Satisfaction with Life Index

The Satisfaction with Life Index was created by Adrian White, an Analytic Social Psychologist at the University of Leicester.


 * "The concept of happiness, or satisfaction with life, is currently a major area of research in economics and psychology, most closely associated with new developments in positive psychology. It has also become a feature in the current political discourse in the UK."

This index is based on data published as part of the Happy Planet Index by the New Economics Foundation, which in turn is based on data from the 2003 UN Human Development Report, GDP information from the CIA and access to secondary education information from UNESCO.

This study also shows the correlations between happiness and health (.7), closely followed by wealth (.6), and access to basic education (.6). "This adds to the evidence that from a global perspective the biggest causes of SWB are poverty and associated variables."