Droughts, floods, extreme temperatures (% of population, average 1990-2009), Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative), Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population 25+, male (%) (cumulative), Educational attainment, at least completed lower secondary, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative), Educational attainment, at least completed primary, population 25+ years, total (%) (cumulative), Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population 25+, male (%) (cumulative), Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative), Electricity production from coal sources (% of total), Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total), Employers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate), Employment in industry (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate), Employment in services, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate), Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate), Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate), Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita), Export unit value index (2015 = 100), Exports of goods and services (% of GDP), Exports of goods, services and primary income (BoP, current US$), External debt stocks (% of GNI), External health expenditure (% of current health expenditure), Female primary school age children out-of-school (%), Female share of employment in senior and middle management (%), Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$), Firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials (% of firms), Firms experiencing losses due to theft and vandalism (% of firms), Firms formally registered when operations started (% of firms), Fixed broadband subscriptions, Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people), Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP), Forest area (% of land area), Forest area (sq. km), Forest rents (% of GDP), GDP growth (annual %), GDP per capita (constant LCU), GDP per unit of energy use (PPP $ per kg of oil equivalent), GDP, PPP (constant 2017 international $), General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU), GHG net emissions/removals by LUCF (Mt of CO2 equivalent), GNI growth (annual %), GNI per capita (constant LCU), GNI, PPP (current international $), Goods and services expense (current LCU), Government Effectiveness: Percentile Rank, Government Effectiveness: Percentile Rank, Lower Bound of 90% Confidence Interval, Government Effectiveness: Standard Error, Gross capital formation (annual % growth), Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), Gross capital formation (current LCU), Gross fixed capital formation, private sector (% of GDP), Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, male (% of relevant age group), Gross intake ratio in first grade of primary education, total (% of relevant age group), Gross national expenditure (current LCU), Gross national expenditure (current US$), Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant LCU), Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$), Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure, PPP (constant 2017 international $), Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure: linked series (current LCU), Human capital index (HCI) (scale 0-1), Human capital index (HCI), male (scale 0-1), Immunization, DPT (% of children ages 12-23 months), Import value index (2015 = 100), Imports of goods and services (% of GDP), Incidence of HIV, ages 15-24 (per 1,000 uninfected population ages 15-24), Incidence of HIV, all (per 1,000 uninfected population), Income share held by highest 20%, Income share held by lowest 20%, Income share held by third 20%, Individuals using the Internet (% of population), Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), Informal payments to public officials (% of firms), Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male), Interest payments (% of expense), Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %), Internally displaced persons, new displacement associated with conflict and violence (number of cases), International tourism, expenditures for passenger transport items (current US$), International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$), Investment in energy with private participation (current US$), Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate), Development

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, China, India Follow data.kapsarc.org for timely data to advance energy economics research..

IntroductionThe One Health concept has proposed an integrated and unified approach aiming for health balance and enhancement by recognizing the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed global One Health initiatives and policy improvement toward preventive measures for future pandemics, particularly of zoonotic origin. Such a scenario may be particularly relevant for South America, which is considered highly vulnerable due to its natural biodiversity superposed to socioeconomic and environmental issues, demanding effective methods and indicators for proper One Health strategies and goals that are aligned with macroregional contexts.MethodsAccordingly, the present study aimed to assess the One Health Index (OHI) in South American countries, along with potential interactions with socioeconomic indicators. The results obtained using clustering analysis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) have revealed a positive association between the OHI and the Human Development Index (HDI) but not with gross domestic product (GDP).ResultsAlthough South American countries with political stability, robust investment in health, and progressive policies have shown a higher OHI, better environmental health is not associated with better human and animal health. In addition, although the Amazon biome— spanning 9 of the 12 South American countries—has positively impacted environmental health, this benefit contrasts with the rudimentary local human health systems, highlighting the complexity of One Health within the South American context. The lack of stronger indicators for animal health was also considered an important weak point for a true OHI assessment. Nonetheless, countries with more developed livestock have presented better animal health, which may not reflect an overall animal health indicator, as companion and wildlife animal health indicators were not available.DiscussionAlthough lower (within-country) scale analysis such as states and metropolitan areas may better shape internal differences, the study herein has clearly shown One Health inequalities and challenges among South American countries. Equally important, forests and other natural areas in developing countries, particularly the Amazon, should receive incentives to promote sustainable economic growth. This approach would help prevent sacrificing environmental health for the benefit of human and livestock animal health.

