Developing Thai Happiness Index

This research aims to develop a national happiness index to identify the level of happiness of Thai people as well as to identify and quantify other related issues. The data were collected by interviewed questionnaires. The research data were from stratified multi-stage sampling according to region, province, district and enumeration area; and simple random sampling in each enumeration area. The research data cover 13 provinces, including Bangkok and 3 provinces in each region of the North, Northeastern, Central, and South of Thailand. There were 3217 usable respondents who were at least 15 years old. The Alkire-Foster method was applied in the development of the Thai happiness index (THaI). The index employs values ranging from 0 to 1; the larger the number, the higher the level of happiness. The result reveals that the 2017 THaI₀ value is 0.506. The intensity of sufficiency among those who are not-yet-happy is 49.4%. However, the depth of sufficiency (THaI₁ value of 0.867) is low. Additionally, the severity of sufficiency (THaI₂ value of 0.94) is also low. Dividing people into four groups according to their degree of happiness reveals that 14.6% of the population are happy, with 3.9% “deeply happy” and 10.6% “extensively happy”; and 85.5% of the population are not-yet-happy, with 26.4% “narrowly happy” and 59.1% “unhappy”. The group of happy population reflects the happiness index THaI₀, which has a value of 0.789, much higher than the not-yet-happy population with a THaI₀ value of 0.458. The analyzed results from THaI index can be utilized to enrich the national policies to create enabling conditions where people are able to pursue wellbeing in sustainable ways. In addition, the approach can be used and adapted for other countries.