Global Flourishing Study Key Findings & Insights

Global Flourishing Study reveals Indonesia leads in flourishing, differing from happiness rankings. Younger adults struggle with purpose. Wealth impacts well-being components.

Key Findings from the Global Flourishing Study:

• Flourishing vs. Happiness: Flourishing is broader than just happiness, encompassing health, meaning, character, relationships, and financial security.
• Global Rankings: Indonesia ranked highest in flourishing, followed by Mexico and the Philippines. Surprisingly, countries high in the World Happiness Report (like Sweden and the U.S.) ranked in the middle for flourishing.
• Study Size and Scope: The study included over 207,000 people from 22 countries and Hong Kong, representing approximately 64% of the world's population. Participants will be followed for five years.
• Age Differences: Younger adults are struggling more than older adults, often lacking a strong sense of purpose. Tanzania and Poland showed better scores among younger people.
• Wealth vs. Well-being: Richer countries scored higher in financial security but lower in relationships and meaning.
• Flourishing Questions: The study measured flourishing using 12 questions covering life satisfaction, happiness, physical and mental health, sense of purpose, character, relationships, and financial worries.

Key Quotes:

• Dr. Byron Johnson: "This gives a voice to approximately 64% of the world's population."
• Tyler VanderWeele: "Perhaps one of the more troubling features of this data is that we find that when we aggregate across the 22 countries, flourishing tends to increase with age, so that the youngest individuals are reporting the lowest levels of flourishing."
• Tyler VanderWeele: "This raises important questions with regard to how we can carry out economic development without compromising meaning and purpose and relationships and character."
• Felix Cheung: "Young people are telling us something is wrong...But when the population isn't happy, that's a structural problem, and a structural problem requires structural solutions."
• Tyler VanderWeele: "One approach to reflecting on one's own flourishing is simply to go through our 12 core flourishing questions."

Potential Podcast Angles:

• The surprising disconnect between happiness and flourishing.
• Why are young people struggling with their sense of purpose?
• Can economic development compromise well-being?
• A practical exercise: evaluating your own flourishing using the 12 core questions