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, gender parity index (GPI) in North America was reported at 0.99571 GPI in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - School life expectancy, primary and secondary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, gender parity index (GPI) in North America was reported at 1.076 GPI in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The Human Well-being Index (HWBI) for U.S. counties is a set of nationally consistent demonstration results that may be used to characterize community well-being. This composite index was developed by U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development in support of its Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) Research. It serves as an endpoint measure for use in the creation of community decision-support tools. The HWBI characterizes community conditions in the context of the flow of economic, social and ecological services. The index calculation approach used a nested-indicator design. A decade (2000-2010) of cultural, economic, and social data were drawn from publicly available sources (e.g., US Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis, American Community Survey, General Social Survey, Centers for Disease Control) to provide the foundation for well-being related indicators. Indicators are integrated into one of eight domains or sub-indices of well-being. These domains were synthesized to represent different aspects of well-being characteristics common across communities of all sizes. Service indicators reflect the availability of select socio-ecological services that influence well-being. Community decisions often result in changes in the flow of community services. Collectively, well-being and service measures provide a means to evaluate relationships between the availability of certain community services and overall well-being. Data used to generate service indicators were also collected from existing data sources. Detailed information about the attributes of the HWBI, its components and related service indicators are described in Indicators and Methods for Constructing a U.S. Human Well-being Index (HWBI) for Ecosystem Services Research (EPA/600/R-12/023. pp. 121) and Indicators and Methods for Evaluating Economic, Ecosystem and Social Services Provisioning (EPA/600/R-14/184. pp. 174), respectively.

LABOR MARKET ENGAGEMENT INDEXSummary

The labor market engagement index provides a summary description of the relative intensity of labor market engagement and human capital in a neighborhood. This is based upon the level of employment, labor force participation, and educational attainment in a census tract (i). Formally, the labor market index is a linear combination of three standardized vectors: unemployment rate (u), labor-force participation rate (l), and percent with a bachelor’s degree or higher (b), using the following formula:

Where means and standard errors are estimated over the national distribution. Also, the value for the standardized unemployment rate is multiplied by -1.

Interpretation

Values are percentile ranked nationally and range from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the higher the labor force participation and human capital in a neighborhood.

Data Source: American Community Survey, 2011-2015Related AFFH-T Local Government, PHA and State Tables/Maps: Table 12; Map 9.

To learn more about the Labor Market Engagement Index visit: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/affh ; https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/FHEO/documents/AFFH-T-Data-Documentation-AFFHT0006-July-2020.pdf, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Date of Coverage: 07/2020

countries Main continent America. name, long name, population (source), population, constitutional form, drives on, head of state authority, Main continent, number of airports, Airports - with paved runways, Airports - with unpaved runways, Area, Birth rate, calling code, Children under the age of 5 years underweight, Current Account Balance, Death rate, Debt - external, Economic aid donor, Electricity consumption, Electricity consumption per capita, Electricity exports, Electricity imports, Electricity production, Exports, GDP - per capita (PPP), GDP (purchasing power parity), GDP real growth rate, Gross national income, Human Development Index, Health expenditures, Heliports, HIV AIDS adult prevalence rate, HIV AIDS deaths, HIV AIDS people living with HIV AIDS, Hospital bed density, capital city, Currency, Imports, Industrial production growth rate, Infant mortality rate, Inflation rate consumer prices, Internet hosts, internet tld, Internet users, Investment (gross fixed), iso 3166 code, ISO CODE, Labor force, Life expectancy at birth, Literacy, Manpower available for military service, Manpower fit for military service, Manpower reaching militarily age annually, is democracy, Market value of publicly traded shares, Maternal mortality rate, Merchant marine, Military expenditures percent of GDP, Natural gas consumption, Natural gas consumption per capita, Natural gas exports, Natural gas imports, Natural gas production, Natural gas proved reserves, Net migration rate, Obesity adult prevalence rate, Oil consumption, Oil consumption per capita, Oil exports, Oil imports, Oil production, Oil proved reserves, Physicians density, Population below poverty line, Population census, Population density, Population estimate, Population growth rate, Public debt, Railways, Reserves of foreign exchange and gold, Roadways, Stock of direct foreign investment abroad, Stock of direct foreign investment at home, Telephones main lines in use, Telephones main lines in use per capita, Telephones mobile cellular, Telephones mobile cellular per capita, Total fertility rate, Unemployment rate, Unemployment, youth ages 15-24, Waterways, valley, helicopter, canyon, artillery, crater, religion, continent, border, Plateau, marsh, Demonym

