A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being
- 2008
- Cartographic
- Exhibit map
- Project link
EarthPulse by National Geographic is a visual guide to global trends. It explores our complex connections with vivid and informative imagery, maps, diagrams, and interactives to illuminate where we are today, how we got here, and how our actions may affect the future of life on Earth. The very first issue of EarthPulse features a global map of subjective well-being (SWB). A ranking of the world’s happiest places is given on the right. The data on SWB was extracted from a meta-analysis by Nic Marks, Saamah Abdallah, Andrew Simms, and Sam Thompson in 2006 (http://happyplanetindex.org). It is immediately evident that there is an effect of poverty on levels of SWB. The map itself mirrors other projections of poverty and gross domestic product. Adrian White compared the data on SWB with the 2005 data on access to education provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2005 health data made available by the United Nations (UN), and 2006 poverty data downloaded from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It was found that SWB correlates most strongly with health (.7), wealth (.6), and access to basic education (.6). This adds to the evidence that, from a global perspective, the biggest factors affecting SWB are poverty and associated variables. Learn more at http://nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse.
Marks, Nic, Saamah Abdallah, Andrew Simms, and Sam Thompson. 2006. The Unhappy Planet Index: An Index of Human Well-Being and Environmental Impact. The Happy Planet. Accessed August 29, 2011. http://www.happyplanetindex.org/public-data/files/happy-planet-index-first-global.pdf.
White, Adrian and the National Geographic EarthPulse Team. 2008. A Global Projection of Subjective Well-Being. Courtesy of National Geographic. In “4th Iteration (2008): Science Maps for Economic Decision-Makers,” Places & Spaces: Mapping Science, edited by Katy Börner and Elisha F. Hardy. http://scimaps.org.
Subjective well being seems to correlate with health, wealth, and access to basic education.


