Australian social statistics have long been related to the idea of human wellbeing. Based on the OECD’s 1976 proposal that wellbeing could be measured by defining goal areas, or areas of concern, Australian social statistics have been organised around a set of ‘aspects of life’ considered core to wellbeing.

Statistics Austria uses the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, including the general wellbeing question in the national part of SILC. It also leads a programme called 'How is Austria?' that looks at measures such as environment, quality of life and material living conditions.

The National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus views wellbeing as complex and multifaceted - defined as being the degree of availability of essentials and livelihood to people. The key source of data about the wellbeing of the Belarusian population is an annual sample household living standards survey that started in 1995.

Ga-Kyid (Happiness and Wellbeing) has long been an integral part of Bhutanese society. The 1829’s legal code of Bhutan states that the very existence of the governance system is to foster the enabling conditions for Happiness and Wellbeing for all its citizens, including all species of beings.

During Bolivian president Evo Morales’ administration, the Ministry of Development and Planning developed a National Social and Economic Development Plan [NDP] that focused on human development and wellbeing. The NDP was officially launched in 2015.

Statistics Denmark was inspired by the Stiglitz Commission, Eurostat and the OECD, to create quality of life indicators for the nation. There is a focus on measuring wellbeing at the level of Denmark’s 98 municipalities, whose responsibilities include health care, social services, employment, integration and environmental planning.

Israel has been a pioneering state in developing national wellbeing, sustainability and resilience indicators. There has been a thorough process of consultation with government ministries, diverse sectors of the public, and relevant agencies on what these indicators should be.

In Sweden, Wellbeing has been measured in a broad sense and as a complement to GDP for around 45 years. The National Living Conditions Survey has been conducted annually since the 1970s. It asks people about areas of their lives such as health and education. And recently, Sweden has begun to measure subjective wellbeing in a more direct sense.

Since 2010, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) runs a Measuring National Wellbeing Programme. This programme aims to produce “accepted and trusted measures of the wellbeing of the nation – how the UK as a whole is doing”. It is about looking at ‘GDP and beyond’.

Multidimensional well-being has been a key focus of the OECD’s work since the early 1970s. This case study provides a few examples of how well-being statistics have been recently mainstreamed into various OECD policy processes and works, inspiring new action for the future.