Better Life Index: In search of the good life?

The OECD's Better Life Index is a way to look at what life is actually like for people by measuring 11 key aspects of life – not just income and jobs but their housing, environment, social network, work-life balance, personal security, education, health, whether they feel part of the democratic process and their level of satisfaction with life in general. Everyone starts out with the same 11 elements, but can rank them according to personal preference to see how their country shapes up in terms of what matters to them. 

The Index currently profiles the 34 OECD member countries as well as key partners 

Brazil and Russia across the 11 topics of well-being, and will eventually include other key OECD partner countries (China, India, Indonesia and South Africa), representing the world's major economies. Of course there are also individual differences – while civic engagement is among the lower priorities for users everywhere, those in Mexico, Chile and Spain rank it higher than people in most other countries. Sense of community matters a lot to users in France, while housing is of particular concern to those in Russia, judging by their BLI choices.

The Index also lets you see how life compares for men and women, and for those at the top and bottom of the social and economic ladder. There is little difference in what is important in life to women and men, although women are more concerned about community, health and work-life balance, while men place more importance than women on income when it comes to defining what makes for a better life. Perhaps not surprisingly, health tends to matter more to people as they get older, while concerns about work-life balance fade.

Some of the results have been quite surprising. Yes we are all different but overall, the same three elements turn out to be most important for all of us, regardless of where we live in the world. Health, education and life satisfaction consistently come out as more important across the more than 180 countries where people have created an Index. Life Satisfaction has been the topic ranked as most important for a better life by users since the BLI was launched in 2011, followed by health and education. This still holds true today, when the BLI has had 2.2 million visitors, from all over the world – some 196 countries – so the coverage is truly global.

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