Bhutan is the Himalayan country that officially promotes Gross National Happiness as a national development philosophy.
The concept was associated with Bhutan’s fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who emphasized that development should measure more than economic production. Gross National Happiness considers areas such as psychological well-being, health, education, cultural diversity, good governance, community vitality, ecological resilience and living standards.
Bhutan’s constitution and public policy have helped make the idea internationally prominent, although Gross National Happiness is not a single replacement statistic for national income. Bhutan still publishes economic and social data, and its development planning combines conventional indicators with broader well-being goals.
Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy between India and China in the eastern Himalayas. Nepal and India also use many social and environmental measures, but Bhutan is the country most specifically identified with the Gross National Happiness framework.