Over the last decade there has been a drive globally to move away from purely economic measures, such as GDP, as the indicators of a nation’s well-being and progress. Approaches which draw on social and environmental, as well as economic, factors are now a common international objective.
In this context, a widely-used framework is the “Better Life Index” developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is an international organisation, comprising 36 member countries and several partners , which has the mission of promoting policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
As well as presenting an overall headline measure, this framework enables comparison of Jersey with OECD member countries and partners in terms of 11 topics (“dimensions”) relating to material conditions and quality of life.
A Better Life Index was published for the first time for Jersey in 2013. This latest report provides an update based on the most recently available data from both Jersey and the OECD.
On a national level, Jersey:
- had an overall Better Life Index score of 6.8 (out of 10), which ranked the Island 19th out of 39 nations
- placed slightly above the OECD average but below the United Kingdom and France
- ranked in the top ten for jobs and earnings, health status and community
- ranked bottom for civic engagement
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