Gnh The Gross National

Happiness of Bangladesh

K202: Bangladesh studies

Bba 21st

Team 10 Section A

Tasmeem Farizma Mihika

RH 33 The team

Taosif Amin Khan

ZR 07

Shuvo Charles Gomes

ZR 21

Ayman Rahman

ZR 29

Sian Saad

ZR 39

“Happiness is the

meaning and the

purpose of life, the

whole aim and end of

human existence”

“If one speaks or acts

with a pure thought,

happiness follows

one, like a shadow

that never leaves”

“The happiness of the

drop is to die in the

river”

PHILOSOPHIES OF HAPPINESS

Aristotle Abraham

Maslow

“The story of the

human race is the

story of men and

women selling

themselves short”

Buddha Al-Ghazzali

1975 2010 2012 2013 2013

GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS

UN Resolution for

GNH as the Chief

Development

Indicator

World Happiness

Report consisting

of 83 countries

published

Denmark topped

the list and

Portugal was

lowest

Idea coined by

Bhutan‟s 4th

Dragon King, Jige

Sigme Wangchuk

Current version

developed by

Center for

Bhutan Studies

Methodology

Secondary

source of Data

focus group

discussions

Informal

interviews

The happiness

survey

Economy Environment Education Society

Physical Health Mental Health Politics

The 7 sectors

economy

Household expenditure

per capita of $416

according to World

Bank in 2013

104th in the world 0

100

200

300

400

500

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Household Expenditure

3.84

4.24.44.64.8

55.2

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Unemployment Rate

0

200

400

600

800

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Real GDP per Capita

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2010 2011 2012 2013

Inflation Our country has been

reducing poverty since

the year 2000 at a

rate of almost 2%

annually

Source: (i) World Bank Website (ii) BBS (iii) IMF

Employment satisfaction is low

especially among underemployed

Positive trends make people confident

but not happy with current state

All economic trends move in the

positive direction

Poverty and inequality seen as a

major barrier to improvement

Consumption quality is

seen as very low by most

Economic situation is one of the

major reasons for unhappiness

KEY FINDINGS

5.8

4.6

6.4

4.8 5.4

People’s scores

Consumption Quality Employment Satisfaction

Economic Well Being

Poverty

environment

0.28

0.3

0.32

0.34

0.36

0.38

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Percent of Carbon di oxide emission

0

5

10

15

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Electricity loss (% of generation)

Source: (i) World Bank Website (ii) WWF (iii) Greenpeace

18 17

33

0

10

20

30

40

Fish species,threatened

Plant species(higher),

threatened

Mammal species,threatened

Endangered Species

CO2 Emission per

metric ton

increased due to

industrial

expansion

Mammals are the

most endangered

species among

others 11.02

11.04

11.06

11.08

11.1

11.12

11.14

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Forest Area (% of total Land)

Over 15,000 people died in the past

year due to air pollution

Air and water are the most polluted

sectors.

The staggering rate of endangered

species alarm the people.

200 tanneries situated at river banks

herm the water bodies the most

People are more responsable towards

conservation of energy.

The Disaster Management programs

are satisfactory

KEY FINDINGS

Natural Calamities Environmental Pollution

Biodiversity Conservation

7.9

6.1

5.4

5.8 6.3

Energy Conservation

People’s scores

education

14.4 11.4 11.2 10.3 10.9

0

5

10

15

20

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Percentage of total budget

54.9 60.2 70.3 73.8 78.6

0

20

40

60

80

100

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Primary education completion rate

Source: (i) BANBEIS - Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (ii) World Bank Website (iii) UNESCO

43 35

40

24

0

10

20

30

40

50pupil teacher ratio

Bangladesh India Pakistan Sri lanka

47.5 56.8 61.4

73.7

0

20

40

60

80

2000 2010 2015(Pro.) 2015(Exp.)

