(Original text is from Life Beyond Growth)
http://lifebeyondgrowth.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/centre-for-bhutan-studies-publishes-a-short-guide-to-the-gnh-index/

The Centre for Bhutan Studies has released a short publication, "GNH and GNH Index: A Short Guide to the Gross National Happiness Index" providing background on the concept of Gross National Hapiness (GNH) and its measurement. The authors - Karma Ura, Sabina Alkire, Tshoki Zangmo - present information on the origins of GNH and focus especially on the 2010 GNH Survey, the first official national survey on GNH in Bhutan. They then go on with explaining the compounds of the GNH Index with its nine domains and 33 clustered indicators that are based on 124 variables. The domains include:

- psychological well-being
- time use
- community vitality
- cultural diversity
- ecological resilience
- living standard
- health
- education
- good governance

As can be seen from the selection of the domains, the GNH Index is truly multidimensional and the authors really highlight this feature. They point out that "in the GNH Index, unlike certain concepts of happiness, in current western literature, happiness is itself multidimensional - not measured only by subjective well-being, and not focused narrowly on happiness that begins and ends with oneself and is concerned for and with oneself." In Bhutan say the authors "the pursuit of happiness is collective though it can be experienced deeply personally."

It is also stressed, on the other hand, that despite being a complex measure useful in the government policy settings, the GNH Index can also be decomposed into the 'building blocks' and used by other organizations and citizens.

The authors of the guide also inform that the outcomes of the GHN Survey can be used to identify where unhappiness is arising from and for whom. These findings can then be used to determine groups of "not-yet-happy people" and improve their conditions. In the GNH Index, people are considered "happy" when they have sufficiency in 66% of the (weighted) indicators or more, those below 66% are considered "not-yet-happy."

The results of the 2010 GNH Survey in Bhutan have shown that the insufficiencies of not-yet-happy people differ in different parts of the country. In rural areas, not-yet-happy people tend to attain less education, living standards and balanced use of time, while in urban areas, not-yet-happy people are typically insufficient in non-material domains such as community vitality and culture, and psychological well-being.