For the first time ever in Việt Nam, a happiness index has been included in a provincial plan for socio-economic development as a key indicator besides conventional metrics such as GDP, poverty rate, employment and social investment.
The northern province of Yên Bái has adopted the Happiness Index in the provincial Party Congress’s resolution to consider the satisfaction, joy and happiness of its citizens during the 2020-25 tenure.
A survey was conducted in the province collecting responses from over 2,000 local residents in three criteria – life satisfaction, life expectancy and contentment with living environment.
Life satisfaction is calculated using four factors: economic condition, family and social relationships, social welfare, and transactions with State agencies and authorities.
The living environment value is measured using the engagement of local authorities in developing urban/rural areas as well as protecting the environment, particularly the forests – a key feature of the mountainous province.
The survey also asked for the estimated average life expectancy of local residents, which gave them three options – 65, 70 and 75 years old. About 41.6 per cent of respondents chose 70, making it the most common choice.
The survey also showed that 40.71 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with life in the province, and 31.8 per cent said they were satisfied with the living environment.
The final calculation on Yen Bai’s Happiness Index stood at 53.3 per cent, implying that local people were "relatively happy".
A percentage of less than 50 per cent would have meant “unhappy”, while a percentage of more than 70 per cent would imply "happy”. Yen Bai province wants to increase the index by 15 per cent in the next five years to near the 'happy' level.
The province's People’s Committee chairman Do Duc Duy said that if they assessed the province by just looking at economic growth and State budget collection, Yen Bai would still be classed as a disadvantaged locality in Việt Nam.
“We didn’t intend to change the way we assess the province’s performance when we decided to develop the Happiness Index,” Duy said, emphasising that the province wanted to affirm its own development motto for citizens’ satisfaction and happiness.
Duy said that when it came to happiness, everyone had their own definition.
Most people in Yen Bai live in remote mountainous areas and come from ethnic groups, so their main priority is safety and protection from natural diseases, rather than material things.
Life in the province revolves around the forest and that's how most people want to make a living, rather than leaving their hometown to work overseas or in other localities. With improvements to school infrastructure, children are more likely to attend school more regularly than in the past, and their parents are happy to see their children study, have meals and sleep safely.
“Happiness to them is simple and visible,” Duy said, adding that many people from ethnic groups living in remote areas had told him that roads connecting their villages was their biggest joy.
Happiness to many people can be an abstract concept, but to others it can be very specific and “countable”.
“Yen Bai authorities chose to use the Happiness Index to effectively concretise and implement its socio-economic tasks for the next five years to reach the final goal of bringing prosperity and happiness to the people,” Duy said.
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