Adult literacy rate (15 years and older)

Coefficient of

efficiency

increased to

79.7% (2013)

from 62.2%

(2010)

GER rose to

108.6% (boys

106.8% girls

110.5%) in „13

from 104.4% in

„12

Dropout rate is still high

especially in poor households

More focus should be given on

stipend programs and infrastructure

The literacy rate and GER have

increased very positively over the years

The general population is skeptical of

student politics and thinks it is harmful

The recent question paper leaks

are an alarming sign

The Creative(Srijonshil) structure

is perceived as a positive step

KEY FINDINGS

Future Prospects Results in Public Exams

Quality of Education

7.7

4.8

6.6

7.3 6.6

Government Initiatives

People’s scores

society

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

1991 1995 2000 2005 2010

Income Held By Top 10%

3.80%

3.90%

4.00%

4.10%

4.20%

1991 1995 2000 2005 2010

Income Held by Bottom 10%

Source: (i) BBS (ii) Dhaka Metropolitan Police (iii) UNESCO

4.4

4.6

4.8

5

5.2

5.4

1995 2000 2005

National

Rural

Urban

Income inequality

is on a downward

trend resulting in

social

improvements

Average family size

has considerably

decreased over the

past 15 years 140000

150000

160000

170000

180000

190000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Crimes throughout the years

High income inequality is among the

top social problems

Strong family values and strong

family unity among the people

Bangladeshi Culture- Festive, Joyous

and Colorful

Minorities rights are still not

ensured by the majority of society

Crime rate is on constant increase

over the past few years

Community bonding is a major

highlight of the society

KEY FINDINGS

Family Values Community Relationships

Culture

8.6

6.1

8.4

7.9 7.8

Social Security

People’s scores

Physical health

0.8

0.9

1

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Healthcare expenditure (% of GDP)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Contrast between private and public healthcare expenditure

Pubic healthcare expenditure (% of GDP)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Personal Expenditure on healthcare (In USD)

0

5

10

15

20

25

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Food Imports (as a % of Merchandise)

Source: (i) BBS (ii) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (iii) CIA Factbook

Food imports are

increasing everyday

Availability of nutrition is

improving constantly

Overall quality of public

healthcare is poor

Private healthcare > Public

healthcare

Healthcare expenditure by govt.

has increased.

KEY FINDINGS

Healthcare expenditure has

increased by 140%

Mental Health Perception of Healthiness

Access to Healthcare

7.4

6.2

4.3

5.3 5.8

Availability of Nutrition

People’s scores

Mental health

421 496 544

619 685

763 842 862

958

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

GDP Per capita

Muslim 89.50%

Hindu 9.60%

Christian 0.30%

Buddhist 0.50%

Other 0.10%

6.34

8.63 7.85

6.97

Life Satisfaction Spirituality Positive Emotion Neagtive Emotion

Mental Health Variables

6.34

8.63

7.85

6.97

Life Satisfaction

Spirituality

Positive Emotion

Neagtive Emotion

Mental Health Vector

Source: (i) National Mental Health Institute (ii) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (iii) CIA Factbook

KEY FINDINGS

People have relatively stable

mental health

Positive emotions > Negative

emotions

People are quite religious and

spiritual

Living standards are improving

due to growing GDP

People are not satisfied with

living standards

Happiness is an institute

of the mind

Negative emotion Spirituality

Life satisfaction

6.9

7.8

6.3

8.6 7.4

Positive emotion

People’s scores

politics

0

20

40

60

80

100

2014 2008 2001

Voter Turnout

0

1

2

3

4

2014 2008 2001

Invalid votes (%)

Source: (i) BBS- Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (ii) Transparency International

2014

2013

2012

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1 2 3

Corruption perception ranking

Voter Turnout

increased in

2008 but

decreased in

2014

The performance

of government in

IT reflected by the

increasing

number of

internet users. 0

2

4

6

8

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

Number of internet user per 100

The fairness of election and selection

process is questioned

The rural population is more active in

elections than the urban mass

People are less enthusiastic about

political participation

Dissatisfaction prevails due to the

frequency of Strikes and Blockades

The peopulation are Happy about the

economic development of the country

The crime control by the government

is perceived to be low

KEY FINDINGS

3.6

4.7

5.9

5.8 5.o

People’s scores

Judicial System and Law

and order

Accountability and

Performance

Participation by People

Political stability

6.32

OVERALL RATING

Takeaways

People are more

dissatisfied with

the political

scenario

5

Societal factors

are the key

drivers of

happiness

4

Bangladeshi

people are easily

content with less

3

Happiness is more

spiritual than

material

2 Happiness is

highly subjective.

And cannot

always be

properly

calculated

1

THANK YOU!