American countries. name, long name, population (source), population, constitutional form, drives on, head of state authority, Main continent, number of airports, Airports - with paved runways, Airports - with unpaved runways, Area, Birth rate, calling code, Children under the age of 5 years underweight, Current Account Balance, Death rate, Debt - external, Economic aid donor, Electricity consumption, Electricity consumption per capita, Electricity exports, Electricity imports, Electricity production, Exports, GDP - per capita (PPP), GDP (purchasing power parity), GDP real growth rate, Gross national income, Human Development Index, Health expenditures, Heliports, HIV AIDS adult prevalence rate, HIV AIDS deaths, HIV AIDS people living with HIV AIDS, Hospital bed density, capital city, Currency, Imports, Industrial production growth rate, Infant mortality rate, Inflation rate consumer prices, Internet hosts, internet tld, Internet users, Investment (gross fixed), iso 3166 code, ISO CODE, Labor force, Life expectancy at birth, Literacy, Manpower available for military service, Manpower fit for military service, Manpower reaching militarily age annually, is democracy, Market value of publicly traded shares, Maternal mortality rate, Merchant marine, Military expenditures percent of GDP, Natural gas consumption, Natural gas consumption per capita, Natural gas exports, Natural gas imports, Natural gas production, Natural gas proved reserves, Net migration rate, Obesity adult prevalence rate, Oil consumption, Oil consumption per capita, Oil exports, Oil imports, Oil production, Oil proved reserves, Physicians density, Population below poverty line, Population census, Population density, Population estimate, Population growth rate, Public debt, Railways, Reserves of foreign exchange and gold, Roadways, Stock of direct foreign investment abroad, Stock of direct foreign investment at home, Telephones main lines in use, Telephones main lines in use per capita, Telephones mobile cellular, Telephones mobile cellular per capita, Total fertility rate, Unemployment rate, Unemployment, youth ages 15-24, Waterways, valley, helicopter, canyon, artillery, crater, religion, continent, border, Plateau, marsh, Demonym

Gross enrolment ratio, primary to tertiary, gender parity index (GPI) in North America was reported at 1.089 GPI in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Gross enrolment ratio, primary to tertiary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The gross national income (GNI) in Afghanistan in 2019 was 819 U.S. dollars for females, compared to about 3.6 thousand U.S. dollars for males. The expected years at birth was the largest contributor to the Human Development Index (HDI) score of Afghanistan in 2019.

Total net enrolment rate, primary, gender parity index (GPI) in North America was reported at 1.0006 GPI in 2013, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - Total net enrolment rate, primary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.

Based on the degree of inequality in income distribution measured by the Gini coefficient, Colombia was the most unequal country in Latin America as of 2022. Colombia's Gini coefficient amounted to 54.8. The Dominican Republic recorded the lowest Gini coefficient at 37, even below Uruguay and Chile, which are some of the countries with the highest human development indexes in Latin America. The Gini coefficient explained The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income among individuals or households in a given country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, whereas 100 would be the highest possible degree of inequality. This measurement reflects the degree of wealth inequality at a certain moment in time, though it may fail to capture how average levels of income improve or worsen over time. What affects the Gini coefficient in Latin America? Latin America, as other developing regions in the world, generally records high rates of inequality, with a Gini coefficient ranging between 37 and 55 points according to the latest available data from the reporting period 2010-2023. According to the Human Development Report, wealth redistribution by means of tax transfers improves Latin America's Gini coefficient to a lesser degree than it does in advanced economies. Wider access to education and health services, on the other hand, have been proven to have a greater direct effect in improving Gini coefficient measurements in the region.

In 2023, Switzerland led the ranking of countries with the highest average wealth per adult, with approximately ******* U.S. dollars per person. Luxembourg was ranked second with an average wealth of around ******* U.S. dollars per adult, followed by Hong Kong SAR. However, the figures do not show the actual distribution of wealth. The Gini index shows wealth disparities in countries worldwide. Does wealth guarantee a longer life? As the old adage goes, “money can’t buy you happiness”, yet wealth and income are continuously correlated to the quality of life of individuals in different countries around the world. While greater levels of wealth may not guarantee a higher quality of life, it certainly increases an individual’s chances of having a longer one. Although they do not show the whole picture, life expectancy at birth is higher in the wealthier world regions. Does money bring happiness? A number of the world’s happiest nations also feature in the list of those countries for which average income was highest. Finland, however, which was the happiest country worldwide in 2022, is missing from the list of the top twenty countries with the highest wealth per adult. As such, the explanation for this may be the fact that the larger proportion of the population has access to a high income relative to global levels. Measures of quality of life Criticism of the use of income or wealth as a proxy for quality of life led to the creation of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Although income is included within the index, it also has other factors taken into account, such as health and education. As such, the countries with the highest human development index can be correlated to those with the highest income levels. That said, none of the above measures seek to assess the physical and mental environmental impact of a high quality of life sourced through high incomes. The happy planet index demonstrates that the inclusion of experienced well-being and ecological footprint in place of income and other proxies for quality of life results in many of the world’s materially poorer nations being included in the happiest.