2009
Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress
Stiglitz, Sen & Fitoussi · OECD
The landmark report that challenged GDP as a sole measure of progress and proposed a dashboard of wellbeing indicators.
Knowledge Base
Research Hub
A curated library of the reports, books, datasets, and papers that inform this project — plus a glossary of the key terms.
1999
Development as Freedom
Amartya Sen · Oxford University Press
The foundational text on the capability approach — measuring development by what people can actually do and be.
2024
Human Development Report 2023/24
UNDP · United Nations Development Programme
Annual UN report computing the Human Development Index and exploring global development inequalities.
2024
OECD Better Life Index
OECD · OECD
Interactive index comparing wellbeing across OECD countries through 11 dimensions including housing, income, and work-life balance.
2024
World Happiness Report 2024
Helliwell, Layard, Sachs & De Neve · Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Annual report ranking countries by self-reported life satisfaction, with analysis of social support, freedom, and generosity.
2024
Environmental Performance Index 2024
Yale & Columbia · Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy
Global index ranking countries on environmental health and ecosystem vitality, covering air, water, and climate.
2024
Our World in Data
Max Roser et al. · Global Change Data Lab
Open-access database of long-term global trends in poverty, health, education, and the environment.
2024
World Development Indicators
World Bank · World Bank Group
The most comprehensive set of cross-country development data, covering GDP, health, education, and environment.
2021
Global Findex Database
World Bank · World Bank Group
Survey of financial inclusion in 134 countries — account ownership, savings, credit, and digital payments.
2023
Global Innovation Index 2023
WIPO · World Intellectual Property Organization
Annual ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results, including R&D and patent activity.
2014
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Thomas Piketty · Harvard University Press
A sweeping analysis of wealth concentration and inequality over centuries, with implications for modern policy.
2012
Why Nations Fail
Acemoglu & Robinson · Crown Business
Argues that inclusive institutions — not geography or culture — are the root cause of long-run prosperity.
1974
The Easterlin Paradox
Richard Easterlin · Journal of Political Economy
Foundational finding that beyond a certain point, higher GDP does not correlate with higher self-reported happiness.
2024
OECD Affordable Housing Database
OECD · OECD
Cross-country data on housing costs, affordability, and homelessness across OECD member states.
2023
UNODC Homicide Statistics
UNODC · United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The most reliable cross-country violent crime data, used by researchers and policymakers worldwide.
2024
ITU ICT Indicators
ITU · International Telecommunication Union
Global data on internet access, mobile subscriptions, and the digital divide across countries.
Glossary
Key terms used throughout this project, explained simply.
GDP
Gross Domestic Product — the total monetary value of goods and services produced in a country in a given period.
HDI
Human Development Index — a composite of life expectancy, education, and per capita income, published by the UNDP.
Gini coefficient
A measure of income inequality from 0 (perfect equality) to 100 (one person earns everything).
UHC
Universal Health Coverage — the WHO index measuring access to essential health services without financial hardship.
EPI
Environmental Performance Index — a Yale/Columbia composite of environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
Composite index
A single score combining multiple indicators, using weights chosen by the index designer.
Capability approach
Amartya Sen’s framework: development should be measured by what people can actually do and be, not just income.
Easterlin paradox
The finding that beyond a certain point, higher GDP does not correlate with higher self-reported happiness.
Price-to-income ratio
Median house price divided by median household income — a standard measure of housing affordability.
Financial inclusion
Access to useful and affordable financial products — bank accounts, credit, insurance, and payments.
Methodology Summary
1. Selection: 12 dimensions were chosen based on the OECD Better Life Index, UN Human Development Report, and the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi framework.
2. Data: Raw values come from public datasets (World Bank, UNDP, WHO, Yale EPI, WIPO, Global Findex, UNODC, ITU). Where a country was missing, it was excluded rather than imputed.
3. Normalisation: Each raw value is scaled 0–100 using min-max normalisation across the 40 countries. For dimensions where lower is better (housing, equality, safety), the scale is inverted so higher always means better.
4. Aggregation: The default HumanValue score is an unweighted average. In “Build Your Own Index,” weights are user-defined and normalised to sum to 100%.
5. Limitations: 40 countries cannot represent the world. Scores are sensitive to the chosen min-max range. Composite indices inevitably lose information. See the About page for a full discussion.