Explained | Bhutan’s graduation from the UN list of Least Developed Countries

The story so far: “We are taking it with a lot of honour and pride, we are not nervous,” said Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering at the United Nations Least Developed Countries Summit that concluded on March 9 in Doha, Qatar. Inclusion in and graduation from the LDC category is based on three criteria: Gross National Income per capita, Human Assets Index measuring health and education outcomes, and Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index. One unique feature of Bhutan’s development journey, highlighted by the UN, World Bank, and World Economic Forum, has been its use of national happiness as an indicator of growth. The phrase ‘gross national happiness’ was first coined in 1972 by the 4th King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck,when he declared that “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” The concept envisages a form of sustainable development which takes a holistic approach towards notions of progress, givingequal importance to non-economic aspects of well-being. Moreover, the World Economic Forum notes that Bhutan’s graduation from the LDC category will result in the erosion of preferential treatment, making export diversification to larger markets such as the European Union challenging.