Your personal Happy Planet Index (HPI) is 39.3, which is similar to that of countries such as Poland, Ireland or Norway. Sorry to say that this is below the world average of 46, and about the same as the UK average. Your score is about the same as that of your country, 42.9.
Below is a breakdown of the various components that make up your HPI score. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Life Expectancy
Your life expectancy is lower than the average for your gender and country. You might have noticed some of the questions we've asked related to your life expectancy are related to factors beyond your control, such as family history. However, others, particularly your lifestyle choices - whether and how much you smoke and exercise, and what you eat - can be changed for the better. Everyone knows these habits can be hard to change, but you wouldn't be the first to do so! |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Ecological Footprint
Your ecological footprint is 2.53 global hectares, or 1.41 planets. This is equivalent to the average in countries such as Seychelles, Mexico or Equatorial Guinea.
Your ecological footprint is below average for the country you live in.
You are using between one and one and a half times your share of the planet's resources (assuming no resources are put aside for other species). This is below average for industrialised countries, typical instead of people in many middle income countries such as Jamaica. The world average is 2.2 g ha. For those living in industrialised countries: you are probably already aware of your resource use, and act considerately. Knocking those last few deci-hectares of your footprint is, we know, very tricky. For people in the west, the most effective steps to take include the following:
- Park away your car for when you absolutely need it. Why not climb onto your bike, or the bus? 2-wheels good, 4-wheels bad (unless they're big, bus wheels, of course!)
- Cut down on meat. Depending on the animal you're eating and what it's been fed, it could be taking up to 16 pounds of crop feed from the fields to get 1 pound of meat into the supermarket. Of course, meat is not the only issue at hand. If your protein-rich vegan diet is being imported from the other side of the world, that's not too good for your footprint either.
- Perhaps the most guaranteed, but also most painful, way to reduce your footprint is to cut down on flights. For example, flying from London to Athens and back adds 0.77 g ha to your footprint - more than people in many countries use over an entire year.
|
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Carbon Footprint
Your carbon footprint is 1 global hectares, or 0.56 planets. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Life Satisfaction
You reported a life satisfaction of 5. Whilst this is technically the mid-point of the scale and should mean that you are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, in reality, it is below average in most countries, and is normally interpreted as a sign that a person is dissatisfied with life. At a national level, your score matches the means for Bosnia and Jordan. At the individual level, in the World Values Survey, over a third of respondents worldwide, and 16% of British respondents reported a life satisfaction of 5 or lower. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Well-being
The new economics foundation (nef) recognises that there's more to life than feeling good, which is why our model for well-being is based on four domains ?personal feelings, personal functionings, social feelings and social functionings. 'Feelings' refers to your attitude to the way you, your future and society are. 'Functionings' looks at whether you have the opportunities to do the things that bring you well-being. Like with life satisfaction, a score of 5 is theoretically the middle score, but, given the way most people respond to surveys, is below average. |
Personal Feelings
In this online questionnaire, personal feelings are assessed with two questions ?one testing your optimism and one testing your self-esteem.
You are unsure of yourself and/or your future. Personal feelings are the most important component driving overall well-being, and this low score is probably having a detrimental effect. Fortunately, it is also the one you have most control over. In recent years, many books have emerged from the world of positive psychology (such as Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) which deal with issues such as low self-esteem and pessimism. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Personal Functionings
In this online questionnaire personal functionings are assessed with five questions ?two evaluating your subjective opinion on your health and how activity you are, the other three testing you for feelings of autonomy, purpose and worth.
In various ways, you are unable to function in the way you would like. You may be having problems with your health, feeling unable to make your own decisions, and/or failing to find opportunities to get involved in activities that give you a sense of purpose and ability. No doubt this is affecting your overall well-being. Is there any way to take more control over life, perhaps by making some space for yourself? Once you have done this, taking up different activities (sporting, creative, political, etc.) can provide an excellent focus for your abilities and offer a purpose. Voluntary work, in particular, can provide one with a strong sense of purpose and worth. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Social Feelings
In this online questionnaire social feelings are assessed with four questions ?three assessing your opinion of your community, whilst the last looks at personal relationships.
You are unsatisfied with, or perhaps indifferent to, the community within which you live. Sense of community is an important aspect of well-being. It is often lacking simply because there is little engagement taking place, as people lead atomised lives.
Another reason for this score, may simply be that you are currently unsatisfied by your personal relationships. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country] |
 |
Social Functionings
In this online questionnaire social functionings are assessed with four questions ?two assessing your job / studies, one your free time, and one your community participation. If you did not respond to the work / study questions, your score is judged purely on the other two aspects.
Your job / course is really not treating you well. Somehow it is at the same time dull and stressful! Either you're just going through a bad patch, or you really should consider moving on to somewhere else. |
You: |
|
Average: |
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
|